8.3 Planning the GroupWise Agents

Use the GroupWise Agent Installation Summary Sheet to record your decisions about how to install the GroupWise agents. The topics in this section present the required information in a convenient planning sequence. The Installation Summary Sheet organizes the information in the order in which you need it during installation.

For additional assistance in planning your GroupWise installation, see GroupWise Best Practices and GroupWise 8 Good and Bad Habits.

IMPORTANT:If you plan to install the GroupWise agents in a clustered server environment, refer to the GroupWise 8 Interoperability Guide as you plan your agent installation.

8.3.1 Selecting the Agent Platform

The MTA and POA are available as NetWare NLM programs, Linux executables, and Windows executables.

In general, GroupWise is most efficient if you match the agent platform with the network operating system where the post office and domain are located. For example, if a domain and post office are located on a NetWare server, then you would install the NetWare agents for them. However, this is not required.

Those with mixed networks might wonder what platform combinations are possible. For more information, see the following sections in the GroupWise 8 Administration Guide:

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Agent Software Platform, mark whether you plan to install the agents on NetWare, Linux, or Windows. Review Section 8.2, Agent System Requirements to ensure that the specific server you have selected meets the listed requirements.

8.3.2 Selecting the Agent Location

Record which GroupWise agents you plan to run on the selected server (POA, MTA, or both) and whether you want to install the agents locally or remotely in relation to their directories and databases, as described in Section 8.1, GroupWise Agent Overview.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Agents and Locations, mark the agents to install and their locations relative to the directories and databases they need to access.

If the NetWare agents need to access their directories and databases on remote NetWare servers, you must add configuration information to the agent startup files to provide the needed access. Use the /dn switch to specify the distinguished name of the agent object that was created along with the Domain or Post Office object. The remote servers must be in the same eDirectory tree as the server where the agents are running.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Agents and Locations, for the NetWare agents, record the startup switches and settings you need to add to the agent startup files after installation if you are installing the agents on a different NetWare server from where their directories and databases are located.

8.3.3 Selecting the Agent Installation Directory

The agent installation directory depends on the platform where you are installing the agents.

Consider these platform-specific guidelines:

NetWare:

When installing the NetWare agents, we recommend you use the sys:\system directory on the NetWare server. This simplifies the use of startup files and ensures that the NLM programs are in the server’s search path. If you use a different directory, you must add that directory to the server’s search path.

Linux:

The Linux agents are automatically installed to /opt/novell/groupwise/agents.

Windows:

The default installation directory is c:\Program Files\Novell\GroupWise Server\Agents. However, you can install the agents to any directory you want.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Installation Path, record the directory where you want to install the GroupWise agent software.

Both the MTA and the POA are installed to the specified directory.

8.3.4 Gathering Domain and Post Office Information

Record the following information about the domain and post office for which you are installing and setting up the GroupWise agents:

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Domain Information, record the domain name and path to the domain directory for the new domain.

Under Post Office Information, record the post office name and path to the post office directory for the new post office.

The domain and post office must exist before you install the agents for them. If necessary, create the domain and post office that you are installing the agents for now. See following sections of the GroupWise 8 Administration Guide for instructions:

8.3.5 Deciding Which Languages to Install

If you have administrators with various language preferences, you can install and run the GroupWise agents in multiple languages. You should also install all languages used by GroupWise client users, so that message status information returned from the POA to users’ mailboxes matches the language in which each user is running the client.

NOTE:On Linux, all available languages are included in the RPMs, so all languages are always installed.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Agent Language Selection, list the languages you want to install the agents for.

Under Client Language Selection, list the client languages that you want the agents to be able to support.

By default, the agents start in the language selected for the domain. If that language has not been installed, the agents start in the language used by the operating system. If that language has not been installed, the agents start in English.

For more information, see Multilingual GroupWise Systems in the GroupWise 8 Administration Guide.

8.3.6 NetWare Installation Options: Automatic Startup, Protected Mode, and Clustering

When you install the NetWare GroupWise agents, the following options specific to NetWare are available in the Installation program:

Automatic Startup

You can have the Installation program add a reference to the grpwise.ncf file in the NetWare server’s autoexec.ncf file so that the GroupWise agents are automatically loaded whenever the server is started.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Agent Options, mark whether or not you want to configure the NetWare server to start the GroupWise agents automatically.

