Topic: Outlook Functionallity

[Cyrus]

Hello Everyone,

I have not been as involved with what is happening for the SME in the last year, but it looks like it is still being driven by some great dedicated people!

I just found out about Scalix, which mimics Exchange on Linux.

Now I do not have time to look at it indepth or see if it even compatible with SME, just thought you guys/gals might want to know about it, as it's free up to 15 clients, which is nice for small businesses who might want full outlook functionality.

Anyway here's the link:

http://www.customtech.com.au/products.html#Scalix

Enjoy!

Cyrus Bharda

[rswennen]

Had a very quick look, but at first glance this looks absolutely fabulous.

I'm also very interested in finding out if anybody has implemented it on an SME server yet ?

Rohnny

[Anonymous]

me too

[Cyrus]

Well I asked if it compatible with Red Hat 7.3, (which is what 5.6 is I thought?)and got this reply:

Hi Cyrus,

I've checked with the support chaps and you should find that Scalix
V8.2.0 installs smoothly on RH 7.3.

Regards
Gordon.

--------------------Full Featured Messaging on Linux--------------------
Gordon Hubbard <gordon@CustomTech.com.au>    Custom Technology Australia
3 Spring Street, Sydney, NSW              T 02 9659 9590, F 02 9659 9510
PO Box 514, Beecroft, NSW, 2119, Australia  http://www.CustomTech.com.au
Business Unix+Linux Products+Services  Samsung+Scalix+IBM+Sun+SmoothWall

[jonroberts]

Better interoperability with Outlook has got to be good for any product targetting SMEs.

I like the look of this but if its free for less than 15 users, I assume that means its not free if you've more than 15 users.  So that would rule it out from being freely distributed with SME & so it would have to be a contrib - or optional in some way, which may confuse matters.

An alternative approach maybe to use an IMAP server with ACL support like Cyrus.  This should be no problem for licencing & those people that want Outlook folder sharing can use connector products from Toltec or Bynari or whoever - OK that means a cost even for licence 1, but may be a simpler approach (Until there a full GPL alternative).

I've had Cyrus working on 5.6 & now 0n 6.0 (there's a howto on my website www.westcountrybusiness.com, although not yet updated for sme6).  On SME 6, I also got it running with WebSieve - a web interface to allow users to edit Mail Filtering Rules - it can also work with Procmail (with a bit of 'tweaking')

I wouldn't like to claim its been tested robustly enough to simply become part of the disto, but if working with Outlook becomes a popular issue, & Cyrus is considered an option, then I'm happy to pass on any work done to date.

[wyron]

What's wrong with SuSe's Open-Exchange, now that Novell has GPL'ed it ??

[jonroberts]

What's wrong with SuSe's Open-Exchange, now that Novell has GPL'ed it ??

Absolutely nothing.  A full GPL solution would certainly have my vote.  I suggested Cyrus as an option because (a) I know its working already & (b) I hadn't considered Open-Exchange as an option.

I did look at Open-Exchange in the past but couldn't get it working on the SME.  But if anyone has managed it on SME 6, or is willing to have a go then I would suspect that would be the popular choice.

[Garfield]

The thing I miss most on SME since I moved away from an Exchange mail server is Calendar functionality.

[guest22]

www.phpgroupware.org
www.group-office.com

[crazybob]

Where did you get you copy of Scalix? All I seem to be able to find is a 60 day trial.

Thanks

Bob

[jans]

What about Twiggi??

i'f installed it on SME 6.01

Its working fine

Jan

[synaptic]

Hi
We use http://www.xcnetwork.com
Its not free but when compared to Exchange and the like its cheap..
Runs on SME-server after some massaging! Tomcat/mysql/apache
Shared calenders/tasks and contacts for:
Evolution on Linux
Entourage/ical on Mac
Outlook on Windowze
We have several customers running it. It is very reliable and doesn't use too much memory
P111 with 256MB of RAM is sufficient for a small company.

regards
Robert

[PapaCain]

Hello all,

I've been studying Scalix for a while and it looks great.  The one hole I haven't been able to figure out how to plug is the lack of certificate encryption capability.  If anyone has any ideas on how to get around it I'd certainly like to hear them!

Thanks,

-Matt

[kiruxadmin]

...

[calisun]

kiruxadmin
This is shameless advertising!
This is an open source community, not advertising section.
Not only did you get a free software from here that you are profiting from, you are also trying to get free advertising.
Shame on you.

Since kiruxadmin refuses to release source code to the community, lets have someone purchase his product. At that point he has to make source code available to that person, than we can post it here (perfectly legal under GPL License)

[kiruxadmin]

....

[calisun]

Yes it is advertising, and on newsgroups it is considered spamming.

I know that people are selling SME server, it is not against GPL, but at least I have not seen anyone try to advertise their product here before.

And yes I know who the competition is, and if you knew that, you would know that you are advertising in a wrong place.

