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Srinivasa Ragavan | 19 Nov 17:46
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New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

Hi guys,

I would like to propose, evolution-mapi a new born connector for
Evolution to connect to MS Exchange 2007. But being a connector around
the MAPI protocol, it practically can connect to any version of
Microsoft Exchange (5.5, 2000, 2003 and 2007).

It has been under development for more than a year under a branch
EXCHANGE_MAPI_BRANCH in evolution and evolution-data-server project.

http://svn.gnome.org/svn/evolution-data-server/branches/EXCHANGE_MAPI_BRANCH 
http://svn.gnome.org/svn/evolution-/branches/EXCHANGE_MAPI_BRANCH 

Its now licensed as LGPLv2 or LGPLv3.

We just created a new svn project for the connector and Johnny sent out
a mail on evolution-hackers and users list about the new project. It is
now hosted under GNOME Svn under as evolution-mapi.

http://svn.gnome.org/svn/evolution-mapi

We have requested to create a new bugzilla component for Evolution-mapi
in GNOME Bugzilla.

We have now basic support to create account, folder, send/receive mails,
calendar/meeting and contacts. Its has bugs, and doesn't have feature
parity with the evolution-exchange (WebDAV based connector). But we
gonna spend make it the default connector in the longer term, and would
have more features than the WebDAV based connector.
(Continue reading)

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Martin Meyer | 19 Nov 18:04

Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

How much (if any) of Samba 4 will be needed to run this new connector?
I was just trying (unsuccessfully) to compiler trunk on my Intrepid
system and I had to install several libraries that seemed very
samba4-ish. Are any of those maybe just build dependencies and not
runtime ones?

I wasn't able to get trunk to compile at this time, but I'm excited by
the possibility of a working connector to Exchange 2007. Some
questions:

* Is it possible to have both the new libmapi-based connector and the
old evolution-exchange connector installed simultaneously? Is it easy
to figure out which one you're using, in case one or the other is
misbehaving and you want to switch?
* Is there a feature comparison matrix available so we can see exactly
what the new one doesn't do yet?
* How many and which non-gnome external libraries will a packaged
version depend on?
* Are you proposing for desktop or external dependency?

I *really* appreciate all the work that's gone into this new
connector. I can't wait to try it out!

Martin

On Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 11:49 AM, Srinivasa Ragavan <sragavan <at> novell.com> wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> I would like to propose, evolution-mapi a new born connector for
> Evolution to connect to MS Exchange 2007. But being a connector around
(Continue reading)

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Srinivasa Ragavan | 20 Nov 03:05
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Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

On Wed, 2008-11-19 at 12:04 -0500, Martin Meyer wrote:
> How much (if any) of Samba 4 will be needed to run this new connector?
> I was just trying (unsuccessfully) to compiler trunk on my Intrepid
> system and I had to install several libraries that seemed very
> samba4-ish. Are any of those maybe just build dependencies and not
> runtime ones?

We don't need complete Samba4. We have a few list of libraries that we
libmapi needs from Samba4. I don't have it handy, but we did made a
list, during packaging for OpenSUSE, which I should be able to find out
and share.
> 
> I wasn't able to get trunk to compile at this time, but I'm excited by
> the possibility of a working connector to Exchange 2007. Some
> questions:
> 
> * Is it possible to have both the new libmapi-based connector and the
> old evolution-exchange connector installed simultaneously? Is it easy
> to figure out which one you're using, in case one or the other is
> misbehaving and you want to switch?

Its all independent. You can have both installed and you can use both
simultaneously.

> * Is there a feature comparison matrix available so we can see exactly
> what the new one doesn't do yet?
Password Expiry, Send Options, Out-of-Office, some of the plugin
features aren't implemented. We now are into core
mail/calendar/contacts. We still would be having LDAP based GAL for some
time and would need to re-implement GAL using libmapi/NSPI which should
(Continue reading)

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Johnny Jacob | 20 Nov 07:16
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Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

On Thu, 2008-11-20 at 07:35 +0530, Srinivasa Ragavan wrote:
> On Wed, 2008-11-19 at 12:04 -0500, Martin Meyer wrote:
> > How much (if any) of Samba 4 will be needed to run this new connector?
> > I was just trying (unsuccessfully) to compiler trunk on my Intrepid
> > system and I had to install several libraries that seemed very
> > samba4-ish. Are any of those maybe just build dependencies and not
> > runtime ones?
> 
> We don't need complete Samba4. We have a few list of libraries that we
> libmapi needs from Samba4. I don't have it handy, but we did made a
> list, during packaging for OpenSUSE, which I should be able to find out
> and share.

dcerpc
talloc
gensec
ldb
ndr
samba-hostconfig

> > 
> > I wasn't able to get trunk to compile at this time, 

http://www.go-evolution.org/MAPI_FAQ#Compiling_from_source may help.

