General info request

Pieter Vanmeerbeek pieter.vanmeerbeek at able.be
Wed Nov 23 10:47:37 CET 2005


Ok,

Thanks for the clear explanation. The reference to the hotsync protocol 
was found here :

http://www.kolab.org/documentation.html

pdf document of Version Release Candidate 2.0rc3

p8  section 1.9 Palm PDA Synchronisation

... The HotSync protocol is used and guaranteescompatibility to a wide 
range of PDA devices. ....


Kind regards,
Pieter
Able


Bernhard Reiter wrote:

>Hi Pieter,
>
>
>Am Donnerstag, 17. November 2005 14:18 schrieb Pieter Vanmeerbeek:
>  
>
>>I'm new to the kolab groupware system. On my search to a opensource linux
>>solution to groupware, I found your project. I read all docs I could find
>>on your project (see list below) but still have some questions. Perhaps
>>someone can help me with them. I researched kolab in cooperation with the
>>Konsec konnector
>>
>>
>>
>>1.	is there any reason why all docs state the use of the Toltec
>>connector instead of the Konsec?
>>    
>>
>
>Yes:
>During the Proko2 contract the companies creating Kolab
>cooperated with Radley Network Technologies CC - the makers of Toltec -
>to get a cross platform solution. 
>So Toltec saw a lot of testing and quality control during this process
>and Toltec is used by the organisation that contracted erfrakon, Intevation 
>and Klarälvdalens Datakonsult to build Kolab for their own use.
>
>  
>
>>2.	Does Kolab support all possible handheld device (PALM/PDA/ GSM)
>>syncing? I found on the Kolab website that it support the hotsync protocol
>>for syncing. But my knowledge on this territory is almost unexisting. Does
>>it also support handheld devices using the Windows CE OS?
>>    
>>
>
>We expect that Kolab Outlooks clients
>can do some syncing via Windows based tools.
>(A Kolab Outlook client is Outlook with one of the proprietary connectors.)
>
>The KDE client only support what KDE support, which means what
>kpilot and kitchensync support. We know that this support currently has bugs.
>
>The Kolab Server itself does not directly support syncing with mobile devices.
>
>Can you point me to the web page that says we support "hotsync", btw.
>Because I do not think there is one.
>
>  
>
>>3.	The kolab docs state that modifying events of another is not
>>possible and only the creator of the event may modify (p15 in Kolab Free
>>Software Groupware Project version 1.9.x Draft). It explains a delegate
>>story by which another user may borrow the identity of someone else to
>>create and appointment, allowing modification by the other person like with
>>a secretary and the boss. It is not clear to me why the secretary may not
>>modify events of her boss if she got write access to his calendar?  Why
>>this difference between write access and creator of an appointment? Isn't
>>this making things more complex?
>>    
>>
>
>Are you referring to section
>      2.14. Access Control and Multiple Identities
>and especially
>     	Outlook 2002 already knows about multiple accounts. 
>     	Providing the required functionality for emails is
>	handled via the selection of the account before sending the message. 
>	Using multiple accounts for
>	invitations is possible though awkward with Outlook. The later is required if
>	the secretary does not want
>	to become the organizer of a the meeting she is organizing 
>	on behalf of theboss.
>?
>(Page references are not that meaningful until you give the precise filename
>you have been reading.)
>
>This is so complicated, because of some shortcomings of Outlook.
>If a secretary want to motify the calendar of his boss, it should be possible
>without anybody noticing that it was not the boss himself.
>To make Outlook do that, you need to select the different identity
>and to let the Kolab Server pass the resulting email, you need to set
>the right email deletate.
>
>  
>
>>A final question regarding Disconnected IMAP. From what I understood the
>>Kolab system uses IMAP to store workgroup folders (calendar, notes,..) into
>>the cyrus mailserver into special folders like calendar. 
>>    
>>
>
>This is correct.
>
>  
>
>>The Kolab docs 
>>state the use of a Disconnected IMAP to configure the mailclient, Can you
>>explain me the Disconnected IMAP protocol? I suppose the DIMAP protocol
>>serves to map the special IMAP workgroup folders on the server to the
>>workgroup folders in the Client using IMAP and in the reverse way too?
>>Perhaps this system also takes care of a copy left on the server for all
>>mail messages and possible user created subfolder?
>>    
>>
>
>Disconnected IMAP is a special way to drive the IMAP protocol
>to enable several cache copies of the server contents with all emails
>and subfolders. Of course the IMAP protocoll has special methods for this.
>E.g. you can ask, which emails are new or have changed and thus keep
>a sync relatively small, e.g. without reading the subjects of all emails.
>So you can delete, create and move emails on server and several client
>and you can sync this all.
>
>  
>
>> I would expect everything to happen with IMAP as a central storage where
>>all mail/workgroup things are kept, allowing access by different clients
>>using pop and/or IMAP.
>>    
>>
>
>This is, how it is, basically.
>But for it actually to be usable on the client side, a client needs to keep 
>the almost full information of a calendar folder anyway to display it.
>This and the reason that we wanted to enable offline use,
>makes it mandatory to use a disconnected cache over IMAP for serious clients.
>You can of course still access everything with IMAP and e.g. look
>at stuff with mutt.
>
>The emails in the INBOX are also available via POP3, but normally POP3 is 
>driven in a way that emails get deleted and thus their remains no copy on the 
>server, it will only be on the client after "popping" it.
>
>  
>
>>To make it more confusing the Konsec connector uses the pop protocol to
>>fetch mail and a datafile to sync workgroup folders. So you see this part
>>is unclear to me and I couldn't find any clear docs given an overview about
>>this.
>>    
>>
>
>This again is a dirty Outlook workaround:
>Outlook's code to handle iCalendar emails is in the pop3 module.
>Thus you need to use POP3 if you want to be able to deal with invitations
>in Outlook. Both Toltec and Konsec use this method therefore.
>
>Bernhard
>
>  
>
>>PS I used the following docs/info. Any other source is welcome:
>>    
>>
>
>I hope you have found it to be of some use,
>we are always open to suggestions.
>And we know that the architecture document is a bit outdated currently.
>
>  
>
>>-freebusy.txt doc from kolabs CVS
>>
>>- Proko docs 2, doc 3 and doc 5
>>
>>- Kolab Free Software Groupware Project version 1.9.x
>>
>>- Konsec Konnector Handbook
>>
>>-  <http://www.kolab.org/> http://www.kolab.org/
>>
>>-  <http://wiki.kolab.org/index.php/Kolab2_FAQ>
>>http://wiki.kolab.org/index.php/Kolab2_FAQ
>>
>>-  <http://www.konsec.com/> http://www.konsec.com
>>
>>- mailing archives of konsec and kolab
>>    
>>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Kolab-users mailing list
>Kolab-users at kolab.org
>https://kolab.org/mailman/listinfo/kolab-users
>
>
>  
>


-- 
Pieter Vanmeerbeek
R&D Engineer
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