Scalix MAPI + Windows Mobile 5/6

[luciphercolors]

Hello,

I'm interested in setting up a personal Scalix server to replace the Exchange VM I have running for myself at the moment.

I've tried Zimbra and I've found it to be too slow and the AJAX code too bulky. Plus, it doesn't do Outlook or WM in the open-source version. Unlike Exchange, however, it does handle multiple identities well.

I want to try Scalix but I am curious as to whether or not the MAPI interface supports Windows Mobile devices. Is it absolutely required that Scalix runs the "Wireless Email w/ PIM (Optional, via Notify)" addon? I'm going to try the Open Source edition for personal use.

Also, how well does Scalix handle POP3 mailboxes from different domains and multiple identities?

Tom

[KevinG]

Tom,

Can't answer your specific question, just wanted to say that if you want to try a free of charge implementation of Scalix then I would recommend installing it on CentOS 4.5. You only have to change the contents of /etc/redhat-release and then Scalix installs quite cleanly as if it is on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, so long as all its dependencies are installed. I found that I needed (from the CentOS CDs):

On CD 1 (install first):
postgresql-libs-7.4.16-1.RHEL4.1.i386.rpm

On CD 3:
compat-libstdc++-296-2.96-132.7.2.i386.rpm
sendmail-cf-8.13.1-3.2.el4.i386.rpm
postgresql-7.4.16-1.RHEL4.1.i386.rpm
postgresql-server-7.4.16-1.RHEL4.1.i386.rpm

Kevin

[luciphercolors]

Hi, thank you for your response. My big questions are still unanswered, though.

Does the MAPI client in Windows Mobile ("Outlook e-mail") work with Scalix's MAPI implementation?
Can Scalix handle multiple identities? From different domains, like @gmail.com?

[jaime.pinto]

Does the MAPI client in Windows Mobile ("Outlook e-mail") work with Scalix's MAPI implementation?

Scalix does not have a *MAPI connector* for WM yet. You may have to rely on 3rd party developers. Search the forum on NotifyLink or Funambol for example

Can Scalix handle multiple identities?

If by "multiple identities" you mean send emails with the "From" or "Reply-to" fields as domains other than the ones the scalix server is part of, the answer is NO. But you can have that feature for any domains the Scalix server is licensed for, one email at the time by default.

On this issue I actually like scalix to be exactly the way it is. We are in the business of hosting emails only for corporate employees, and would not want them "faking" themselves as somebody else as far as we are concerned. But I would not mind if Scalix introduced this feature provided that the "fake address" would be required to be periodically authenticated with the *real mail server* for those address, and that the SAC admin had the option to disable it.

[luciphercolors]

By "multiple" identities I mean it in the way that Thunderbird or Zimbra implements them... multiple accounts, each with their own "From" and "Reply to" and signatures, choosable from a menu in the Compose interface. Ideally, this is controllable like it is in exchange, where each AD account can have multiple aliases.

Exchange/Outlook''s support for this is weak.
Zimbra's is stellar.
Thunderbird's is OK.

Ideally multiple identities would be a feature that can be switched off or controlled by the admin. For some uses, though, being able to fully use multiple e-mail boxes within one client is invaluable. Consultants and contractors come to mind as they may be representing mutliple entities.... or personal users like me who have email accounts with multiple companies and want to centrally manage them.

So... as it seems, though, Scalix has a mix of features I am looking for. I'm installing CentOS in a VM right now to give it a try... we'll see, I guess...

[jaime.pinto]

What you want is typically a function of the client, not the server.
Exchange, Zimbra and Scalix are primarily servers, not clients.

Outlook, Thunderbird, etc, are stand alone clients. SWA and the Zimbra counterpart are the webmail equivalents. I used OL with multiple servers before, basically IMAP accounts, but the moment a added one Exchange server to the mix the whole thing got screwed up. This is either a limitation or a by Billy Gates design of OL. I guess Scalix made the strategic decision to design SWA so as to interact only with their own servers. I don't blame them.

[luciphercolors]

I agree with you... somewhat. While the end-user component is indeed a function of a client, pulling it off correctly and accessibly, so the end user has one interface to rule them all, and all of their mail routes correctly, is a function of the server. Outlook's limitations are as such, as are Exchange's and everyone else's. I know this isn't the most important feature but there are a small subset of users--consultants, power users, mobile professionals, open-source junkies--that might find having a single web-based interface for all their different mailboxes, with a fat client option, to be incredibly useful.... and as of yet there is not an adequate option available. For your typical corporate e-mail scenario...probably not.

Nonetheless, shortly I'll be able to answer my own question and we can bring this topic to a close.

[philjohn]

As for pre-req's I also needed to install the kerberos 5 system as well or the install failed (scalix 11.0 GA)

[joako]

Yes it will work fine. You can create different accounts on the server and then create different profiles for your outlook.

I am moving to Zimbra however. With Zimbra I can have all my mail on one account and based on what folder I am responding from or what the "To:" address on the message is it will send mail from the correct address. No more logging into 3 Outlook profiles just to check all my mail.

Also Scalix does not have any sort of native WM sync. WHat I would do is sync the phone via cable for the contacts and calendar and then get my email via IMAP every 10 minutes. That setup works OK. Alot of delete profile, delete sync relationship sort of action going on however when random issues come up like all of a sudden random error messages on ActiveSync or stuff just stops showing up in Outlook.


Good luck I'm finishing a Scalix -> Zimbra migration right now.

[mikevl]

We have clients doing this to a limited extent.

In Scalix each user can their mailbox respond to multiple domains ie
mike@xyz.com,mike@abc.com,mike@ghj.com. You can practyically have up to 5 domains per person, althought the limitation is not the number of domains but the number opf characters used in the definitaion of multiple email addresses.

If you then use Thunderbird and specify multiple accounts all with the same Authid and password but different domains then you will be able to achieve what you wish.

Best of luck

PS you can only do this with an IMAP client but NOT Outlook in MAPI mode.

Mike

[mikevl]

Hey best of luck with you Zimbra migration I hope all works out well for you

Mike

[joako]

Almost forgot you can also use delegated mailboxes. It will work in outlook and SWA but you need to set it up twice (Once for outlook a nother time for SWA) both the permissions and the additional mailbox so I guess you can say thats setting it up 4 times.