> but I'm excited by
> > the possibility of a working connector to Exchange 2007. Some
> > questions:
> > 
> > * Is it possible to have both the new libmapi-based connector and the
(Continue reading)

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Murray Cumming | 20 Nov 10:25

Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

On Thu, 2008-11-20 at 07:35 +0530, Srinivasa Ragavan wrote:
> > * Is there a feature comparison matrix available so we can see
> exactly
> > what the new one doesn't do yet?
> Password Expiry, Send Options, Out-of-Office, some of the plugin
> features aren't implemented. We now are into core
> mail/calendar/contacts. We still would be having LDAP based GAL for
> some
> time and would need to re-implement GAL using libmapi/NSPI which
> should
> be awesome.

Why assume that we know what GAL is? Can you tell us what the difference
is as seen by actual users?

Is there anything that the new one does that the old one doesn't do?

--

-- 
Murray Cumming
murrayc <at> murrayc.com
www.murrayc.com
www.openismus.com
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Srinivasa Ragavan | 20 Nov 13:04
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Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

On Thu, 2008-11-20 at 10:25 +0100, Murray Cumming wrote:
> On Thu, 2008-11-20 at 07:35 +0530, Srinivasa Ragavan wrote:
> > > * Is there a feature comparison matrix available so we can see
> > exactly
> > > what the new one doesn't do yet?
> > Password Expiry, Send Options, Out-of-Office, some of the plugin
> > features aren't implemented. We now are into core
> > mail/calendar/contacts. We still would be having LDAP based GAL for
> > some
> > time and would need to re-implement GAL using libmapi/NSPI which
> > should
> > be awesome.
> 
> Why assume that we know what GAL is? Can you tell us what the difference
> is as seen by actual users?

GAL is Global Address List. This would be the system addressbook of
Exchange. Current provider does via LDAP, which is very slow, and
doesn't have stuffs like time based delta downloads.

> 
> Is there anything that the new one does that the old one doesn't do?
> 

The new one can do much more, but we haven't done much of that stuff.
NSPI based GAL is a big thing. Kerberos/Smartcard authentication support
should be much easier to do. Push email is possible now. But yeah, all
these are yet to be implemented. We are now pretty much focusing on
stability/performance, feature parity with the old provider. But these
should be on the cards anytime, once we are in some good shape.
(Continue reading)

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Ross Burton | 20 Nov 14:45
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Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

On Thu, 2008-11-20 at 17:34 +0530, Srinivasa Ragavan wrote:
> > Is there anything that the new one does that the old one doesn't do?
> > 
> 
> The new one can do much more, but we haven't done much of that stuff.
> NSPI based GAL is a big thing. Kerberos/Smartcard authentication support
> should be much easier to do. Push email is possible now. But yeah, all
> these are yet to be implemented. We are now pretty much focusing on
> stability/performance, feature parity with the old provider. But these
> should be on the cards anytime, once we are in some good shape.

It also works with the current Exchange version, where the old code
doesn't. 

Ross
--

-- 
Ross Burton                                 mail: ross <at> burtonini.com
                                          jabber: ross <at> burtonini.com
                                           www: http://burtonini.com

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Srinivasa Ragavan | 20 Nov 19:03
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Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

On Thu, 2008-11-20 at 13:45 +0000, Ross Burton wrote:
> On Thu, 2008-11-20 at 17:34 +0530, Srinivasa Ragavan wrote:
> > > Is there anything that the new one does that the old one doesn't do?
> > > 
> > 
> > The new one can do much more, but we haven't done much of that stuff.
> > NSPI based GAL is a big thing. Kerberos/Smartcard authentication support
> > should be much easier to do. Push email is possible now. But yeah, all
> > these are yet to be implemented. We are now pretty much focusing on
> > stability/performance, feature parity with the old provider. But these
> > should be on the cards anytime, once we are in some good shape.
> 
> It also works with the current Exchange version, where the old code
> doesn't. 

Thanks Ross for the starter. This connector can work against Exchange
5.5 onwards till Exchange 2007. The old one works only with Exchange
2000 & Exchange 2007.

-Srini
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Suman Manjunath | 20 Nov 19:36

Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

On Thu, Nov 20, 2008 at 11:33 PM, Srinivasa Ragavan <sragavan <at> novell.com> wrote:
> Thanks Ross for the starter. This connector can work against Exchange
> 5.5 onwards till Exchange 2007. The old one works only with Exchange
> 2000 & Exchange 2007.

The old one works only with Exchange 2000 & Exchange 2003 :)

-Suman

>
> -Srini
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Srinivasa Ragavan | 21 Nov 04:48
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Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

On Fri, 2008-11-21 at 00:06 +0530, Suman Manjunath wrote:
> On Thu, Nov 20, 2008 at 11:33 PM, Srinivasa Ragavan <sragavan <at> novell.com> wrote:
> > Thanks Ross for the starter. This connector can work against Exchange
> > 5.5 onwards till Exchange 2007. The old one works only with Exchange
> > 2000 & Exchange 2007.
> 
> The old one works only with Exchange 2000 & Exchange 2003 :)
That was a typo, thanks Suman.

