Novell Data Synchronizer Connector for Novell Vibe

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June 22, 2012

1.0 Overview

The Novell Data Synchronizer Connector for Novell Vibe connects your Vibe system with your Synchronizer system. Through Synchronizer, Vibe calendars and tasks are synchronized to your GroupWise system through the Data Synchronizer Connector for GroupWise.

2.0 System Requirements

The general system requirements for the Vibe Connector are the same as for Data Synchronizer, as listed in Data Synchronizer System Requirements in the Novell Data Synchronizer Installation Guide.

The Vibe System requirements for the Vibe Connector are listed in Vibe Connector System Requirements in the Vibe Connector Installation and Configuration Guide.

3.0 Vibe Connector Installation

You must install Novell Data Synchronizer and the GroupWise Connector before you install the Vibe Connector.

  1. To set up your core Synchronizer system (Data Synchronizer and the GroupWise Connector), follow the instructions in the Novell Data Synchronizer Installation Guide.

  2. To add the Vibe Connector to your core Synchronizer system, follow the instructions in the Vibe Connector Installation and Configuration Guide.

  3. To understand how data synchronizes from Vibe to GroupWise, review the Vibe Connector Quick Start.

4.0 Vibe Connector Update

For information on how to update the Vibe Connector, see Updating the Vibe Connector in the Vibe Connector Installation and Configuration Guide.

5.0 Data Synchronizer System Update

To run the Vibe Connector, your Data Synchronizer system should meet the system requirements that are described in Data Synchronizer System Requirements in the Vibe Connector Installation and Configuration Guide.

For information on how to update your Data Synchronizer system, see Data Synchronizer System Update in the Novell Data Synchronizer Installation Guide.

6.0 Vibe Connector Issues

6.1 Mobility Pack Compatibility

Do not install the Vibe Connector into a Data Synchronizer Mobility Pack system. They are not compatible. Follow the installation instructions in Vibe Connector Installation in the Vibe Connector Installation and Configuration Guide.

6.2 Folder Synchronization Issues

The following events can cause folder synchronization issues:

  • Deleting users from the Vibe Connector

  • Renaming folders in Vibe

If these events are not properly executed, the Vibe Connector can lose track of which folders have been synchronized to GroupWise. This can result in some folders not being synchronized to GroupWise after the event that introduces the issue.

When you perform the following actions, ensure that you follow the recommended procedures:

6.2.1 Deleting Users from the Vibe Connector

To ensure proper event cleanup when you delete users from the Vibe Connector:

  • The Vibe Connector must be running.

  • If you are also deleting users from the GroupWise Connector, you must delete users from the Vibe Connector first, and then delete them from the GroupWise connector.

IMPORTANT:If you do not delete users as described above, adding the same users to the Vibe Connector at a later time results in folders not synchronizing. The remaining folders that were not cleaned up properly when the users were deleted must then be manually deleted in GroupWise before the users can be added back to the Vibe Connector.

6.2.2 Cleaning Up Leftover Folders in GroupWise

Because of Data Synchronizer Engine issues, following the steps in Section 4.1.1: Deleting Users from the Vibe Connector might not clean up all the folders that had been synchronized to GroupWise at the time when the user was deleted. In GroupWise, users should verify that their folders and sub-calendars have been removed, and if they are still present, manually remove them. As described in Deleting Users from the Vibe Connector, this is especially important if the users will be added back to the Vibe Connector.

6.2.3 Renaming Folders in Vibe

When you rename folders in Vibe that have already been synchronized to GroupWise, you must wait for the renamed folder to synchronize to GroupWise before you can create a new folder with the original name of the renamed folder. If you do not wait for the renamed folder to synchronize, proper event cleanup does not take place and new folders with this same name cannot be synchronized.

For example, if you rename a Calendar folder from Calendar to Meetings in Vibe, you can successfully create a new Calendar folder named Calendar (which is the default name) in Vibe only after you ensure that the Calendar folder has been renamed to Meetings in GroupWise after a synchronization cycle.

The default synchronization cycle is 15 minutes.

IMPORTANT:If you do not rename folders as described above, you cannot create a new folder with the original name of the renamed folder.

6.3 Hierarchical Folder Synchronization

In a hierarchical team workspace, all entries in folders below the team workspace synchronize to team members in GroupWise along with entries in folders in the top-level team workspace. This occurs even if team membership is not inherited at a lower level in the hierarchy, and even if a particular user is not a member of a team at a lower level in the hierarchy.

Users can prevent the synchronization of unwanted Vibe entries in any of three ways:

  • Disable the unwanted Vibe folders on the Vibe Connector User Options page in Synchronizer Web Admin

  • Set the synchronization method of the unwanted Vibe folders so that only explicitly assigned entries synchronize

  • Delete the associated Calendar folders in GroupWise

6.4 Unexpected E-Mail Notifications

If you are subscribed to e-mail notifications for Vibe folders or entries that are synchronized to GroupWise (specifically, Calendar folders and Tasks folders in your personal workspace or any team workspace), you receive e-mail notifications for the folder or entry when the initial synchronization occurs. Ignore these initial notifications.

