9.1 Vibe Desktop Application for Windows and Mac

The Vibe desktop lets users synchronize files on the Vibe server with their computer’s local file system. Changes made to local copies are synchronized with the server, and changes made by others to files on the server are synchronized with local copies.

As a Vibe administrator, you must enable file synchronization for the Vibe Desktop in order for users to take advantage of this functionality. There are also optional administrative procedures that you might want to perform when configuring Vibe Desktop.

For more information about Vibe Desktop usage, see the Vibe Desktop for Windows Quick Start and the Vibe Desktop for Mac Quick Start.

To enable Vibe Desktop usage, complete the instructions in the following sections:

9.1.1 Providing Access to the Vibe Desktop Application

To provide users with download access to the Vibe Desktop Application software, you must:

Follow the instructions in Distributing File-Access Applications to Users.
Complete the applicable steps in the sections that follow.

9.1.2 Vibe Desktop—Server Configuration

Vibe Desktop usage is not enabled by default.

You must enable usage (and optionally specify certain limits) as explained in the following sections:

Configuring the Vibe Desktop Application for All Users

To enable this functionality for the Vibe site:

In Vibe, click your linked name in the upper right corner of the page, then click the Administration Console icon .
Under System, click Desktop Application.
In the Configure Desktop Application dialog box, specify the following information:

Access Vibe: lets users access the Vibe site through the Vibe desktop application.

NOTE:Depending on the amount of anticipated load that the Vibe desktop application will put on your Vibe system, you might want to make the application available to users in a staged process.

Allowing access to the Vibe site through the Vibe desktop application can be changed on a per-user basis, as described in Configuring Vibe Desktop for Individual Users and Groups.

Cache the user’s password: lets users enable the Remember password option on the Account Information page in the Vibe Console.

This option can be changed on a per-user basis, as described in Configuring Vibe Desktop for Individual Users and Groups.

Be deployed: Select this option to make the Vibe desktop application available to users. If this option is selected, users can download the Vibe desktop application as described in Downloading and Installing Vibe Desktop in the Vibe Desktop Quick Start for Windows or the Vibe Desktop Quick Start for Mac. If this option is not selected, the link to download the Vibe desktop application is not visible to users.

NOTE:You might want to leave the Be deployed option deselected if you plan to deploy Vibe Desktop to user workstations by using client management software such as ZENworks. The .msi file is available to you if you are planning to deploy Vibe Desktop by using ZENworks.

For more information about how to deploy Vibe by using the .msi file, see Vibe Desktop—Windows Configuration.

Auto-update URL: Specify the HTTP server where the applications download page is located. This is also where Vibe Desktop can check for Vibe Desktop updates.

You can configure your Vibe server to be the HTTP server that provides auto-update information, or you can configure a separate web server to provide the auto-update information.

If you configure the Vibe server for this purpose, the auto-update URL is https://vibe_hostname:8443/downloads.

For information about how to set up a separate web server to deploy the application, see Providing Application Downloads from a Non-Vibe Web Server. Select this option if your Vibe system is clustered or fronted by an L4 or L10 switch.

If this option is selected, the available field must be populated with the URL of the web server that you configure for deploying the desktop application.

Synchronization every xx Minutes: Specify the interval (in minutes) for how often the Vibe Desktop checks Vibe for changes to files. The default is every 15 minutes. This means that 15 minutes after one synchronization ends, another begins. This lets you control the amount of load Vibe Desktop puts on the Vibe server.

Changes made in the desktop application are automatically synchronized to the server regardless of this setting.

Maximum file size that can be synchronized: Specify the maximum file size (in MB) that can be synchronized between the Vibe desktop application and the Vibe server.
Click OK.

Users need to download, install, and configure Vibe Desktop on their personal computers. For more information, see the Vibe Desktop Quick Start for Windows or the Vibe Desktop Quick Start for Mac.

Configuring Vibe Desktop for Individual Users and Groups

Individual user and group settings override global settings. This section describes how to customize the desktop application experience for individual users and groups on your Vibe system.

