Integration for Open Text Fax Appliance and Open Text Fax Appliance, Premier Edition

Transcription

1 Integration for Open Text Fax Appliance and Open Text Fax Appliance, Premier Edition Open Text Fax and Document Distribution Group October 2009

2 2 White Paper Contents Introduction...3 Who Should Read This Document?...3 Which Gateway Is Best For You?...4 Microsoft Exchange and Outlook environments...4 Integrating Microsoft Outlook with Open Text fax servers: Open Text s Outlook direct...14 IBM Lotus Notes environments...18 Novell GroupWise environments...21 SMTP-compatible environments...29

3 3 White Paper Introduction Open Text s gateways provide a variety of fax and integration options for both the Open Text Fax Appliance, FaxPress Edition and Open Text Fax Appliance, Premier Edition product lines. Serving as a link between the Open Text fax server and your network's mail server, the gateways allow fax messages to be sent and received as easily as , right from the user s mail client. Open Text s gateways provide integration solutions for most environments, including Microsoft Exchange and Outlook, Lotus Notes and Novell GroupWise, as well as most Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)- compliant mail systems. Open Text s integration solutions are standard, nocharge features for the Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance product lines. With the gateways, familiar commands are used to create, address, and send faxes, making fax messaging as simple as ing. Attachments are rendered into fax file format for most applications, allowing attached files to be sent to fax and recipients simultaneously. The gateways fax features are available to both local and offsite Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance users. All Fax Appliance gateways can also be configured for automatic inbound fax routing or fax notification via . Who Should Read This Document? Network Administrators, IT Managers, Systems Integrators and consultants who will be implementing Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance in a Microsoft Exchange server environment should read this document.

4 4 White Paper Which Gateway Is Best For You? The gateway you decide to implement will depend on your environment and requirements, the number of users on your network, and whether you prefer a server-side or client-side solution. Both the Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance product lines provide reliable and efficient serverbased integration solutions for fax-enabling Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Outlook, IBM Lotus Notes, Novell GroupWise, and other SMTP-based mail systems. Open Text s Outlook direct provides a client-side integration option for Microsoft Exchange and Outlook environments. Microsoft Exchange and Outlook environments The Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance provide both server-based and client-based integration options for Microsoft Exchange and Outlook environments. The server-based option, the Exchange connector and gateway, is a two-part solution provided on the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance product CD. The client-based option, Outlook direct, is also provided on the product CD and, as a service added to the user s Outlook profile, does not require an Exchange server. Server-side vs. client-side integration solutions For enterprises running an Exchange server with a large number of users, the server-based Exchange connector and gateway integration solution is ideal. The Exchange connector and gateway option is also ideal for remote, dial-up, or Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections. The Exchange connector/ gateway requires one-time deployment on the server side only, and consequently is ideal for large enterprises where client installations on individual workstations are inconvenient. For smaller environments without an Exchange server and for environments whose users do not require remote, dial-up, or VPN connections, the client-based Outlook direct is ideal. For information on Outlook direct, please refer to this white paper s Integrating Microsoft Outlook with Open Text s Fax Servers section. Integrating Exchange with Open Text Fax Servers: Open Text s Exchange connector and gateway Both the Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance product lines provide a reliable and efficient server-based integration solution for fax-enabling Microsoft Exchange. The Exchange connector and gateway for Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance enable inbound and outbound faxing through Exchange, as well as synchronizing of fax server and Exchange user databases. Offering quick and convenient server-side network faxing deployment with no client software to install, these integration options are especially

