Contacts Migration into Zimbra

For soon-to-be former Meeting Maker sites, you can now put your MM contacts into Zimbra.

Contacts get exported as CSV files which you can upload with curl or zmprov.

To create them:

1. Create a directory called c:\sumatra\contacts
2. Open the Database and go to "Macros"
3. Double click the macro entitled "M_OutputZimbraContacts"
4. Walk away from the machine for about a half hour. We haven't done a good interface for telling where things are in the process, but if you look at the directory you created you'll see the contacts files being created.
5. They'll be in the form LOGIN_ID.csv so it's hard to confuse them with the calendar files

Right now this only works for Meeting Maker contacts because we can read them server-side.

For Oracle Calendar Server contacts, which we can only read client-side, we'd need to do something different. Which we will if we hear sufficient demand.

Accessing Exchange Resource Mailboxes

Microsoft confirmed Exchange Web Services (EWS) does not support to "impersonation" access to a mailbox if the account is disabled. (see: http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2007/12/13/447731.aspx) This requires Sumatra customers enable resources before an insertion.

That Microsoft post did say the only way to access disabled-account mailboxes with EWS is to use Delegate Access. Sumatra's support team suggests an additional use for the script as an easier way to set up access to the resources, particularly when an end user "manages" one or more resources.

http://msexchangeteam.com/files/12/attachments/entry447730.aspx

The 1300 limit and the 256 exception limit

We need to extend our complements to Markus Mohmeyer who did not let the 1300 recurring appointment limit in Outlook stand in his way.


Check out his article. Put that Babelfish translator to the test.


Now, one other limit we've seen is that it's impossible to create more than 256 exceptions to a recurring appointment. While this happens in some legacy data we've seen it usually happens with appointments entitled "lunch" which go back 4-5 years.

Exchange 2007 migration - alerts to pagers / cell phones

We have a client at the University of Pennsylvania to thank for the idea of paging administrators as phases complete in a calendar migration.

Those of you who are familiar with SuExchange2007.exe will see the "Configure Alerts" button in the upper right hand corner, along with a tiny cell phone icon.

Clicking here brings up this box:

With fairly straight-forward options and input fields.

Why would you want this? If you're asking you've never been through a migration.

This is going to be great for administrators because:

• Now they can move from their workstation and make sure everything ELSE is going on


• Now they can keep tabs on the process from home or late night pizza


• Now they can keep others informed about migration status

Free/Busy Data, Outlook 2003, and Exchange 2007

If you're upgrading from Exchange 2000 or 2003 to Exchange 2007 and keeping Outlook 2003, check out this article from the Microsoft KnowledgeBase (945602):

Users who use Outlook 2003 cannot publish their free/busy data in Exchange Server 2007

Resource Scheduler for Outlook/Exchange migration flow

These go through the flow process for how we migrate data from PeopleCube Resource Scheduler for Outlook/Exchange into Exchange 2007.

This is an excellent overview of scheduling resources in Exchange 2007.

Phase I: Resources scheduled via Outlook



Resource accounts MUST:

• Exist and be mail-enabled in Exchange 2007 and Active Directory


• Be configured to process meeting requests


• Client (that's you) must provide a map between RSOE resource name and Exchange Resource alias/email address
  

Testing and Use:

Service Account defined with impersonate + send-as permissions

• Test this in a lab prior to running in production


• Sumatra code will run on a 32-bit machine (NOT on a 64-bit server)


• Code will use Exchange Web Services through an Exchange 2007 CAS


• End Users use Outlook 2007


• Meeting updates:
  a) Accepted as part of Exchange 2007 features,
  b) might remain in all end user’ inbox post-update and will not be removed


• The Sumatra process:
  a) will not check for resource double-booking or conflicts
  b) will work on CURRENT meetings only – it will skip expired/completed meetings as determined by RSOE’s meeting end date
  c) will not configure Exchange resources with settings to ensure resource will behave as RSOE resources (i.e., you control the process by provisioning your resources as you want beforehand)
  d) Responses from Exchange’s Resource management will remain in the meeting organizer’s inbox
  e) Note: Outlook-booked meetings are defined as those meetings, found in the user’s Exchange "Calendar" folder, that have an "RSOE" meeting tag (The tag is attached to the meeting as a hidden MAPI code.)

Phase 2: Scheduled via the Web

PROCESS ASSUMPTIONS:
See assumptions from Phase 1.
Phase 2 should be run after phase 1 completes
The Sumatra process:

• Creates a meeting with the name "RSOE_Migrated" in the organizer’s calendar. The meeting with have the resource as the only "attendee". All Direct-booked meetings will be created as one-time meetings.
• Does not check for double-booking or conflicts (That's what Exchange is for).
  For the resource: If a conflict exists, Exchange will decline the meeting request
  For the meeting organizer: A "double booked" meeting will be added to the end-user’s calendar
• Works on CURRENT meetings only – it skips expired/completed meetings as determined by RSOE’s meeting end date
• Does not attempt to link or match this meeting to an existing meeting in the
  organizer’s calendar
• Note: direct-booked meetings are defined as those meetings in booked in RSOE that do not have an outlook "RSOE" tag.
• Responses from Exchange’s Resource management will remain in the meeting organizer’s inbox
• Meeting times are recorded in RSOE as the server’s "local" time, and will be added to the meeting organizer’s calendar in the "local" time and time zone (even if the meeting organizer is in a different time zone.)