Protected Mode

You can have the Installation program configure the NetWare agents to run in Protected Mode, which starts them in their own protected address space on the NetWare server.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Agent Options, mark whether or not you want to configure the NetWare server to start the GroupWise agents in Protected Mode.

Novell Cluster Services

Novell Cluster Services is a server clustering system that ensures high availability and manageability of critical network resources including volumes (where GroupWise domains and post offices reside) and applications (such as the GroupWise agents). Novell Cluster Services supports failover, failback, and migration of individually managed cluster resources.

The NetWare GroupWise agents can be configured to take advantage of the fault‑tolerant environment provided by Novell Cluster Services if the following requirements are met:

  • The domains and post offices to be serviced by the NetWare agents have already been created on shared NSS volumes in the cluster.

  • The NetWare agents are being installed to a server that is part of the same cluster.

When the agents are configured for clustering, their startup files are configured with shared volume names rather than specific server names. In addition, the POA is configured to more effectively reestablish logins with GroupWise clients when a failover or migration situation arises.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Agent Options, mark whether or not you want to configure the NetWare agents for clustering. If you do, follow the installation instructions in Setting Up a Domain and Post Office in a NetWare Cluster in Novell Cluster Services on NetWare in the GroupWise 8 Interoperability Guide, rather than the installation instructions in this guide.

8.3.7 Linux Installation Options: Automatic Startup and Clustering

When you install the Linux GroupWise agents, the following options specific to Linux are available in the Installation program:

Automatic Startup

The Linux GroupWise agent are Run Control compliant. You can have the Installation program create symbolic links to the grpwise script in the rc3.d and rc5.d directories so that the agents load on restart into run level 3 or 5, depending on the configuration of your Linux system.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Agent Options, mark whether or not you want to configure the Linux server to start the GroupWise agents automatically.

Clustering on Linux

On Linux, you can install the GroupWise agents on Novell Cluster Services. The Linux GroupWise Installation program provides a Configure GroupWise for Clustering option that simplifies the process of installing the Linux GroupWise agents on multiple nodes in the cluster.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Agent Options, mark whether you want to configure the Linux GroupWise agents for clustering using Novell Cluster Services. If you do, follow the installation instructions provided in Setting Up a Domain and a Post Office in a Linux Cluster in Novell Cluster Services on Linux in the GroupWise 8 Interoperability Guide, rather than the installation instructions in this guide.

8.3.8 Windows Installation Options: SNMP Traps and Service vs. Application

When you install the Windows agents, you have choices about how the agents interact with the Windows operating system.

SNMP Traps

If you want to use an SNMP manager program, such as the Management and Monitoring Services component of Novell ZENworks Server Management, to monitor the agents, you must install some SNMP components along with the Windows agent software.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Agent Options, mark Install and Configure SNMP for GroupWise Agents if you want to use an SNMP manager program.

If this option is dimmed during installation, the SNMP service has not been enabled on the Windows server where you are installing the agents. If you want to monitor the agents from an SNMP management program, the SNMP service must be enabled so you can select this option. For instructions, see the following sections in the GroupWise 8 Administration Guide:

NOTE:The NetWare and Linux agents rely on operating system components for SNMP functionality and do not require this installation option.

Service vs. Application

When you run the GroupWise Windows agents as services, they can start automatically and run without a user interface.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Windows Service Information, mark Install as Windows Services if you want to run the agents as services.

When you run the Windows agents as services, they must run under a specific Windows user account.

When domains and post offices are located on the same server where you are installing the agents, the agents can run under the local system account. You can also display the agent server consoles when the agent software, directories, and databases are local.

When domains and post offices are located on a remote server, you must specify a user with rights to access the domain and post office directories.

Remote Windows Server:

If the Windows agents need to log in to a another Windows server, provide a Windows username and password.

Remote NetWare Server:

If the Windows agents need to log in to a NetWare server, provide an existing eDirectory username and password, or create a new account for the agents, as described in Creating a NetWare Account for Agent Access (Optional).

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Windows Service Information, record the account the agents will run under, and if necessary, the password for the account.

As with all Windows services, the Windows agents can be started automatically or manually as services each time the Windows server restarts.

GROUPWISE AGENT INSTALLATION SUMMARY SHEET

Under Windows Service Information, mark how you want the Windows agents to start each time the server is restarted.

NOTE:On Windows Server 2008, the Windows agents running as services cannot interact with the desktop. They must run as background processes.