And yes, you are providing value to the end user, not community if you don't release source code to changes you made as required by GPL License.

[girkers]

kiruxadmin,

Could I ask what suggestion you have made to this topic that directly relate to outlook functionality.  Did you say that product X will be easily installed on SME to allow Outlook functionality.

No.

You have blantant stated features that your "product" has and how it relates to the topic.

As per the online http://www.dictionary.com it qualifies the term "advertise" as:

To make public announcement of, especially to proclaim the qualities or advantages of (a product or business) so as to increase sales

I feel that your post concers with this meaning as defined and I think most people would agree that this type of post is not warranted.

I do not begudge you producing a product for profit such as many other people do, but I don't see them advertising there wares.

People can sell whatever they like, but you can not sell SME as no one owns it, you can sell your time, your modifications, but never SME.

If you want to be a part of the community, your positive contribution(s) will be most welcomed, but otherwise...

um let me put this planly...

RACK OFF!

These comments are the thoughts of the author and are no way meant to be defamitory in any way shape or form.

[edit]Grammer

[PapaCain]

Sorry, I don't have a suggestion either but I did get the answer to my own question directly from Scalix.  They will support digital certificates in version 10 to be release sometime in October.

My observation on Scalix is that it can be a good alternative to MS Exchange because:

1.  Low cost at $60 per user.
2.  Runs on a very wide variety of Linux distributions.
3.  Integrates very well with Outlook.
4.  Has an awesome web client.
5.  Administration looks to be relatively simple.

Combining Scalix with a well-supported Linux distribution is how my company will get started with Linux.  We currently use Windows only and I have been looking for an opportunity to get started with Linux on one of our core applications.  Since our development is in .NET I have to be careful about what  applications and services I move around.  Email is especially nice because I strongly dislike the integration of Exchange into Active Directory.  I very much like loosely-coupled, highly cohesive applications and of course Microsoft doesn't work that way.

I will probably use RHEL 4 rather than SME only because I can offer support options to my people who are already going to be outside their normal comfort zones since the OS won't be Windows.  I'm very committed to my people as they have been extremely loyal over the years so I want to take an approach that, as much as possible, eases them into a change of company direction.

Anyways, that's why I hijacked the thread.  I apologize, hopefully after I have a chance to test with Scalix some more I can report on functionality of Scalix and Outlook.

-Matt

[dmac]

I investigated the Scalix product as well, but stopped when I contacted them and they have a minimum purchase of 25 Users.

Maybe if we all complain, they will lower the minimum to say 5 users with 5 user packs, same as what Microsoft did to get Windows NT servers started.

my 2 cents.

Darin

[DarkMirage]

Well, I've looked at the Scalix solution, and found the ever-returning issue (so it appears) with groupware on linux: Tomcat.

I have been developing a proper implementation of Open-Xchange (which, btw, is far from done), and I just got pointed to this one issue:

The Java trap: Tomcat needs Java, and their isn't an open-source package available for java (well, not for sme6x or sme7a<=19).
I mean to say Java isn't free for redistribution.

So creating an easy to install package for groupware or any other Outlook connector will always require users to build (as in compile) their own Java VM, before actually being able to use it...

Any thoughts on that? Or perhaps solutions for Exchange alternatives not using tomcat?  

[Cyrus]

Update:

Scalix releases FREE Scalix Community Edition =============================================

World's Most Advanced Free Email For Organizations

CustomTech is pleased to announce the release of Scalix Community Edition, a free, unlimited use version of its award winning software. It includes Scalix's industrial-strength server and Scalix Web Access (SWA), a revolutionary cross-browser, cross-platform web client that delivers desktop-grade functionality never seen before in a web application. SWA, hailed as the most advanced web mail and calendaring client in the market, makes Community Edition a unique and compelling offering for any organization.

Community Edition also includes five free Scalix Enterprise Edition user licenses that allow Scalix Community Edition sites to experience the full functionality of Scalix Enterprise Edition.


Compelling, Cost-effective Email
--------------------------------
Community Edition raises the bar for free email by providing a robust and reliable email server that is easy to install and operate and that delivers superior email and personal calendaring. Organizations using legacy low cost or free email (e.g. free IMAP/POP servers) that are looking to move to a more modern environment with greater robustness and advanced functionality will find Community Edition a compelling, cost-effective solution. Community Edition is ideal for cost-conscious small businesses and organizations whose email users do not require fuller function groupware solutions.