5 5 White Paper well suited to enterprise Exchange server environments with a large number of users. With the Exchange connector and gateway, familiar commands are used to create, address, and send faxes, making fax messaging as simple as sending an . Attachments are rendered into fax file format for most applications, allowing attached files to be sent to fax and recipients simultaneously. The Exchange connector and gateway s fax features are available to both local and offsite Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance users. Open Text s Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance fax forms for Exchange provide further simplified fax messaging, integrating custom fax interfaces into the existing Outlook client. The Exchange connector and gateway are similar in operation, although the implementation is different. Both solutions consist of a connector and a gateway. In both the Fax Appliance and the Premier Fax Appliance, the Exchange connector implementation is the same: the connector is installed from the product CD and run on the Exchange server. The gateway implementation, however, is specific to each product line. With the Premier Fax Appliance, the gateway is an embedded service that is enabled and run on the Premier Fax Appliance server. With the Fax Appliance, the gateway is service software installed from the Fax Appliance 8.x CD and run as a service on a network workstation. Open Text s integration solutions for Microsoft Exchange are standard features for the Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance product lines. Premier Fax Appliance and the Exchange connector and gateway Premier Fax Appliance integration for Microsoft Exchange is a two-part solution consisting of a connector that runs on the Exchange server, and an embedded gateway that runs as a service on the Premier Fax Appliance server. The Premier Fax Appliance s Exchange connector and embedded gateway work together to enable the Premier Fax Appliance s integration with your Exchange server. The Premier Fax Appliance Exchange connector, installed from the Premier Fax Application 3.x CD onto the Exchange server, acts as a message transport agent between the Exchange server and the gateway, scanning the Exchange server and forwarding all fax messages to the gateway. The connector also provides fax-addressing templates for Exchange users. The connector consists of a service and a connector object, allowing administration of the Exchange connector itself and the gateway through the Exchange server administration utility, Exchange manager. The Exchange connector supports Exchange 5.5 in a Windows NT or Windows 2000/2003 environment, or on Exchange 2000/2003 in mixed or native mode. The Exchange connector may also be installed in an Exchange 2000 cluster server environment. The Exchange connector can also read a user list

6 6 White Paper from NT/Win200 server or Active Directory and synchronize it with Premier Fax Appliance. Once installed from the Premier Fax Appliance 3.x CD, the Premier Fax Appliance Exchange connector is configured to use either the Microsoft Exchange Connector Using SMTP option or the Microsoft Exchange Connector Using MAPI option of the Premier Fax Appliance s embedded gateway service. Both options enable inbound and outbound faxing through Exchange, synchronizing of the Premier Fax Appliance and Exchange user databases, and use of the global address book for faxing. The only difference between the two Exchange connector options is in the kinds of fax forms available to users. The Exchange Connector Using MAPI option provides both the FaxPress_Send form and the FaxPress_View form. The Exchange Connector Using SMTP option provides the FaxPress_Send form only. (See Fax Forms for more information on forms.) The Premier Fax Appliance gateway service converts attached files to faxable images by invoking a background printing of attachments. Easily enabled from the Premier Fax Appliance s embedded services folder, the Premier Fax Appliance s gateway converts your fax messages attached files to faxable format, then passes them to the Premier Fax Appliance server s outgoing queue for processing. The gateway relieves the Exchange server of the resourceconsuming processes involved in converting document attachments to faxable format, off-loading the processor-intensive job of this file conversion, which, if run on the Exchange server, might compromise performance. The gateway opens the file in its native application, then prints to a.tiff file, a format the Premier Fax Appliance can process and fax. The gateway uses Microsoft s Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) method in the conversion of document attachments to faxable format. OLE requires that all applications associated with your Exchange users file attachments be installed on the Premier Fax Appliance. Examples include Microsoft Office, Lotus Smart Suite, etc. To prevent failed file attachments, software application versions should be consistent across the network. The following illustration shows how the Premier Fax Appliance s Exchange connector passes attachments to the gateway, which processes the messages for the Exchange server, then passes them on to the Premier Fax Appliance server..

7 7 White Paper Figure 1: Network with Premier Fax Appliance, Exchange connector, and embedded gateway. Administering the Premier Fax Appliance Exchange connector and gateway The Premier Fax Appliance Exchange connector and gateway provide convenient centralized user management and administration through the Exchange 5.5 or Exchange 2000 administration utilities. The Exchange connector administration utility is accessible from the Exchange manager utility.