To make the desktop application available to only a subset of users in your system, configure the application for all users, as described in Configuring the Vibe Desktop Application for All Users, then restrict access to the users and groups who should not have access to the application, as described in this section.

In Vibe, click the admin link in the upper-right corner of the page, then click the Administration Console icon .
Under Management, click Users.

The Manage Users page is displayed.
Select the check boxes next to the names of the users or groups for whom you want to configure Vibe Desktop, then click More > Desktop Application Settings.

The Configure Desktop Application page is displayed.
To change the desktop application settings for the selected users to be different from the global settings, select Use user settings to allow the desktop application to, then choose from the following options:

Access Vibe: lets users access the Vibe site through the Vibe desktop application.

Cache the user’s password: lets users enable the Remember password option on the Account Information page in the Vibe Console.
Click OK.

If you have set individual and group settings for Vibe Desktop, you can change those settings back to the global settings for the individual users and groups.

In Vibe, click the admin link in the upper-right corner of the page, then click the Administration Console icon .
Under Management, click User Accounts.

The Manage Users page is displayed.
Select the check boxes next to the names of the users or groups for whom you want to configure Vibe Desktop, then click More > Desktop Application Settings.

The Configure Desktop Application page is displayed.
To change the desktop application settings back to the global settings for the selected users, select Use global settings.
Click OK.

Configuring the Maximum File Size Limit for Vibe Desktop

By default, Vibe Desktop does not upload or download any file that exceeds 1 GB.

If a file size limit has already been set for uploading files to the Vibe site (as described in Setting a File Upload Size Limit for Individual Users and Groups), whichever limit is more restrictive is honored by Vibe Desktop.

For example, if you set a file size limit in Vibe of 500 MB and the maximum file size limit for Vibe Desktop is set at 2 GB, users cannot upload files bigger than 500 MB to the Vibe site either by accessing the Vibe site directly or by uploading files through Vibe Desktop.

Configuring the Maximum File Size Limit for Uploading Files

To restrict the size of files that are uploaded to the Vibe site outside of Vibe Desktop (such as by accessing Vibe through a browser, through the Vibe Add-in, or through WebDAV), as well as through Vibe Desktop (while keeping the default 1 GB file size limit for files that are downloaded through Vibe Desktop), use the Vibe administration console to modify this setting, as described in Managing the File Upload Size Limit.

Configuring the Maximum File Size Limit for Uploading and Downloading Files

You can increase or decrease the file size limit for files that are both uploaded and downloaded to and from the Vibe site through Vibe Desktop.

Modifying the property as described in this section does not affect a user’s ability to upload documents to Vibe outside of Vibe Desktop (such as by accessing Vibe through a browser, through the Vibe Add-in, or through WebDAV).

Change to the following directory:

Linux:	/opt/novell/teaming/apache-tomcat/ webapps/ssf/WEB-INF/classes/config
Windows:	c:\Program Files\Novell\Teaming\apache-tomcat\ webapps\ssf\WEB-INF\classes\config

Make a backup copy of the ssf-ext.properties file, which is located in the same directory as the ssf.properties file.
Open the ssf.properties file in a text editor.
Search for the following line:
```
fsa.max.file.size=
```
Open the ssf-ext.properties file in a text editor.
Copy the fsa.max.file.size= line from the ssf.properties file to the bottom of the ssf-ext.properties file.
Change the value of this property to the file size (in bytes) that represents the maximum file size that you want Vibe Desktop to upload to the Vibe site and download from the Vibe site. For example, if you want Vibe Desktop to be able to upload and download only 500 MB files, the line would read fsa.max.file.size=536870912.
Save and close the ssf-ext.properties file.
Close the ssf.properties file without saving it.
Stop and restart Vibe.

9.1.3 Vibe Desktop—Windows Configuration

Preparing Workstations for Client-Management Software

You can manage the Vibe desktop application on users’ workstations with client-management software such as ZENworks.

When following the instructions in this section, you must use the .msi file, which is bundled in the MicroFocusVibe-combo-4.0.x.tgz file, and is available at the Novell Downloads site.

