Consolidating and Centralizing
Your Novell GroupWise® Environment

Dan Bulkley

IS&T Messaging Services

Novell

Clark Pitcher

IS&T Messaging Services

Novell

Jamie Sanders

IS&T Messaging Services

Novell

Steve Whitehouse

IS&T Messaging Services

Novell

Session Overview

Discuss traditional branch office deployments

Review benefits / prerequisites for centralization

Describe centralized architecture

Explain consolidation process

Explain how to setup Internet proxy services

Explain hardware replacement process

Q/A

Legacy branch office deployment

GroupWise post office in every office

Possibly a GroupWise domain with Async and/or WebAccess gateway and/or Internet agent

Private frame relay network

Branch office deployment

Problems

Server maintenance

Backup/restore

Bandwidth utilization

Network costs

Hardware costs

Support costs

Legacy remote access

GroupWise async gateway in branch offices

VPN client access to login to home post office agent

Issues

Maintenance

Bandwidth utilization

User support

Performance

Legacy central office

GroupWise primary domain

Additional domains

Additional gateways

Central office IT GroupWise staff

Other environments

What are some of the deployments you are working with?

multiple GroupWise regional/departmental systems

Benefits of centralization

Efficiencies of scale

Fewer servers to manage

Lower maintenance costs

Better backup solutions

More time to handle other projects

SPAM

PDA wireless access

GroupWise Messenger

Prerequisites for centralized architecture

Network infrastructure

Data center infrastucture

IT organization

Prerequisites for centralized architecture

Network infrastructure

Adequate bandwidth

High speed Internet connections

Branch office secure solution (optional)

point to point VPN tunnels

Home office solution

High speed internet providers

Mobile user solution

Dial-up / wireless solutions

Prerequisites for centralized architecture

Data center infrastructure

Adequate capacity for additional hardware

Remote management technology

Prerequisites for centralized architecture

IT organization

Adequate staffing in central office to support system

Re-alignment of Messaging administrator functions

SLA support levels for regional / global customers

GroupWise administration model

(scope of responsibility)

Centralized architecture

All GroupWise servers in global data center and / or regional data centers

Data centers may be remotely managed

Hardware support only

Total remote support

Full support

Users typically run GroupWise in caching mode

Global WebAccess architecture

Global SMTP architecture

Global eDirectory™ architecture

Global data center

GroupWise primary domain

eDirectory replica

LDAP services (optional)

GroupWise post offices

GWIA / SPAM services

WebAccess services

Async gateway (if required)

Regional data center

When to deploy?

Service level requirements

Business expectations

Staffing

Service redundancy

Services hosted

GroupWise post offices

eDirectory / LDAP services

GroupWise gateways/domains (if required)

Async gateway (if required)

Global WebAccess architecture

One service address => http://gmail.novell.com

Web servers hosted in global data center

WebAccess agents hosted in global data center

If required, WebAccess agents hosted in regional data centers

Global SMTP / GWIA architecture

Redundant inbound architecture

Multiple inbound servers

Multiple sites (data center / regional)

SPAM solution

Perimeter solution preferable

Spam quarantine design

GroupWise Sequoia allows for redundant outbound GWIA (TCP/IP MTA to GWIA)

POP/IMAP services

Global vs. regional needs / options

Global directory architecture

Authentication directory services

LDAP services

eDirectory services

Redundancy

Distributed LDAP services

Tree replication to regional data centers

Global directory architecture

Administration directory services

Regional administration requirements

Centralized architecture

eDirectory tree in one data center

ConsoleOne® terminal services client

Distributed architecture

eDirectory tree in regional data centers

ConsoleOne in regional data centers

Remote access architecture
(Internet proxy services)

GroupWise post office agent proxy server address

Layer 4 device ip address /port combination

Redirector post office agent – gmail.novell.com:443

SSL encrypted GroupWise client communications

Case study: Novell, Inc.

Before centralization

136 offices

130 domains

145 post offices

130 WebAccess gateways

130 Async gateways

20 GWIA gateways

After centralization

Development environment

23 domains

33 post offices

21 WebAccess/GWIA/Async gateways

Frequent rollout of beta code

Division of users to minimize impacts

Novell global data center

Primary domain

Two post office domains PROVO / AMERICAS

14 post office servers = average data 90GB

Two outbound GWIA/SMTP servers

One global POP/IMAP server

Two inbound SMTP/SPAM servers

Three WebAccess servers

Novell Boston data center

One post office domain

Three post office servers

One outbound GWIA/SMTP gateway

One inbound SMTP/SPAM server

Total: Five servers

Novell EMEA data center

One post office domain

Five post office servers

One outbound GWIA/SMTP servers

One regional POP/IMAP server

One WebAccess server

Novell APAC data centers

Sydney data center

One domain

Two post offices (user / doc. management)

India data center

One domain

Four post offices

One GWIA

Three Async gateways

Novell APAC data centers

Tokyo data center

One domain

One post office

One outbound GWIA/SMTP servers

Consolidation process

Review current architecture

Design system level changes

Centralize gateways / other services

Create new GroupWise post offices

Conduct pilot

Educate users

Move users

Implement needed network changes

System design

Directory

Post office

SMTP/SPAM/GWIA

WebAccess

Remote access

Software distribution mechanism

Directory design

Authentication model

LDAP or GroupWise

LDAP design

LDAP server placement (network reliability)

LDAP clusters

Directory design

Administration model

Regional or centralized?