8 8 White Paper Figure 2: The Exchange administration utility. The Premier Fax Appliance s gateway is started, stopped, and configured from the embedded services folder on the Premier Fax Appliance. Figure 3: The Premier Fax Appliance s start, stop, and configure tool. The Premier Fax Appliance s gateway configuration utility, accessed from the embedded services folder, is used to configure and administer the gateway. The windows-based configuration utility provides an efficient, centralized way to manage your network s fax messaging; allowing you to register the Premier Fax Appliance server for use with the Exchange connector, configure incoming and outgoing fax transmission parameters, and map the Exchange database to the Premier Fax Appliance user database, enabling integration of the two databases. The configuration utility also includes ways to enable or disable access to the Premier Fax Appliance server, set up load sharing, enable trace files, and test communication status.

9 9 White Paper Figure 4: The Premier Fax Appliance s gateway configuration utility. Fax Appliance and the Exchange connector and gateway Fax Appliance integration for Microsoft Exchange is a two-part solution consisting of a connector that runs on the Exchange server and a gateway that runs as a service on a network workstation. The Fax Appliance Exchange connector and gateway work together to enable the Fax Appliance server s integration with your Exchange server. The Fax Appliance Exchange connector, installed from the Fax Appliance 8.x CD onto the Exchange server, acts as a message transport agent between the Exchange server and the gateway, provides fax-addressing templates for Exchange users, and enables use of Exchange administrative tools and the global address book for faxing. The Exchange connector scans the messages on the Exchange server and forwards all of the fax messages found to the gateway. The connector consists of a service and a connector object, allowing administration of the Fax Appliance Exchange connector itself and the gateway through the Exchange server administration utility, Exchange manager. The Exchange connector can be installed on Exchange 5.5 in a Windows NT or Windows 2000 environment, or on Exchange 2000 in mixed or native mode. With Fax Appliance 7.0, the Exchange connector may also be installed in an Exchange 2000 cluster server environment. Exchange connector can also read a user list from NT/Win200 server or Active Directory and synchronize it with Fax Appliance. Once installed from the Fax Appliance 8.x CD, the Fax Appliance Exchange connector is configured to use either the Microsoft Exchange Connector Using SMTP option or the Microsoft Exchange Connector Using MAPI option of the Fax Application s embedded gateway service. Both options enable inbound and outbound faxing through Exchange, synchronizing of the Fax Appliance and

10 10 White Paper Exchange user databases, and use of the global address book for faxing. The only difference between the two Exchange connector options is in the kinds of fax forms available to users. The Exchange Connector Using MAPI option provides both the FaxPress_Send form and the FaxPress_View form. The Exchange Connector Using SMTP option provides the FaxPress_Send form only. (See Fax Forms for more information on forms.) The Fax Appliance gateway, installed from the Fax Appliance 8.x CD onto a network workstation, is a service designed to run on Windows XP, Windows NT workstation or server, or Windows 2000 server or professional edition. The gateway converts attached files to faxable images by invoking a background printing of attachments. The gateway relieves the Exchange server of the resource-consuming processes involved in converting document attachments to faxable format. The gateway runs on a separate workstation specifically to off-load the processor-intensive job of this file conversion, which, run on the Exchange server, might compromise performance. The gateway opens the file in its native application, then prints to a.tiff file, a format the Fax Appliance can process and fax. The gateway uses Microsoft s OLE method in the conversion of document attachments to faxable format. OLE requires that all applications associated with your Exchange users file attachments be installed on the Fax Appliance. Examples include Microsoft Office, Lotus Smart Suite, etc. To prevent failed file attachments, software application versions should be consistent across the network. The following illustration shows how the Fax Appliance Exchange connector passes attachments to the gateway, which processes the messages for the Exchange server, then passes them on to the Fax Appliance server.

