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Open Xchange Server Source-code Released
d3vi1 writes "Netline, the main developer of Open-Xchange, has just released the GPL licenced version to the masses. The product is mostly known by users because of SuSE's Open-Xchange Server, a product started from "comFire Groupware".
Open-Xchange is a groupware suite with WebDAV interface (XML), LDAP, iCal and HTTP(S) support. An Evolution plugin is on the way."
Open-Xchange is a very promising M$ Exchange replacement, but until they have an upgrade path from Exchange, we can't upgrade. If programs to convert away from Exchange were to exist, it would break our M$ lockin here.
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Before spending any time on this guy (as a corporate head, anyhow) I need to know how well it works with outlook. To wit: I need to know that the company users won't know the difference -- that they won't have a clue that anything has changed.
If that's the case, I'd be a bug on the ass of my LAN manager to convert us immediately, and he'd probably jump at it.
With Evolution, Connector and now Open Exchange the barriers to interoperability are breaking down.
Microsoft made a deft move by bundling together database and mail server technologies for Exchange (Outlook/Exchange gets used heavily at MyCorp).
It's good to see some opens source alternatives become available, not least because of the competitive pricing pressure it will put on those heavily used products.
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A migration tool for openxchange that supports MS Exchange! It's commercial, but if you're already using Exchange, that shouldn't be TOO big a turn off. It might only support the commercial version of OpenXchange, not sure about that.
I should be more clear -- I use Evolution. But all the drones in the office use Windows desktops and Outlook.
Outlook bonds with Exchange (which we also use -- a slightly older version which works poorly with Evolution's calendaring) so that we cannot leave Outlook, and therefore cannot leave Windows. If we can get a work-alike for Exchange, we can slowly move people into a hetrogeneous (or even completely non-Windows) evironment.
We COULD upgrade our Exchange to allow Evolution to be more of a replacement for Outlook than it is, but that means spending money on a service, and our uppers would, after that, be unwilling to let us scrap it.
The optimal path would be to replace the Exchange server with something that plays well with Outlook, then migrate our people to Linux desktop, where those people don't need Windows speghettified apps.
This product sounds good but out of personal experience it leaves quite a bit to be desired.
We recently installed this and tried using it in our office and found it to be very buggy and unstable. The first version we installed, 4.0, wouldn't even create user accounts properly. It would screw up the samba each time it tried to create the account.
The whole fact that it uses IMAP for its email made it clumsy to use in Outlook as you had your personal folders and then also had your IMAP folders and then also had your SLOX folders. Was quite confusing for most of the users. Also the calendar sharing wasn't that well designed at all. The user was forced to have two calendars, one in public folders and their own one. There was no way to share your normal calendar around the network.
SuSE have a good product here but it is still far from a proper Exchange replacement. We ended up sending the software back and getting Exchange instead.
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Just took a look at some of the code. Comments are in German! Not that there's anything wrong with German, but that might limit North American involvement in development.....
Other than that, the code seems organized well, from a quick glance.
All these different projects trying to come up with an end-to-end solution, and none of them really getting anywhere. We need a standard.
A few months ago, the folks at the Citadel project took notice of the specs for the Kolab project, and began promoting its storage and network formats as a proposed standard for open source groupware. It was a nice, simple, elegant design, using vCard and vCalendar formats. Others shared the same view: for example, the Aethera people joined in, and made their client Kolab-compatible. We at the Citadel project made our server Kolab-compatible. This was shaping up to be something good.
So what did the Kolab people do? They designed "Kolab 2" which uses data formats that are neither forward nor backward compatible with Kolab 1. They completely disregarded not only their installed base, but other projects that were working towards compatibility. The new format is proprietary (documented and unencumbered, but proprietary) and gratuitously abuses XML instead of following the industry-standard vCard and vCalendar formats.
The Aethera and Citadel projects are currently in discussions to work together to create a true. open, standards-compliant, cross-platform, end-to-end groupware solution. We invite others to participate as well -- we won't ignore you the way the Kolab people have.
As for OpenXchange? As others have suggested, this is really just a couple of bells and whistles glued onto someone else's IMAP server. It's not really a true solution.
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The "outlook" ;) for upgrades is less daunting. There is an upgrade *path*, though it's not as automated as we'd like. Publishing and supporting a migration tool sounds like a good way to make a living, capitalizing on the migration from Exchange to Open-Xchange. Especially if it were a plugin installed when O-X is installed, which led the installer through the upgrade path with data import and a tutorial. A "Call for Help" button connected to a live support desk could also clock some ducats, while ensuring a graceful migration. Corporate IT departments love that kind of organizational reliability when risking any platform change.
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Can you please back this up with links to discussions you have had with Kolab project? Specifically where you noted on the mailing lists that you had started working on their format with a 3rd party and wanted to keep synce with Kolab? Did they not inform you then what plans were? I find it very hard to believe that once told that two other OSS projets wanted to work with them that they just ignored you or didn't advise on the new changes to come.
Also since you just noticed the specs a few months ago it is quite likely that the Kolab changes were already in the process of being implemented and you simply jumped in at the wrong time. Is that not a possibility? Fresh projects sometimes break compatibility and while one would like to never see that happen there isn't always much you can do about it. I assume they did it for a very good reason and not just to torpedo your efforts.
You post seems entirely one sided and I'd really like someone from Kolab to comment on dicussions you have had with them.
btw going back three months on the Kolab Development and Kolab Format Discussion lists your project doesn't seem to show up once. Perhaps you can clear this up if I'm looking in the wrong place?
I'm still looking for a free/cheap host for these servers. I can sync bookmarks and calendar via webdav from a free/cheap web host, but I can't find anyone that provides ldap, so the only way I can sync my contacts between home and work is to run my own ldap server. Does anyone know of a place providing ldap/open exchange services to the public?
You know I've been wondering this ever since the whole "lets replace Exchange" movement started. What is so unique about exchange that no one else (commercial or otherwise) has come out with a viable replacement? And no I don't consider "lockin" unique.
Is why we didn't get some open source Outlook Connector yet. Some companies (OpenExchange) won't even provide an eval of the connector to see if it really works in Outlook.
Bynari - too buggy.
SLOX - not tried yet.
We ended up using CommuniGate Pro from stalker.com.
I don't like it.. server is too closed source and inflexible.
BUT it has _excellent_ OL interoperability... My boss just forced me to use it because of this.
When we'll see some open source or at least free Outlook Connector to these exch-replacing systems, we effectively killed exchange.
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