If you use the .msi file to distribute the Vibe desktop application to user workstations, you need to install the following items to each user workstation, independent of the Vibe software:

Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 (Applies to 64-bit Windows and Mac workstations.)

You can download Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 from the Microsoft .NET Downloads page.
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable Package (Applies to all workstations)

You can download the redistributable package from the Microsoft Download Center.

NOTE:The ability to manage the Vibe desktop application is available only with Vibe desktop 1.0.2 and later.

Customizing the Installation for the Vibe Desktop Application

You can customize the installation process of the Vibe desktop application for your organization in the following ways:

Configure default values for each installation option of the Vibe desktop application. (Users can change these default values when configuring the Vibe desktop application.)
Auto-configure all values for each installation option of the Vibe desktop application. (Users specify only their user name and password when configuring the Vibe desktop application; users cannot change the default values during initial configuration.)
Disallow users from modifying configuration options in the Vibe desktop application. (Users cannot change the default values during initial configuration, and cannot modify the values via the Vibe console after initial configuration.)

NOTE:This does not prevent users from manually modifying configuration settings in the registry or file system.

The following sections describe how to make these customizations.

Configuring Default Values

You can configure the default values for each installation option of the Vibe desktop application. Users can change these default values when configuring the Vibe desktop application.

You accomplish this on Windows by creating registry values, and on Mac by adding properties to the application’s Info.plist file.

Windows: Access the following location where you will create registry values:

\\HKLM\Software\Novell\Vibe

Mac: Access the Info.plist file where you will add properties. This file is usually in the following location:

/Applications/Novell Vibe/Contents/Info.plist

Create Windows registry values and add properties to the Info.plist file for the values for which you want to configure defaults.

The following table displays the available options for configuring default values.

Table 9-1 Default Value Configuration Options

Windows Registry Value Name	Value Type	Mac Property Name	Value Type	Supports Env Variables	Default Value
Default Server URL	REG_SZ	VibeDefaultServerURL	string	No	https://
Default Username	REG_SZ	VibeDefaultUsername	string	Yes	%USERNAME% or $USER
Default Account Name	REG_SZ	VibeDefaultAccountName	string	No	Hostname in server URL
Default Remember Password	REG_SZ (“true” or “false”)	VibeDefaultRememberPassword	<true/> or <false/>	No	false
Default Sync Dir	REG_SZ	VibeDefaultSyncDir	string	Yes	%USERNAME%\Vibe or $USER\Vibe
Default Start On Login	REG_SZ (“true” or “false”)	VibeDefaultStartOnLogin	<true/> or <false/>	No	true
Default Folder List	REG_MULTI_SZ	VibeDefaultFolderList	Array of strings	No	My Files Shared with Me

Enabling Auto-Configuration

After you have configured default values for the Vibe desktop application installation, you can enable auto-configuration. When auto-configuration is enabled, users cannot change the default values during initial configuration. (Users specify only their user name and password when configuring the Vibe desktop application.)

You accomplish this on Windows by creating registry values, and on Mac by adding properties to the application’s Info.plist file.

Windows: Access the following location where you will create registry values:

\\HKLM\Software\Novell\Vibe

Mac: Access the Info.plist file where you will add properties. This file is usually in the following location:

/Applications/Novell Vibe/Contents/Info.plist

Create Windows registry values and add properties to the Info.plist file for the values for which you want to configure defaults.

The following table displays the available options for auto-configuration.

Table 9-2 Auto-Configuration Options

Windows Registry Value Name	Value Type	Mac Property Name	Value Type	Supports Env Variables	Default Value
Auto Configure	REG_SZ (“true” or “false”)	VibeAutoConfigure	<true/> or <false/>	No	false

Disallowing User Configuration

You can disallow users from modifying configuration options in the Vibe desktop application. This means that users cannot change the default values during initial configuration, and they cannot modify the values via the Vibe console after initial configuration.

NOTE:This does not prevent users from manually modifying configuration settings in the registry or file system.

You accomplish this on Windows by creating registry values, and on Mac by adding properties to the application’s Info.plist file.