11 11 White Paper Figure 5: Network with Premier Fax Appliance, Exchange connector, and gateway. The Fax Appliance Exchange connector and gateway provide convenient centralized user management and administration through the Exchange 5.5 or Exchange 2000 administration utilities. The Exchange connector administration utility is accessible from the Exchange manager utility. The Exchange connector administration utility displays the gateway machine or machines, allows remote access to the gateway configuration utility, and displays the Exchange connector machine name. The Exchange connector administration utility also provides delivery restrictions that enable the administrator to allow or deny users the ability to send and receive faxes with the Exchange connector, as well as a queues list to view the Exchange connector s list of outgoing fax jobs.

12 12 White Paper Figure 6: The Exchange connector administration utility. The gateway configuration utility can be accessed from the gateway workstation or server, as well as from the Exchange server s Microsoft Exchange Administrator (for 5.5), or the Microsoft System Manager (for 2000). The gateway configuration utility is used to register the Fax Appliance server, or servers, for use with the Exchange connector, configure incoming and outgoing fax transmission parameters, and map Exchange database to the Fax Appliance user database, enabling integration of the two databases. The gateway configuration utility also includes a way to set up load sharing, a troubleshooting trace tool, and a test utility to determine communication status with each of the gateway-configured Fax Appliance servers.

13 13 White Paper Figure 7: Fax Appliance gateway configuration. Fax forms The Exchange connector setup automatically installs two Fax Appliance forms, FaxPress_View for incoming faxes, and FaxPress_Send for outgoing faxes. These forms consist of.oft files, user templates that fax-enable the Outlook mail client and provide seamless Microsoft Exchange/Fax Appliance client-side integration. FaxPress_View - this form allows users "one-click" viewing of inbound fax messages. FaxPress_Send - this form allows users access to a fax form right from the Outlook client, and also allows users to configure outbound fax jobs with a variety of easily customized delivery options. Sending faxes Sending faxes is the same for both the Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance product lines. The Exchange connector allows users to send faxes as easily as messages, right from the Outlook inbox. The message must be addressed to the recipient s fax number. Addressing can be done manually using the Exchange connector s manual addressing format, the Fax Appliance address template, or by utilizing the Exchange connector s address book and contact list integration. After addressing the message and composing the cover page/ message, the sender can attach files and send the message. Attachments are rendered into fax file format, allowing the user to send attached files to both fax and recipients simultaneously. Additionally, documents can also be sent directly from most third-party applications, or by using Open Text s Fax Appliance fax forms for Exchange. The

14 14 White Paper fax forms offer custom fax interfaces integrated into the existing Outlook client. Using the Fax Appliance forms for sending faxes is optional, but ideal if the sender would like to specify a variety of fax job parameters. Receiving faxes Receiving faxes is the same for both the Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance product lines. If the phone system supports some form of automatic routing, such as Direct Inward Dialing (DID), the Exchange connector will route incoming faxes directly to the specified Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance user s mailbox. The Exchange connector monitors the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance server for incoming faxes and, when a new fax arrives, checks its user map to determine where to send the notification. Depending on how the Exchange connector is configured, the fax will either be attached to the notice or can be viewed through Faxmain. If the phone system does not support automatic routing, the Exchange connector will place incoming faxes in the default unaddressed mailbox or an assigned line user s mailbox, where the faxes can be manually routed to the recipient s inbox. Integrating Microsoft Outlook with Open Text fax servers: Open Text s Outlook direct The client-based Outlook direct, installed on the user workstation, works independently of your network s mail server. For this reason, Outlook direct is the ideal integration solution in Microsoft Outlook environments operating without an Exchange server. Although no Exchange server is required, Outlook direct does support Exchange 5.5 or 2000/2003, and is a good solution for Exchange environments where a client-based rather than server-based solution is preferred. Since Outlook direct runs as a Microsoft messaging transport service on the user workstations, and no connector is installed on the mail server, Outlook direct leaves the mail server free for processes unrelated to faxing. With Outlook direct, familiar commands are used to create, address, and send faxes, making fax messaging very similar to sending and receiving . Attachments are rendered into fax file format for most applications, allowing attached files to be sent to fax and recipients simultaneously. Faxes can be easily addressed using the existing business fax entries in the user s contacts list. Incoming faxes can be received as attached.tiff,.dcx, or.pdf files. Outlook direct is not suitable for a remote, dial-up, or VPN connection. For remote, dial-up, or VPN connections, either Open Text s Exchange connector/ gateway or Open Text s generic gateway for SMTP option should be considered. And although Outlook direct does support Microsoft Outlook and Exchange, Outlook direct does not support Microsoft Outlook Express. Open Text's client-side Fax Appliance Outlook direct service software, designed to operate in network environments running Microsoft Outlook, provides a