-Srini.
> 
> -Suman
> 
> >
> > -Srini
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Josselin Mouette | 21 Nov 09:22
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Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

Le vendredi 21 novembre 2008 à 00:06 +0530, Suman Manjunath a écrit :
> On Thu, Nov 20, 2008 at 11:33 PM, Srinivasa Ragavan <sragavan <at> novell.com> wrote:
> > Thanks Ross for the starter. This connector can work against Exchange
> > 5.5 onwards till Exchange 2007. The old one works only with Exchange
> > 2000 & Exchange 2007.
> 
> The old one works only with Exchange 2000 & Exchange 2003 :)

However there are some setups where MAPI is not available at all, and
even Outlook clients use the HTTP interface. It would be nice if both
connectors could be merged – and the webdav interface updated for
Exchange 2007 – so that this possibility is not lost.

Cheers,
--

-- 
 .''`.
: :' :      We are debian.org. Lower your prices, surrender your code.
`. `'       We will add your hardware and software distinctiveness to
  `-        our own. Resistance is futile.

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Johnny Jacob | 21 Nov 12:13
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Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

On Fri, 2008-11-21 at 09:22 +0100, Josselin Mouette wrote:
> Le vendredi 21 novembre 2008 à 00:06 +0530, Suman Manjunath a écrit :
> > On Thu, Nov 20, 2008 at 11:33 PM, Srinivasa Ragavan <sragavan <at> novell.com> wrote:
> > > Thanks Ross for the starter. This connector can work against Exchange
> > > 5.5 onwards till Exchange 2007. The old one works only with Exchange
> > > 2000 & Exchange 2007.
> > 
> > The old one works only with Exchange 2000 & Exchange 2003 :)
> 
> However there are some setups where MAPI is not available at all, and
> even Outlook clients use the HTTP interface. It would be nice if both
> connectors could be merged – and the webdav interface updated for
> Exchange 2007 – so that this possibility is not lost.

webdav is not available on Exchange 2007.

- Johnny

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Josselin Mouette | 21 Nov 17:28
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Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

Le vendredi 21 novembre 2008 à 16:43 +0530, Johnny Jacob a écrit :
> > However there are some setups where MAPI is not available at all, and
> > even Outlook clients use the HTTP interface. It would be nice if both
> > connectors could be merged – and the webdav interface updated for
> > Exchange 2007 – so that this possibility is not lost.
> 
> webdav is not available on Exchange 2007.

Oh, I see. I guess that settles the medium-term future of the webdav
connector.

--

-- 
 .''`.
: :' :      We are debian.org. Lower your prices, surrender your code.
`. `'       We will add your hardware and software distinctiveness to
  `-        our own. Resistance is futile.

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Ghee Teo | 20 Nov 17:21
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Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

Srinivasa Ragavan wrote:
> On Wed, 2008-11-19 at 12:04 -0500, Martin Meyer wrote:
>   
>> How much (if any) of Samba 4 will be needed to run this new connector?
>> I was just trying (unsuccessfully) to compiler trunk on my Intrepid
>> system and I had to install several libraries that seemed very
>> samba4-ish. Are any of those maybe just build dependencies and not
>> runtime ones?
>>     
>
> We don't need complete Samba4. We have a few list of libraries that we
> libmapi needs from Samba4. I don't have it handy, but we did made a
> list, during packaging for OpenSUSE, which I should be able to find out
> and share.
What happen to those distro that doesn't deliver Samba 4. Will evolution 
fail:
- to compile?
- to run?
or is this configurable by options at compile time? at run time?

-Ghee
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Srinivasa Ragavan | 20 Nov 19:02
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Re: New module proposal for GNOME 2.26: evolution-mapi

On Thu, 2008-11-20 at 16:21 +0000, Ghee Teo wrote:
> Srinivasa Ragavan wrote:
> > On Wed, 2008-11-19 at 12:04 -0500, Martin Meyer wrote:
> >   
> >> How much (if any) of Samba 4 will be needed to run this new connector?
> >> I was just trying (unsuccessfully) to compiler trunk on my Intrepid
> >> system and I had to install several libraries that seemed very
> >> samba4-ish. Are any of those maybe just build dependencies and not
> >> runtime ones?
> >>     
> >
> > We don't need complete Samba4. We have a few list of libraries that we
> > libmapi needs from Samba4. I don't have it handy, but we did made a
> > list, during packaging for OpenSUSE, which I should be able to find out
> > and share.
> What happen to those distro that doesn't deliver Samba 4. Will evolution 
> fail:
> - to compile?
> - to run?
> or is this configurable by options at compile time? at run time?
> 
This is made as a separate plugin. This new module evolution-mapi has
all those plugins. If you don't have Samba4, you can't use the mapi
connector. But Evolution would continue to work as it used to be.

-Srini
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