Replica placement

Terminal services

Select eDirectory tree

Design tree structure

Regional containers

System container for primary domain

Role objects

IRFs

Post office design

Determine post office standards

Rule of thumb

up to - 2000 users

50 – 160 GB data

Mailbox size limits?

Age limits?

Evaluate current post offices

Are post office standards realistic for our user base?

Post office design

Determine post office standards

User placement standard

regional

departmental

Develop post office configuration standard

Agent settings

GWCheck settings

Post office settings

GroupWise Best Practices guide http://www.novell.com/products/groupwise/bestpractice.pdf

Network infrastructure

Review network infrastructure requirements

Set bandwidth standards per office

Number of users

Application requirements

Identify broadband network options

ADSL/ cable modem / wireless

Design standard network configuration

Determine VPN solution if needed

Standardize router equipment

Test and document standardized solution

Implement service changes

Implement centralized service changes

GWIA/SMTP services

WebAccess services

Remote access services

Client software distribution

POP/IMAP services

Test, validate and stablize services

Deploy pilot post office

Determine pilot group

Document process

Communicate expectations

Install hardware

Create new post office and test services

Apply standard configuration

Move users

Critical step where things can break...

Implement needed network changes

Move user process

How much data to move?

How large are user mailboxes?

What is the available bandwidth?

What GroupWise code are you using?

minimum GW 6.5 SP2

When to move?

Impact on users

Move user process

Rules of thumb

Use Novell Technical Servicessm suggestions for moving users

GWCheck, cleanup mailbox, archive, delete mail

Match available bandwidth to number of users

Move a couple of users, evaluate results

Determine optimum number of users to move, test

Use available tools

Move user status in destination domain

POA web console log viewer

Publish standard move process

Evaluate pilot

Move all pilot users

Monitor and obtain feedback for two weeks

Document and resolve issues

Document process for retiring old post offices

Implementation

Based on what you have learned...

Develop a process and plan to migrate the rest of your users.

Production Pilot

Monitor performance and user satisfaction

Scale up a couple of post offices to your designed standards and monitor for several weeks

Don't move everyone at once until everything is working smoothly for your production pilot group

Deploy

Now you can centralize the rest of your system

GroupWise Internet Proxy services

GroupWise Internet Proxy services

What is it?

Service that allows the GroupWise Windows client to connect to its home post office agent without any user intervention, without a VPN connection, through company firewalls.

How does it work?

The GroupWise client can be configured to connect to a default DNS host on a default port.

The agent then returns to the client the correct proxy ip address and port.

The client connects to the home ip address and port.

GroupWise Internet Proxy services

How to implement...

Configure TCPIP proxy for each post office

Configure GroupWise poa object with proxy address

Configure GroupWise client setup

Network configuration

Configure TCPIP proxy

Proxy ip address:port => POA ip address: port

130.57.4.95:443 => 137.65.81.15:1677

Options

Layer 4 switch (preferred)

Border Manager or other TCP/UDP proxy

Add dns entry for proxy ip address

gmail.novell.com. 21600 A 130.57.4.202

postoffice.novell.com. 21600 A 130.57.4.95

POA configuration

Client Setup configuration

Use GroupWise administrator defined setup configuration (setup.cfg)

[GroupWiseSetup]

Version=6

StandardInstall=Yes

IPAddress=email.provo.novell.com

IPPort=1677

DefaultIPAddress=gmail.novell.com

DefaultIPPort=443

Documentation: http://www.novell.com/documentation/gw65/index.html?page=/documentation/gw65/gw65_admin/data/a2tbb58.html

GroupWise Hardware Replacement

GroupWise
Post office hardware replacement process

Replacing hardware for a post office

Minimize downtime due to backup /restore process

Minimize service interruptions/administration changes

Background

post office consists of two main sets of files

Database files that change frequently (20% of space)

Binary files that are static (80% of space)

Principle

Copy static files to new server while agents running

Replacement process NetWare to NetWare

Install new server and configure

Copy all GroupWise files to new server, leave GroupWise running on old server

Install GroupWise agents on new server

Test GroupWise agents installation by running post office agent with a /noconfig switch.

Test backup and restore process on new server

Shutdown GroupWise agents on old and new servers

Copy files to new server using xcopy -d (date option)

This will copy only new and modified files.

Replacement process NetWare to Linux

Install new server and configure

Copy all GroupWise files to new server, leave GroupWise running on old server

Copy files to new server using dbcopy -M (migrate option)

dbcopy -M <Source> <Destination>

This will copy all files and convert case to lowercase.

Install GroupWise agents on new server

Replacement process NetWare to Linux

Test GroupWise agents installation by running post office agent with a /noconfig switch.

Test backup and restore process

Shutdown GroupWise agent on old server

Run dbcopy -M again to copy any modified and new files

Launch GroupWise agents on new server

TUT 231

2003-12-08T12:43:39

Steven Whitehouse