15 15 White Paper convenient way for Outlook users to send and receive faxes using the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance. Client rather than server-based, Outlook direct is able to operate independently of an Exchange server, making it ideal for smaller networks running Microsoft s most basic Exchange or Outlook system. For both the Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance, the Outlook direct service software is installed from the product CD onto the user workstations, and plugs in as a fax transport and a fax extension for Microsoft Outlook. The Open Text Fax Appliance transport, a service added to the user s profile, creates a seamless connection between Outlook and the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance server. Outlook direct also extends the Outlook user interface by adding a Fax Appliance menu. The Fax Appliance menu allows the user to directly view and manipulate the incoming or outgoing fax queue and configure the properties of the fax transport. How Outlook direct works The Open Text Fax Appliance transport, a service added to the user s profile, connects Outlook to the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance server. The Fax Appliance transport delivers messages to the fax server for faxing, enables viewing of inbound and outbound faxes, provides real time fax status, allows the user to set faxing parameters and, if your phone system supports automatic routing, will also notify users of personal incoming faxes.

16 16 White Paper Figure 8: How Outlook direct works. Administering Outlook direct Outlook direct is administered on the client machine through the Fax Appliance transport properties added to the user s Outlook client profile. The Fax Appliance transport properties are used to customize incoming and outgoing transmission parameters, as well as configure the Outlook direct client settings according to your users individual requirements.

17 17 White Paper Figure 9: Fax Appliance transport properties. Sending faxes Using Outlook direct to send a fax message requires that you address your to the recipient's fax number, rather than the address. Fax messages can be addressed either by using the existing business fax entries from the Outlook contacts list, or manually by entering the fax recipient's fax number according to the Outlook direct fax addressing format. Figure 10: Using the business fax entries in Outlook contacts. Users can attach multiple files to a single fax message or send one fax message to multiple recipients. Attachments are rendered into fax documents and can be sent to both fax and recipients simultaneously. Documents may also be sent as fax messages directly from within most third-party applications, using the File>Send To>Open Text Fax Appliance option. Outlook direct's fax address

