Slashdot Mirror
Open Source Microsoft Exchange Replacements?
Carl Farrington asks: "Do you think you could try to raise public awareness of the importance for an open source replacement for Microsoft Exchange (Outlook/MAPI compatible for shared/public folders). Current offerings are SuSE Linux Groupware Server, Communigate Pro (Stalker Software), Samsung Contact (ex. HP OpenMail) all of which are not open source / free. Kroupware is in development, but there will be no Outlook Connector for it. otlkcon is in slow development as a possible connector for Kroupware. There is also OSER (Open Source Exchange Replacement) which again looks like it needs more help. Is there any chance of getting some people to back this stuff? It's so important and is probably the major problem facing Linux as viable replacements for Win2000 servers." While this seems to be a question that
keeps
popping up in one form or another, it's always worthwhile to come back and point out alternatives, in development, that might need your help to get off the ground and running. So, if you're looking for an alternative to Exchange, would you be willing to contribute some time to one of the projects listed above? If you've been using Unix as an Exchange replacement, what did you do and how well has it been working?
I am using Cyrus IMAP as an IMAP server, with the Bynari Connector to do Contacts and Calendars for outlook. This is less than ideal because storing contacts and calenders in a mail system encoded with tnef is plain ugly, but it works. For the windows desktops at least. We don't plan on Linux desktops just yet, but servers, almost totally converted. Samba + OpenLDAP + Cyrus IMAP + Postfix. It's working amazingly. Nothing to patch, no crashes, fast, secure. It's a match made in heaven. Outlook works 100%. I'd like to find a calendaring/contact system that didn't use Outlook though... perhaps something that stored in LDAP, and was very flexible. I dont know what to do with Calendars though.
There's something called BILL workgroup server, and it acts as an exchange replacement.
Here is the url www.billworkgroup.org
Here's a project worth checking out: Citadel/UX. Admittedly it's only about 80 percent of the way there, but the thing that makes Citadel stand out from its open source brethren is that it's not just another Cyrus/Postfix/OpenLDAP/etc. rollup with some loose stiches put in to make them act like a single system.
/etc/mail/complicated.cf and /etc/init.d/S90scary.sh, but they don't mind running a "setup" program and then customizing with a web browser.
We're actually taking the time to build something good from scratch. We've got a true journalling database oriented message store (thanks to Berkeley DB) including single-instance store (a message sent to 100 users doesn't get saved 100 times). Built-in IMAP, POP, SMTP protocols. A nice calendar service, and a Web interface. It's even got its own instant messenger.
The thing that's important, though, is that it's designed to be easy to install. One of the very few things that Exchange 5.5 had going in its favor was that it was relatively easy to install. Citadel aims for that as well -- plug in the RPM's or tarball, run the setup program, and you've got a basic server up and running. Inexperienced admins might be scared by editing
Where we really need the extra development work right now is to start writing some connectors for popular client software. Currently we are aiming for 100 percent compatibility with the Kroupware project (so you can use the Kontact client without having to install the clunky Kolab server) and eventually Evolution (which has a 'connector' architecture). Eventually we'd prefer to do everything in Mozilla (using Mozilla Mail and Mozilla Calendar), since it's cross-platform.
Again, it's not a drop-in Exchange replacement today, but it's a project worth watching, or better yet, helping out on.
Tired of FB/Google censorship? Visit UNCENSORED!
Part of the problem is that people are looking at writing this from scratch, which is a lot of work.
However, in April 2003 the OOo Groupware team and a few Apache James developers discussed building groupware functionality into AJ.
Apache James is already a production ready POP, NNTP and SMTP server, and has partial IMAP support. It is highly componentised, being based upon the Avalon Framework.
Basically, it was determined by OOogw and a few Apache James developers that it was more than pheasible to complete the IMAP support and add iCal and iCAP, plus the necessary authentication modules (LDAP is partly there iirc, and others). This is not a difficult task because most of the foundation work is already done. It's just a matter of implementing the few protocols that are missing.
Sadly it has not been followed up by the OOogw or AJ developers because nobody really has the time - ever the problem with OSS and volunteers. If I were a Java programmer, I would make an attempt, but I'm not.
I guess this post is a feeble attempt to lure some actual Java developers to the cause.
Free Gamer - Free games list and commentary
It can be a real timesaver when I need to create a meeting for all the people on an e-mail string, even those on outside e-mail systems (iCal), or have to look up someone in the Global Address List (works much better in Exchange than LDAP mode).
Granted, to use most of these really cool features you have to be running Exchange, However, most features are functional on IMAP and LDAP servers. It just doesn't look and work as pretty as a native exchange install. Once you start pulling these functions apart into different programs, you really start losing functionality. I am not saying everything on your computer should be in one huge mega-application, but these are all related functions that give you a one-stop shop with a clean consistent interface.
Like most people here, if there was an OSS replacement, I would consider it, but we are part of a HUGE Exchange site (US Navy), and we have to have replication and so on. Interoperability is a must, and to be honest, there isn't a package out there that even comes close to matching the feature set and manageability of Exchange/Outlook.
Other side notes..... changing permissions on folders you own (such as calendars and what not) is really easy for users. They just right click, choose Properties, and choose who can see, change, add, etc. I haven't seen anything like that in the OSS world, and is a MAJOR thing, at least in my corner of the world.