Windows: Access the following location where you will create registry values:

\\HKLM\Software\Novell\Vibe

Mac: Access the Info.plist file where you will add properties. This file is usually in the following location:

/Applications/Novell Vibe/Contents/Info.plist

Create Windows registry values and add properties to the Info.plist file for the values for which you want to configure defaults.

The following table displays the available options for disallowing user configuration.

Table 9-3 Disallow User Configuration Options

Windows Registry Value Name	Value Type	Mac Property Name	Value Type	Supports Env Variables	Default Value
Allow User Configuration	REG_SZ (“true” or “false”)	VibeAllowUserConfiguration	<true/> or <false/>	No	true

Modifying the Vibe Desktop Configuration

If you have configured the Vibe desktop application with auto-configuration (as described in Enabling Auto-Configuration), you can modify the configuration settings:

Change the options in the registry or .plist file, then restart the Vibe desktop application.

When the Vibe desktop application starts, it detects that the default settings have changed and applies the new settings.

NOTE:The one exception is that the synchronization directory cannot be changed after the Vibe desktop application has been configured.

Controlling Windows Explorer Restart

The Vibe desktop application for Windows includes overlay icons that do not appear until Windows Explorer is restarted. In previous versions of the Vibe desktop application, the Windows .msi always restarted Windows Explorer during the installation (except when using the No UI option). Because restarting Explorer might not always be desirable, the Vibe desktop application lets you override the default.

The Windows installer supports four basic user interface levels for installing MSI files:

No UI (“msiexec /qn”)

Windows Explorer is never restarted when using this option.
Basic UI (“msiexec /qb”)
Reduced UI (“msiexec /qr”)
Full UI (“msiexec /qf” or simply “msiexec”, since this is the default)

For example, use the following command to install the MSI with basic UI and without restarting Windows Explorer:

msiexec /qb /i NovellVibe-version.msi RESTARTEXPLORER=no

Integrating Windows Authentication with Vibe Desktop and the Vibe Add-In

If your Vibe server is configured with Integrated Windows Authentication, Vibe Desktop cannot synchronize files on your Vibe site because of a port conflict.

To work around this issue:

Configure Vibe Desktop and the Vibe Add-in to point directly to Tomcat’s secure port (by bypassing port 80 and port 443) in the Vibe Desktop and Vibe Add-in installation programs.

For more information about configuring Windows Authentication for your Vibe site, see Configuring Single Sign-On with Internet Information Services for Windows in the OpenText Vibe 4.0.8 Installation Guide.

Configuring Vibe Desktop to Access Your Vibe Site (Windows)

If you use application management software, such as ZENworks, to deploy Vibe Desktop to user workstations, you can also prepopulate Vibe Desktop with your organization’s Vibe server URL. This saves users from specifying the Vibe server URL when they are configuring Vibe Desktop on their individual workstations.

To configure Vibe Desktop in this way, you must accomplish the tasks in either of the following sections as part of the deployment process of Vibe Desktop to user workstations with your application management software:

Setting the VIBEURL Windows Installer Property

You can prepopulate Vibe Desktop with the URL of your organization’s Vibe server by specifying the VIBEURL Windows Installer property when Vibe Desktop is installed.

The exact steps for specifying the Windows Installer property differ depending on the application management software you are using to deploy Vibe Desktop to user workstations; however, the following command illustrates how to perform a silent installation of Vibe Desktop and prepopulate Vibe Desktop with the URL of your organization’s Vibe server:

msiexec /i NovellVibeDesktop.msi /quiet VIBEURL=https://vibe.mycompany.com

Writing the Vibe Server URL to the Registry

You can prepopulate Vibe Desktop with the URL of your organization’s Vibe server by writing the Vibe server URL directly to the registry after Vibe Desktop is installed.

The exact steps for writing the Vibe server URL to the registry differ depending on the application management software you are using to deploy Vibe Desktop to user workstations; however, in \\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Novell\Vibe Desktop you must set the Default Server URL string value to your organization’s Vibe server URL.

