Zimbra with no Microsoft

[pcsd]

We are a k12 district that more and more people are starting to ask about shared calendars.

We currently have a qmail server running without issues for many years now, we have since put an exim server in front for more spam/av control and have been quite impressed with what we have been able to do.

But when it comes to shared calendars and the dreaded 'global address book' this is where OpenSource apps seem to be lacking.

So looking for a solution that doesn't break the mental capacity of our shrinking IT department.

We are using samba and cups for file and print sharing and using a handful of scripts with rsync and txt files to populate and keep things in sync.

So the questions..

What can we expect from Zimbra *without* an AD server or anything from microsoft on the backend.
- and with what functionality we loose without an AD server, does zimbra have anything to overcome what is lost?

Not that we push Outlook, but does Zimbra replace Outlook (which would be great) or can it work with it?

Thanks in advance.

[uxbod]

Welcome to the forums

Would you be looking to implement the commercial Network Edition or the Community Edition as there are subtle differences between the two with respect to functionality.

[pcsd]

What I would like to do would be setup the open source edition, (would be nice if they supported FreeBSD; but) and have something to test with, migrate a few accounts over try it out.

After things are working and most of the major bugs are out, upgrade to a paid version, for the support mainly; as there are very few people that can deal with servers and settings in our department.

The intention is to be on the professional edition and have some type of archive and storage ultimately.

(side question)
- are the licenses paid for each year?

[uxbod]

Originally Posted by pcsd

are the licenses paid for each year?

Yes they are yearly; Zimbra Pricing but educational facilities attract a 50%+ discount.

[pcsd]

Anyway about the licenses..

back to the questions.

What can I expect from zimbra with out a microsoft product behind it?

[uxbod]

Originally Posted by pcsd

What can I expect from zimbra with out a microsoft product behind it?

Freedom You could integrate ZCS with your Samba server for authentication ... I cannot think of anything you would require M$ for from the requirements list you have provided.

[pcsd]

so the global address book would also get populated that way?

I didn't see anything like that in the docs, where can I read about what you had said..

It seemed like zimbra would house the accounts.. and the authentication would come from zimbra.

[dpmchris]

Zimbra provides its own authentication and doesn't require any additional LDAP backend (Be it AD, OpenLDAP, OpenDir) to function. This is how we have it set now.

However, Zimbra can be made to authenticate against other directory systems. PLEASE NOTE that the account has to be provisioned IN Zimbra and on your directory server but users will still actually authenticate against the external server.

As far as GALs are concerned, Zimbra can use its internal info, or look up external LDAP sources as well.

There are documents around, plus information at wiki.zimbra.com