Excryption, using PKI certs is a piece of cake, public keys are stored in the GAL, so I don't even need to get it ahead of time. Outlook checks every message, warns of bad certs and sigs, the whole deal. User can be brain-dead, but still send mostly secure e-mail.
I can choose the format of my e-mails (plain, RTF, HTML) and base that on the destination, so that I send plain out on the internet, RTF within the exchange site, and HTML to local addressees, etc.
Ties in with Windows messenger and NetMeeting, so I can click the name on en e-mail and talk to and see someone, using all internal servers, no MSN or any of that crap. Shared whiteboard? No problem. Shared Desktop? Ditto.
Exchange hosts IRC conferences, that can be scheduled via Outlook, and accessed by any IRC client out there.
Those are just off the top of my head. IMO Outlook/Exchange is the best software MS has, especially the latest versions. We haven't had a server crash or DB corruption (with 7,000 users and 2 TB info store) in over a year and a half, and when we did, it was because the SAN died, not exchange. If you have people that know what they are doing running exchange on good non-bargain-basement hardware, it works well and just runs. It's managed by *one* MMC snap-in tool to control all the protocols, stores, folders, etc. That's my $.02......
They discussed and tested the following
Only Easygate and Samsung had full Outlook MAPI support, whilst Communigate and Bynari Insight Groupware had partial support.
The April archive is online and link is here. There are a number of PDF files with the article details in them.
MS Exchange Server (server end; NT only), MS Outlook (client end; Win32, MacOS). Very limited support of open-protocol clients (IMAP, webmail?). Microsoft Corp. wants to sell you Exchange 2000, these days, but Exchange 5.5 is still very common.
Lotus Notes / Domino (server end, Linux supported), Lotus Notes (client end; Win32, MacOS). Limited webmail access (iNotes).
Novell Groupwise. http://www.novell.com/products/groupwise/ Server end runs on either Novell NetWare 5/6 or WinNT. Client end is proprietary Win32 client or webmail. A native Linux client is under development.
SuSE Linux Openexchange Server (formerly SuSE Linux eMail Server). Standard, good open-source components (Postfix, Apache, Cyrus IMAP, OpenLDAP, OpenSSL) preconfigured to work well with one another, plus a couple of proprietary components: YaST2 for graphical administration, and SkyrixGreen for integrated scheduling and group discussions (shared folders). Client access from any OS, including but not limited to webmail. A full-functional trial version (lacking only "maintenance") is available for US $20 at http://www.suse.com/openexchange/slox_eval_form.ht ml . Sites are known to scale well to at least 1,000 users per site. The largest deployment yet known (March 2003) is 1,900 users.
Bynari Insight Server, http://www.bynari.net/ . Server end is Linux-based. Intended as a plug-compatible replacement for MS-Exchange Server, based on POP3, IMPA, SMTP, and LDAP, but also with full support for all the special, proprietary MS-Exchange Server RPC-based protocols for group discussion, scheduling, contact management, task lists, etc., when used with MS-Outlook clients. Review: http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6734
Bynari InsightConnector, http://www.bynari.net/ . Extensions that load into MS-Outlook clients to let them perform MS-Exchange-type functions (scheduling, contact-management, public folders) without needing an MS-Exchange server, using only open-standard IMAP, SMTP, and LDAP servers, instead.
Samsung Contact (formerly HP Openmail), http://samsungcontact.com/en/ . Server end can be Linux-based (or Solaris/AIX). Based on SMTP, IMAP, POP3, LDAP. Supports proprietary protocols for e-mail, scheduling, etc. native to Samsung's Contact client (which is available on Linux and Win32). Webmail access. Implements Microsoft's (documented, for a change) MAPI protocol for scheduling, public folders, offline folders.
Oracle Collaboration Suite, http://www.oracle.com/ip/deploy/cs/ . Formerly Steltor CorporateTime, http://www.steltor.com/, until that firm's recent acquisition by Oracle. (That product is said to have emerged from Netscape Calendar.) Does IMAP, POP3, SMTP, E-mail, real-time conferences, voicemail, scheduling. Apparently implements all of the special, proprietary MS-Exchange Server RPC-based protocols for group discussion, scheduling, contact management,
That said, Exchange is a bloated, administrative nightmare. ANYTHING else is almost a complete privledge to manage by comparison. Yes, even Notes.
"Let's buy another 500 user licenses for this server!" is a good place to start bitching. I don't want to hear "$9 a user" from anyone ever again! Oh, and another $2 grand for software JUST TO BACKUP!?! This is the most basic and integral function of real server software - not an expensive, after-market opportunity.
Do you have multiple Exchange servers? Are they AD integrated? Do you need to retire the old hardware of the original box? Nightmares never end! The controls for EVERYTHING look identical, and there are eight separate plug-in control panels, each with less than 10% of the needed functionality to perform any moderately complex administrative task. "You are in a maze of twisty, little tree/pane browser widgets, all alike!" Exchange is so deeply, fundamentally flawed from an administrative perspective, that I am caused physical pain, just trying to think where to begin these descriptions! It was bad in 4/5.x, but to "Train Wreck" it's administration into the nightmare-that-never-ends of AD tools...
I'd rather be devoured by the Nameless Horror out of Time.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."