Even if you have not elected to receive e-mail notifications, you still might be subscribed to Vibe e-mail notifications if a folder owner has selected you to receive notifications.

6.5 Synchronization Agent Password Restrictions

Do not use extended characters or double-byte characters for the password for the Vibe Synchronization Agent.

This limitation is caused by the open source Spring Security that Vibe uses for authentication, in combination with the various authentication methods – both basic authentication and form-based authentication – used by single sign-on products such as Novell Authentication Manager, by Web services, and by WebDAV. Only ASCII characters are properly interpreted in all combinations.

6.6 GroupWise Issues with Recurring Events

The Vibe Connector depends on GroupWise for much of its functionality. In some respects, GroupWise handles recurring events differently from how Vibe handles them. For example, Vibe provides a rule for scheduling recurring appointment that repeat forever. GroupWise currently has a limit of 365 recurring appointments.

6.7 Multiple Vibe Systems

This release is not designed for multiple Vibe systems to map to a single GroupWise user. You can have multiple Vibe systems as long as each GroupWise user is configured to synchronize data with only one Vibe system.

To change your current Vibe system to a different Vibe system:

  1. Log in to Synchronizer Web Admin.

  2. Remove all users from the Vibe Connector that is mapped to the current Vibe system, as described in Deleting a User from a Connector in Connector and User Management in the Novell Data Synchronizer System Administration Guide.

  3. Delete the Vibe Connector, as described in Deleting a Connector in Connector and User Management in the Novell Data Synchronizer System Administration Guide.

  4. Create a new Vibe Connector that maps to the new Vibe system, as described in the following sections of the Vibe Connector Installation and Configuration Guide:

  5. Add the users to the new Vibe Connector, as described in Managing Users in the Novell Data Synchronizer System Administration Guide.

IMPORTANT:You cannot run more than one Vibe Connector in your Synchronizer system.

6.8 Stopping the Connector When It Is Busy

If you stop the Vibe Connector when it is busy, it stops after it finishes synchronizing the user it is working on. Depending on the amount of data to synchronize for that user, this could take some time. You might need to refresh Synchronizer Web Admin after a while to see if the connector has finally stopped.

If the Vibe Connector fails to stop:

  1. Kill the Vibe processes:

    killall -9 python
    
  2. Restart the Synchronizer services:

    rcdatasync start
    
  3. Restart the Vibe Connector in Synchronizer Web Admin.

6.9 Changing to a Different LDAP Server with the Same Users

Synchronization issues can occur if you change the LDAP server that the Vibe Connector is communicating with, and the new LDAP server has the same users as the original LDAP server. To ensure that no synchronization issues occur during this process, you must delete the users from the GroupWise Connector before you reconfigure the Vibe Connector with the new LDAP server. Then add the users back to the GroupWise Connector so that they are associated with the new LDAP server.

6.10 Invalid Exception in Log Files When Users Do Not Have Access to Folders

If necessary, the Vibe Connector creates the Other Vibe folder in GroupWise to store calendar appointments and tasks that meet the synchronization criteria but are either located in a folder where users do not have access rights to the parent workspace or folder, or located in a folder that is not a Calendar folder or a Tasks folder.

When users do not have access to the parent workspace or folder where an entry is being synchronized, an exception is written to the Vibe server log when the Vibe Connector tries to read folder information on behalf of those users. However, this exception can be safely ignored because it is the signal to the Vibe Connector to synchronize the entry to the Other Vibe folder in GroupWise.

6.11 Monitoring Not Available in Synchronizer Web Admin

If you click Monitor on the Vibe Connector Configuration page in Synchronizer Web Admin, you receive an error about a template file not found. Monitoring capabilities for the Vibe Connector are not yet available in Synchronizer Web Admin. Use the Vibe Connector log files to monitor the functioning of the Vibe Connector.

6.12 Novell Access Manager Issue

If you have configured your Vibe site so that users log in through Novell Access Manager, you must reconfigure it to allow the Vibe Connector to log in directly, rather than through Novell Access Manager. For setup instructions, see Working with Novell Access Manager in Configuring Your Vibe Site to Work with the Vibe Connector in the Vibe Connector Installation and Configuration Guide.

7.0 Bug Fixes

For a list of the bugs that have been fixed since Vibe Connector 1.0, see the Vibe Connector 1.0.1 Bug List

8.0 Documentation

Novell Data Synchronizer documentation is available at the Novell Data Synchronizer Documentation Web site:

  • Novell Data Synchronizer Readmes

  • Novell Data Synchronizer installation and administration guides

Novell Data Synchronizer connector documentation is available at the Novell Data Synchronizer Connector Documentation Web site

  • Connector Readmes

  • Connector Quick Starts

  • Connector installation and configuration guides

In addition to the Data Synchronizer product documentation, the following resources provide additional information about Data Synchronizer and connectors: