XADM: Installing, Configuring, and Using the InterOrg Synch Tool

• Microsoft Exchange Server, versions 5.0, 5.5

SUMMARY

The InterOrg Synchronization Tool is available in the Microsoft BackOffice Resource Kit, Second Edition and is supported on a "best effort" basis by Microsoft Prodcut Support Services. Please do not confuse the InterOrg Synchronization Tool with the InterOrg Replication Utility for public folders, which is available on the Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 2 CD.

The tool allows multiple Microsoft Exchange Server Organizations to synchronize the contents of their directories.

The connector works hierarchically, with a Master service running in the master organization, and multiple Requestor services running in the branch organizations. The Exchange Server computer of the master organization collects and distributes all of the directory changes from the branch organizations.

The Requestor service in each branch organization collects any changes that have occurred in the directory of that organization and exports these changes to the Master service. At the same time, the Requestor receives the updated directory information from the Master service. When receiving updates from a Requestor, the Master agent creates a new entry and assigns it an Update Sequence Number (USN) that is greater than the USN for the last entry processed. Each Requestor stores the largest Master USN that it has received, so it requests only new entries to be posted to the global directory. The Master and Requestor services communicate using the Microsoft Exchange Internet Mail Service. Therefore, you must have an SMTP infrastructure in place prior to configuring this service.

Processing Events

On a scheduled basis, the Requestor service generates a mail message for the Master. This message includes any changes that have been made to the Requestor organization's directory, and the Requestor's most recent (largest) master USN. Note that the Requestor exports only the directory information that is maintained on the General property page of an address book entry. That is, the Requestor service does not export the information available in any of the custom attributes.

When the Master receives a mail message from a Requestor, it updates the master database with the appropriate changes, and then sends a reply message to the Requestor. The message to the Requestor contains all updates to the master database that have a higher USN than the one that was sent by the Requestor. Although the Master agent processes all Requestor messages immediately, changes might not replicate throughout the entire system for at least 24 hours.

MORE INFORMATION

The InterOrg Synchronization Tool is available in the Back Office Resource Kit, Second Edition under Admin Tools.

NOTE: This tool has been found to perform better if Access 97 and Outlook 9.x are installed on the Exchange servers that participate in InterOrg replication.

Requirements for Installing the InterOrg Synchronization Tool

• Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 or higher



• Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0 SP1 or higher



• Microsoft Exchange client version 5.0 or Microsoft Outlook



• Two Microsoft Exchange mailboxes. One for the Master service and one for the Requestor service. Even if your server is only configured as a Requestor, it is necessary to create both mailboxes.



• The servers must be configured to communicate using SMTP.



• You must log on to Windows NT using the Microsoft Exchange service account when you install the InterOrg Synchronization Tool



• InterOrg tool administration must be done from the Microsoft Exchange Server computer where the tool was originally installed.



• If there is a maximum mailbox size limit you must increase it for the Master and Requestor mailboxes. For troubleshooting purposes, the Master and Requestor agents do not permanently erase the items on the Deleted Items and Sent Items folders.

Installing the InterOrg Synchronization Tool

1. Log on to the computer running Windows NT Server using the Exchange service account.



2. Insert the BackOffice Resource Kit, 2nd Edition tools and utilities compact disc into the CD-ROM drive.



3. On the autorun screen, click Install InterOrg Synchronization tool.



4. In the Master Setup dialog box, specify the drive where the tool will be installed.



5. Choose whether or not to backup any files that are replaced.



6. Specify the Exchange Master agent mailbox alias name.



7. Specify the Requestor agent mailbox alias name.

Configuring the InterOrg Synchronization Tool

1. Configuring the Master and Requestor Mailboxes
   
   After installing the InterOrg Synchronization tool you must configure the master and requestor mailboxes. To configure the mailboxes, perform the following steps:
   
   
   1. Use the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator program to create two mailboxes in your site for the Master and Requestor agents. You should use Master and Requestor for the alias names.
   
   
   
   2. Verify that the Exchange service account has account permissions to the mailboxes.
   
   
   
   3. Shutdown the server and restart the computer.
   
   
   



2. Configuring the Master and Requestor Services
   
   After installation is complete, you must configure the Master and Requestor services. To select the type of service you want to configure, perform the following steps:
   
   
   1. From the Exchange Server Administrator program, select Add-Ins from the Configuration container.
   
   
   
   2. Double-click the InterOrg Synchronization Manager entry.
   
   
   
   3. In the Server Type properties page of the InterOrg Extension Properties dialog box, click to select the service you want to configure. To configure a Requestor service, select Requestor Exchange Server. To configure a Master service, select Master Exchange Server. If you are configuring the Exchange Server for the master organization, you should configure both services.
   
   
   
   4. Click OK.
   
   
   
   5. In the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator window, press F5 to view the new add-in listing(s) for the service(s) you have selected. The Master add-in is displayed as InterOrg Master Configuration.
   
   
   
   Note: When you configure the Exchange server for the master organization, you should install both the Master and Requestor services.




3. Configuring the Master Service
   
   To configure the Master service, perform the following steps:
   
   
   1. In the Exchange Server Administrator program, select Add-Ins from the Configuration container.
   
   
   
   2. Double-click the entry for InterOrg Master Configuration.
   
   
   
   3. In the Master InterOrg Synchronization Properties dialog box, select the Configuration properties page.
   
   
   
   4. In the Requestor E-mail Addresses box, type the e-mail addresses for all valid Requestor agents. This will prevent users from creating rogue Requestor agents and participating in the InterOrg directory scheme illegitimately. These addresses should be the SMTP addresses of the Requestor services, with one exception. The exception occurs when the Master and Requestor service are both installed in the same Exchange Server (as will be the case for the Master Exchange server). In this case, instead of the SMTP address, you must provide the Exchange distinguished name of the Requestor service. The distinguished name resembles the following:
      
      

      /o=ORG2/ou=Site2/cn=Recipients/cn=REQUESTOR.

   
   
   
   5. In the E-mail Attachment box, type the maximum message size that the Master server can generate. This is especially useful if there are message size limits on any of the Requestor servers. Make sure this number is configured for the lowest common denominator on the system.
   
   
   



4. Configuring a Requestor Service
   
   To configure a Requestor Service, perform the following steps:
   
   
   1. In the Exchange Server Administrator program, select Add-Ins from the Configuration container.
   
   
   
   2. Double-click the entry for InterOrg Requestor Configuration.
   
   
   
   3. In the InterOrg Requestor Configuration Properties dialog box, there are three properties pages for configuration: The Export Config properties page, the Import Config properties page, and the Schedule properties page.
   
   
   

   The Export Config Properties Page:
   
   The Export Config properties page contains the following sections:
   
   

   1. The USN section displays the most recent Update Sequence Number. Clicking the Import All Recipients button resets the Master USN to 0. This forces the Master agent to send the Requestor a complete list of names from its database. The Export All Recipients button resets the Requestor USN to 0, forcing a complete export of all the Requestor entries.
   
   
   
   2. In the Exported Containers box, specify which container(s) are to be exported. The Requestor agent can export multiple containers. In an Exchange Organization with multiple sites, it is necessary to select a container from each site. For each container to be exported, select the type of contents to be exported (Exchange mailboxes, distribution lists, and/or custom recipients).
   
   
   
   3. If you want to append a text string to the display name of the users that are exported, select the append to display name option, and then type the name to be appended in the text box.
   
   
   
   4. By default, the InterOrg Synchronization tool always exports the primary SMTP address defined for the users. If you want to configure the InterOrg service to replace the domain portion of the user's primary SMTP address with other text, select the Modify SMTP Address option. This would be useful in corporate scenarios where an SMTP mailer is used to change the SMTP FROM: header to something else. For example, if the primary address is SMTP:User1@Org1.company.com. The SMTP mailer might change the FROM field to User1@Org1.com.Com.
   
   
   
   5. The maximum MDB size option allows you to control how large a message generated by the Requestor agent can be. If the size of the directory exceeds this number, then the Requestor will break up the information into multiple messages.
   
   
   
   6. In some scenarios, you may not want to export a particular recipient address. If so, you can use the Trust Level box to control which recipients are exported. The InterOrg service will export all mailboxes with a trust level below or equal to the one number in this box.
   
   
   

   The Import Config properties Page:
   
   The Import Config properties page of the Requestor InterOrg Synchronization dialog box allows you to configure information necessary for the import cycle of the process. It includes the following sections.
   
   

   • The Master Server Address box
     
     As its name implies, the "Master Server Address" is the e-mail address of the Master service. In most cases, this will be the SMTP address of the Master server (for example, Master@MyCo.Com). However, if the Master and Requestor agents reside in the same Exchange Organization (as will be true of the Master organization), then it is necessary to use the Master's distinguished name address (for example, /o=ORG1/ou=Site1/cn=Recipients/cn=MASTER). If the distinguished address is used, then you will need to select the EX address type instead of SMTP.
   
   
   
   • The Container for Importing box
     
     In this box, specify the container that the Requestor service will use for importing the information received from the Master agent. Note that the Requestor agent uses a single Exchange site container for importing. It is HIGHLY recommended that you select a different container for import than the one you use for export.
   
   
   
   • The Domains to Import box.
     
     In this box, you can specify which SMTP domains will be imported into your directory, or you can click Import All to accept all domains known to the Master agent.
   
   
   

   The Schedule Properties Page:
   
   In the Schedule properties page you can specify how frequently the Requestor agent will process updates. You can schedule the service to start processing any new changes on a daily basis. Or you can click the Execute Now button to start the process on demand, provided you are logged on using the Exchange service account and password.

Configuring the InterOrg Service to run on Windows NT

1. In Control Panel, click the Services Icon.



2. In the Services dialog box, Double-click the entry for InterOrg Synchronization.



3. In the Service properties page (Figure 4), select the Automatic startup type if it is not already selected.



4. Click This Account.



5. Log in with the User ID and password of the Exchange service account
   
   Important: Any changes made to the service configuration after the service is running will not take effect until the service is restarted.

Additional query words: resource kit t-shoot tshot dirsynch Synch BORKIII GAL replication

Keywords          : 
Version           : winnt:5.0,5.5
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbhowto kbinfo 

Last Reviewed: March 19, 1999