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Integrated Messaging Services

At the heart of GroupWise’s unique design is the integration of E-mail, scheduling, calendaring, and task management services into a single application. The strategy behind this messaging service integration is twofold. First, integration of the messaging services for E-mail and scheduling eliminates duplication of back-end messaging resources, including user directories, message transport, and especially the message stores. Second, combining all of these services together under a single interface provides more consistent ease of use and reduced training costs for the end-users. GroupWise is designed to work as seamlessly in heterogeneous computing environments as in those organizations that have standardized on a single OS platform.

Bringing the messaging system to desktop applications is a major objective within the Novell electronic messaging strategy. E-mail APIs (e.g., MAPI and CMC) allow desktop applications such as word processors and spreadsheet programs to make calls directly into an API-compliant E-mail system. In other words, the desktop application has become mail-enabled. For end-users, mail-enabling means the ability to mail the documents, spreadsheets, or graphics they are working on without leaving their current applications. GroupWise brings more than just E-mail functions to the desktop application. GroupWise can message-enable an application by bringing the combined ability of E-mail, calendaring, scheduling, and task management into the applications that people use most. Message-enabling means attaching an agenda to a meeting request, routing a document for review, and checking the calendar, all without leaving the applications where users do most of their work. Message-enabling means bringing the GroupWise collaborative services (e.g., workflow routing, status tracking, and task management) to desktop applications. GroupWise does not to force people into an unfamiliar work environment, but adds messaging ability to the applications they currently use.

In addition to message-enabling applications, GroupWise provides a messaging system on which message-aware applications can be built. Although a message-enabled application uses the messaging system client to perform messaging functions, a message-aware application can directly use the message transport, user directory, and message store of the underlying messaging system. GroupWise is open enough to support the message-aware applications of the future. As organizations move up to the advanced messaging capabilities of GroupWise, they must be able to provide interoperability with existing E-mail systems (e.g., Lotus cc:Mail, NetWare Global MHS, or IBM OfficeVision/VM), including both message exchange and directory synchronization.

GroupWise gateways also provide connectivity to public and standards-based messaging systems (e.g., X.400 and SMTP/MIME) for communication outside the organization. GroupWise is designed to fit seamlessly into an organization’s overall messaging system and to work well with all of its components.

As today’s organizations become more mobile, people want the flexibility of not being tied down to the office workstation. An important part of the Novell GroupWare strategy is to offer the widest range of mobile computing options, giving people the freedom to access their messages and information from whatever device best suits their needs. Laptop computers, telephones, and pagers can all act as interfaces to the GroupWise messaging system.

Directory synchronization is completely automatic and an integral component of the administration program. GroupWise also supports directory exchange (import/export) with major network directories from within the administration program, as well as custom directory exchange capabilities through the GroupWise API Gateway. Administration and maintenance typically constitute a large portion of the overall cost of operating a messaging system. As additional improvements in administration and management services are developed, all GroupWare products will eventually be supported by the same administration and management platform.

GroupWise 4.1 Electronic Messaging Architecture

This section provides a technical overview of the core engine technology and administration services that bring the GroupWise 4.1 electronic messaging system to life. Before moving on to these subjects, however, it is important to understand the basic components of the GroupWise messaging system. GroupWise is a store and forward-based messaging system. The major message handling and administrative components within the GroupWise system are the client, the post office, the Message Server, the gateways, and the domain.

The client is the end-user application. The Post Office is the directory structure on a network file server that provides the message storage area for a specific group of users. The message server is the message transport agent (MTA) within the GroupWise system that provides routing services among post offices and through gateways. The gateway is the connection and translation software for communicating between GroupWise and other messaging systems. The domain is the basic administration unit consisting of the post offices and gateways directly serviced by a message server (see Exhibit 5-4-2).

The GroupWise core engine (shared code) technology lies at the heart of the GroupWise system’s simple yet powerful architecture. All GroupWise clients and message servers share the same base code or core engine. The engine, which defines the core messaging functional ability and services, was created using object-oriented design and coding methods. The core engine’s object-oriented design provides unique benefits at several levels throughout the GroupWise messaging system architecture.


Exhibit 5-4-2.  GroupWise Message Server MTA.

All GroupWise message types, including mail messages, calendar items, meeting requests, and task assignments, are defined within the core engine. In other words, all GroupWise clients and message servers can handle multiple message types, making GroupWise able to truly combine E-mail, calendaring, scheduling, and task management into the same LAN-based messaging system. Not only are the various message types defined within the engine, but so are the GroupWise messaging services (e.g., folders, rules, workflow routing, and file attachments). What this means is that all message types share the same functional ability. Some of the unique functions shared by all message types in GroupWise include the following:

  Rules-based message management applies to meeting requests, task assignments, and calendar notes as well as mail messages.
  Messages of all types are stored in the same folder structure.
  Workflow routing applies to both mail messages and task assignments.
  Files can be attached to any message type, including meeting requests and task assignments.

For example, the cross-message rules function allows users to auto-forward mail and auto-delegate meetings and tasks while they are out of the office.


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