9.1.4 Load Balancing Vibe Desktop and the Vibe Add-In for MS Office Traffic

NOTE:Load balancing instructions for Vibe Desktop and the Vibe Add-in for MS Office are included together because of overlaps. This does no imply, however, that the two must be offered or used together.

Vibe Desktop and Vibe Add-in for MS Office can cause a large amount of traffic on the Vibe servers. To prevent the Vibe Desktop and the Vibe Add-in synchronization process or the Vibe site from becoming slow, you can distribute Vibe Desktop and Vibe Add-in traffic among dedicated Vibe servers with your load balancer or reverse proxy server.

For example, if you have a Vibe installation with five servers, you could dedicate one server to handle Vibe Desktop traffic, one server to handle Vibe Add-in traffic, and use the remaining three servers to serve the main Vibe web application. This configuration prevents an unusual spike in Vibe Desktop traffic or Vibe Add-in traffic from impacting the Vibe site.

You can distribute Vibe Desktop traffic and Vibe Add-in traffic differently, depending on whether you want traffic from all applications (not just Vibe Desktop and Vibe Add-in) that are accessing Vibe to be handled in the same way, or whether you want Vibe Desktop traffic and Vibe Add-in traffic to be handled independently from each other and from other applications that are accessing Vibe.

Distributing Vibe Desktop Traffic Separately from Other Applications

You can configure your load balancer or reverse proxy server to distribute Vibe Desktop synchronization traffic among multiple Vibe servers. Vibe Desktop traffic is independent of traffic from other applications that are accessing Vibe.

NOTE:Your load balancer or reverse proxy server must be able to make routing decisions based on the request headers.

Configure your load balancer or reverse proxy server to use the user agent request header. For Vibe Desktop, the request header begins with NovellVibeDesktop. For example: User-Agent: NovellVibeDesktop/1.0 (Windows NT 6.1; Python/2.7.0; en_US) suds/0.4.

For specific information on how to configure the load balancer or reverse proxy server, see Load Balancer and Reverse Proxy Server Configuration.

Distributing Vibe Add-In Traffic Separately from Other Applications

You can configure your load balancer or reverse proxy server to distribute Vibe Add-in synchronization traffic among multiple Vibe servers. Vibe Add-in traffic is independent of traffic from other applications that are accessing Vibe.

NOTE:Your load balancer or reverse proxy server must be able to make routing decisions based on the request headers.

Configure your load balancer or reverse proxy server to use the user agent request header. For Vibe Add-in, the request header begins with NovellVibeDesktop. For example: User-Agent: NovellVibeMsoAddin/1.0 (Windows NT 6.1.7601.65536; .NET Framework 4.0.30319.239; en_US)

For specific information on how to configure the load balancer or reverse proxy server, see Load Balancer and Reverse Proxy Server Configuration.

Distributing Vibe Desktop and Vibe Add-In Traffic in Conjunction with Other Applications

You can configure your load balancer or reverse proxy server to distribute Vibe Desktop and Vibe Add-in synchronization traffic (along with traffic coming from all other applications that use the Vibe web service interface) among multiple Vibe servers.

Examples of other applications that use the Vibe web service interface are:

GroupWise client SOAP requests
All other SOAP requests from third-party applications

NOTE:Your load balancer or reverse proxy server must be able to make routing decisions based on the HTTP URL path.

Configure your load balancer or reverse proxy server to send all Vibe Desktop HTTP requests (designated by the following paths /ssf/ws/TeamingServiceV1 and /rest/*) to one pool of Vibe servers.

All other requests are sent to another pool of Vibe servers.

For specific information on how to configure the load balancer or reverse proxy server, see Load Balancer and Reverse Proxy Server Configuration.

Load Balancer and Reverse Proxy Server Configuration

For information on how to configure a load balancer for your Vibe site, see any of the following sections, depending on the type of load balancer you want to use:

For information on how to configure a reverse-proxy server for your Vibe site, see Configuring Single Sign-On with Novell Access Manager in the OpenText Vibe 4.0.8 Installation Guide.