Novell Documentation: GroupWise 6.5 - Cross-Platform Issues in the Post Office

Cross-Platform Issues in the Post Office

GroupWise is designed to function in a variety of environments. The GroupWise Windows client runs on the following platforms:

Windows 98
Windows NT/2000
Windows 3.1 (GroupWise 5.2 and below)
Macintosh (GroupWise 5.2 and below)
UNIX (GroupWise 5.2 and below)

The GroupWise Cross-Platform client runs on the following platforms:

Linux
Macintosh

In addition, GroupWise users can access their mailboxes without using a GroupWise client through the following applications:

GroupWise WebAccess (see WebAccess)
POP and IMAP clients such as Netscape* Mail, Eudora* Pro, Microsoft Outlook, and Entourage*
MAPI clients such as Microsoft Mail and cc:Mail*

Post offices can be located on the following platforms:

Novell^® NetWare^®
Windows NT/2000
Linux (GroupWise 6.5 for Linux)
UNIX (GroupWise 5.x)

The GroupWise agents can run on the following platforms:

Novell NetWare
Windows NT/2000
Linux (GroupWise 6.5 for Linux)
UNIX (GroupWise 5.x)

In general, GroupWise is most efficient if you match the agent platform with the network operating system, so the POA and the post office should be on the same platform, and the client should be on a compatible platform. Those with mixed networks might wonder what combinations are possible. You have several alternatives.

Client/Post Office Platform Independence through Browser Technology

If your GroupWise users want to access their mailboxes through POP3 or IMAP4 clients, it makes no difference what platform their post offices are located on. However, users are limited to the client capabilities of their POP3 or IMAP4 clients.

If you install GroupWise WebAccess on a Web server, GroupWise users can still access their mailboxes through their browsers and with more native GroupWise features available. See WebAccess for more information.

Client/Post Office Platform Independence through Client/Server Mode

The GroupWise 6.5 Windows client and Cross-Platform client require client/server access mode. With this configuration, it makes no difference what platform users' post offices are located on. The GroupWise client accesses the post office by communicating with the POA using TCP/IP, which is a platform-independent protocol.

POA/Post Office Platform Dependencies Because of Direct Access Requirements

The POA must have direct access to the post office directory. Therefore, the POA must be able to log in to the server where the post office is located and must be able to write to the databases and directories located in the post office.

Although the recommended configuration is for the POA and the post office to be on the same platform and preferably on the same server, some variation is possible. The table below summarizes the various combinations of POA and post office platforms and indicates which combinations work for direct access and which ones do not for GroupWise 6.x:

	NetWare POA	Windows POA	Linux POA	UNIX POA
Post Office on NetWare	Yes	Yes	Not supported²	Not supported²
Post Office on Windows	No¹	Yes	Yes	Not supported²
Post Office on Linux	Not supported²	Yes	Yes	Not supported²
Post Office on UNIX	Not supported²	Not supported²	Yes	Supported for GroupWise 5.x
Post Office on Macintosh	No³	No³	No³	No³

¹ The NetWare^® POA cannot service a post office on a Windows server because Windows does not support the required cross-platform connection.

² For these combinations, an NFS connection would be required, which is not a supported configuration for the agents. However, the agents often can work adequately in this configuration.

³ Post offices cannot be created on Macintosh computers.