18 18 White Paper template and real time fax status viewing tools further simplify your fax messaging. Receiving faxes The Fax Appliance Outlook direct transport periodically polls the Fax Appliance queues for incoming faxes and can notify the user of personal faxes received on the Fax Appliance. If your telephone system employs some kind of automatic inbound routing that provides you with a personal fax number, the transport will send you an notice when a new fax is found in the user's mailbox. The fax can be converted to your choice of.tiff,.dcx, or.pdf format and attached to the notice, or viewed from Faxmain. Your Fax Appliance transport's incoming faxes settings allow you to configure the notices to be received with or without the fax attached, to specify the number of notices the transport can send in a specified amount of time, and also allow you to forward or simply print incoming faxes. If your network does not employ some kind of automatic or assigned line routing that provides you with a personal fax number, all incoming faxes will be stored in the Fax Appliance's unaddressed mailbox. The administrator then assigns a router, operator, or supervisor-privileged user to route the unaddressed faxes to the appropriate client mailbox. IBM Lotus Notes environments Both the Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance product lines provide a reliable and efficient server-based integration solution for fax-enabling IBM Lotus Notes. The Lotus Notes gateway for Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance enables inbound and outbound faxing from the Notes client, as well as mapping of fax server and Notes user databases. By extending the Notes user interface, the Lotus Notes gateway allows familiar commands to be used to create, address, and send faxes, making fax messaging as simple as ing. Attachments are rendered into fax file format for most applications, allowing attached files to be sent to fax and recipients simultaneously. The Lotus Notes gateway s fax features are available to both local and offsite Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance users. Open Text s Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance fax forms for Exchange provide further simplified fax messaging, integrating custom fax interfaces into the existing Notes client. Integrating IBM Lotus Notes with Open Text fax servers: Open Text s Lotus Notes gateway Open Text s native Vendor Independent Messaging (VIM)-based Lotus Notes gateway for Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance extends the Notes client interface and makes for user-friendly and convenient fax transactions. The gateway provides a New Fax Appliance option, the fax equivalent of the Notes New Memo option, and also adds a Fax Address option that provides access to the Lotus Notes phonebooks, access to custom fax transmission parameters, and access to a variety of cover sheet options.

19 19 White Paper How the Lotus Notes gateway works Open Text s Lotus Notes integration involves a set of Lotus Notes script files and VIM gateway software supplied on the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance product CD. The Lotus Notes script files are installed and configured on the Lotus Domino server, while the VIM gateway is installed on any one of the Notes client machines. The VIM gateway is responsible for logging into the Domino server and retrieving outgoing fax jobs in its Domino server user account. The VIM gateway will then convert the jobs to faxable format and then forward the fax jobs to the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance for faxing. When multiple Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance units are deployed, the VIM gateway can be configured to load share by distributing fax jobs evenly among multiple Fax Appliance and/or Premier Fax Appliance units. This feature is very beneficial when a large number of Notes users are sending a large number of faxes. Figure 11: Open Text s Lotus Notes gateway integrates Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance with IBM Lotus Notes. Administering the Lotus Notes gateway Open Text s Lotus Notes gateway for Fax Appliance and Premier Fax Appliance offers centralized user management and administration through convenient administration utilities. The Lotus Notes gateway configuration manager allows you to specify the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance server or servers to be used with the gateway and map the Notes user database to the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance user database. The configuration manager also allows you to configure incoming, outgoing, and unaddressed fax settings, specify the fax attachments format, and enable or disable auto registration. With the Lotus Notes gateway s auto registration feature enabled, a new Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance user account will be automatically created, if there isn t an existing one, from the user s Lotus Notes profile information the first time a

20 20 White Paper fax message is sent. The Notes administrator can also specify which Notes clients will be given access to certain Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance units. Notes users can be automatically added to the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance user database. Sending faxes Open Text s Lotus Notes gateway unifies your Lotus Notes users fax and environments, allowing faxes to be sent and received directly from the Notes client. Faxing becomes as simple as sending and receiving . Users can attach multiple files to a single fax message, or send one fax message to both and fax recipients simultaneously, all without consuming the Domino server s resources. After Lotus Notes script files are installed on the Domino server, the administrator can decide which Notes users may access the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance. The Notes users with access rights to use the Fax Appliance or Premier Fax Appliance will have a New Fax Appliance Fax button appear on their Notes tool bar. When the New Fax Appliance Fax button is clicked, further fax sending options will be made available to the user. Figure 12: The New Fax Appliance Fax option is located next to the Notes New Memo option in the Notes client interface. In the New Fax Appliance Memo window, the Fax Address button provides access to the Lotus Notes phonebooks, where the office fax entries can be selected to address the Fax Appliance fax, and also provides access to custom fax transmission and cover sheet options. Faxes may also be sent to user groups specified in the Lotus Notes address book.