Tip: Set the session between the Linux mailbox client and the Exchange Server

Exchange Server and its client Outlook are Microsoft technologies that most enterprises must use. Since there are a large number of projects that can be migrated from them, coupled with a wide range of migration, this makes it more difficult to use. For example, migrating a single Outlook is easier than the entire Exchange, and it may be tricky to migrate a single Outlook, depending on your migration project.

To this end, some organizations choose a step-by-step approach. Starting from the migration of the client, the server will not be migrated for the time being. After the user is used to the new front-end, the server will be migrated. In this process, you need to understand how some Outlook mailbox clients communicate with Exchange, because they all have their own specific problems.

Evolution

The Novell Evolution mailbox client was previously part of the Ximian suite. Since Evolution 2.02, it supports Exchange. It can connect to the Exchange server through the Evolution Exchange connector, which supports basic Exchange server features and uses MAPI as the main Protocol, for example, "evolution-mapi" for Ubuntu ). You can also use Outlook Web Access to configure Evolution to connect to Exchange, although this reduces the number of features that can be used.

If you can only use OWA, you can use Evolution in either of the two methods. The first type is cross-country and over-SSL connections, which can be completed through a Web browser. The second method is table-based authorization, which is available after Evolution version 1.4.5.

Although FBA does not require an SSL certificate, it is not suitable for production environments. For this reason, you may still insist on using correctly authorized SSL as the recommended connection method, especially when your client connects to the Exchange Server from outside the organization's own network. VPN is used to communicate with the server. If you use FBA, extra security may be provided-but it is usually easier to set SSL connections.

Thunderbird

Mozilla's Thunderbird mailbox client can communicate with Exchange in two ways: as an IMAP client or MAPI client. IMAP is a more common standard of the two Protocols. Third-party integration can be used for MAPI, but such integration may have some serious defects, especially the connection mode of Thunderbird.

The biggest problem with using MAPI is that the MAPI execution of Thunderbird is incomplete. Therefore, many functions of the complete MAPI client do not exist. You can use a POP3 mailbox to send and receive emails, or use it as an LDAP communication thin to malformed the Exchange Global Address List test, but this is not the best method.

A better way is to use Thunderbird as an IMPA client and Exchange session. However, IMPA is required to support built-in Exchange. Fortunately, this configuration is not too difficult. After you add an IMPA virtual server to Exchange, you only need to do one thing: configure the client to support it. Settings and management are similar to those in Exchange 2007 and 2010. After that, most Linux mailbox clients that use IMAP can talk to Exchange.

Note: In most cases, many functions of Exchange are unavailable. For example, the calendar function. However, basic functions such as reading folders, sending and receiving emails, and using address book are available.

The path to the future

Microsoft has been changing the Exchange API, which is good news for Thunderbird and other open-source mailbox clients that can execute Exchange connections in different forms in the future. The biggest potential difference is how Microsoft continues to support extended MAPI interfaces. The developer is told not to use it, but to use Exchange Web Services. Microsoft has also noticed that EWS is a platform that encourages third-party products to connect to Exchange, so connectors such as Evolution and Thunderbird should support it.