Advantages Versus Older Free Email
----------------------------------
Community Edition offers advantages in both end user functionality and email administration over alternative low cost or free email systems:

  * Quality and robustness of a field-proven, commercial grade
    email platform that offers superior reliability, scalability
    and security

  * Industry’s most advanced web mail client with desktop grade
    functionality previously only available through proprietary
    desktop mail clients like MS Outlook or Outlook Express

  * Ease of installation and administration

  * Flexible, open architecture that can customized, extended
    and integrated

  * Seamless upgrade path to Scalix Enterprise Edition, for
    advanced functionality, including native full-function Outlook
    support, group scheduling, public folders and advanced wireless
    email and PIM support

Scalix Community Edition Components
-----------------------------------
Scalix Community Edition includes the following components:

  * Scalix email server, an industrial strength, highly scalable,
    secure and reliable platform

  * Scalix Web Access with integrated personal calendaring and
    address book. SWA is cross-browser and cross-platform, enabling
    it to work in Internet Explorer, Mozilla or Firefox on Windows,
    Linux, Macintosh and Unix desktops

  * Support for POP/IMAP email clients

  * GUI installation wizard and web-based administration console

  * Powerful scripting environment and full Linux command line access

  * Complete documentation

  * Community support through the Scalix Community Forum

  * Fee-based technical support from CustomTech and Scalix

  * Five free Scalix Enterprise Edition user licenses that allow
    Scalix Community Edition sites to experience the full
    functionality of Scalix Enterprise Edition, including
    full-function Outlook support, group calendaring and
    scheduling, public folders and advanced wireless email
    and PIM functionality

Community Edition is compatible with Scalix Enterprise Edition. To understand the differences between these editions and download the edition that is right for you please visit http://www.customtech.com.au or contact CustomTech on 02 9659 9590 or mailto:info@CustomTech.com.au for assistance.


Scalix 9.4 Released
===================
CustomTech is pleased to announce the availability of Scalix 9.4. Scalix customers on maintenance receive free access to the new release.

With this release, there are now three separate editions of Scalix:

  * Scalix Enterprise Edition 9.4 is the full-function, powerful
    email and calendaring version of Scalix for enterprises. If
    you have an agreement to receive software updates, the
    Enterprise Edition replaces older versions of Scalix (such as
    Scalix 9.2.1 and before).

  * Scalix Community Edition 9.4 is a free version of Scalix for
    cost-conscious organizations that do not require full enterprise
    email.

  * Scalix Academic Edition 9.4 is functionally equivalent to
    Enterprise Edition but includes special packaging and pricing
    for educational institutions.


Need Linux & UNIX experts?
==========================
Give us a call - we are ready to assist you with Linux & UNIX Professional Services:

 * Emergency support, regular maintenance and administration
 * Development and porting
 * Consulting
 * System Integration
 * Migration to Linux from Windows and UNIX
 * Migration to Scalix messaging from Microsoft Exchange,
   basic IMAP/POP, etc
 * Firewalls, VPN, web content filtering and antivirus.

Contact Custom Technology to request more information - mailto:info@customtech.com.au, visit the 'REQUESTS' page at http://www.customtech.com.au, or phone 02 9659 9590 today.



Regards,
The CustomTech Team!
mailto:info@CustomTech.com.au

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Custom Technology Australia Pty Ltd    3 Spring Street
Tel: +61-2-9659-9590                   Sydney, NSW, 2000
Fax: +61-2-9659-9510                   PO Box 514, Beecroft, NSW, 2119
mailto:info@CustomTech.com.au          Australia
http://www.CustomTech.com.au        
-----------------Business Class Linux & UNIX Solutions----------------




Please note I do not endorse these guys, and do not work for them, and have never dealt with them, I'm mearly pointing out that this still exists and is still waiting for the right developer to merge it into SME.

[CharlieBrady]

Please note I do not endorse these guys, and do not work for them, and have never dealt with them, I'm mearly pointing out that this still exists and is still waiting for the right developer to merge it into SME.

Does it have a license which allows modification and redistribution?

[Cyrus]

I shall give them a ring and try to find out for you!

[Cyrus]

Just got off the phone and it seems Scalix itself is closed source, even to the point where you are not allowed to redistribute it, have to legally download it from their site.

Guy I spoke to (Gordon) reckons just to give it a go and try to set it up, but there might be a lot of dependancy issues though. Also he would have no problem approaching Scalix to have the redistrubution and the modification rights changed so that it could be possible, but really giving it a go was the first suggestion.

Meanwhile back at the ranch my work is moving ahead with a full mircosoft exchange solution, so I wish you all the best, if you could get this going SME really would be a killer app for small/medium businesses.

[gordonr]

Just got off the phone and it seems Scalix itself is closed source, even to the point where you are not allowed to redistribute it, have to legally download it from their site.

Yes, I just looked at the license, and modifications and redistribution are not allowed.

Guy I spoke to (Gordon) reckons just to give it a go and try to set it up, but there might be a lot of dependancy issues though. Also he would have no problem approaching Scalix to have the redistrubution and the modification rights changed so that it could be possible, but really giving it a go was the first suggestion.

I have also contacted Gordon (not me...) to discuss options here. It's certainly worth investigating, at least as a downloadable option.

[gregswallow]

Here's some notes on someones install of Scalix on Centos 4:
http://www.scalix.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=516