Communications Express

Examine your deployment architecture for computer systems with instances of Communications Express.

Communications Express provides an end user interface to mail and calendar services. Communications Express also provide a mechanism for Portal Server to access mail and calendar services.

Communications Express has a solution-level dependency on Messaging Server andCalendar Server. Communications Express provides an interface for data that is supplied by specific instances of Messaging Server and/or Calendar Server. Therefore, it is logical to install and configure Communications Express afterMessaging Server and Calendar Server.

Communications Express also has a solution-level dependency on a source of user and group data. The user and group data contains account names and passwords that are used to verify access to messaging and calendar services. This information is typically in an LDAP directory managed by Directory Server. Communications Express accesses this data via Access Manager. Communications Express also depends on the LDAP schema and directory tree modifications that result from installing Access Manager, running Directory Preparation Tool, and installing and configuring Messaging Server. Therefore, it is logical to install and configureCommunications Express after Directory Server and Access Manager.

Communications Express is configured by default to use Access Manager single sign-on.

Communications Express has local dependencies on a web container and on either Access Manager or the Access Manager SDK. Typically, in a distributed solution, the deployment architecture will specify a local copy of the Access Manager SDK, which supports interaction with remote instances of Access Manager.

Basic Installation Procedures for Communications Express

The basic steps for installing and configuring Communications Express are the following:

1. Use the Java ES installer to install Communications Express on all computers systems specified in your deployment architecture.

   1. When you install Communications Express you also install the web container in which Communications Express runs.

   2. When you install Communications Express you must also install either a copy of the Access Manager SDK, or a local copy of Access Manager.

2. Run the Communications Express configuration wizard. When you configure Communications Express you must specify the repository for user and group data (typically a Directory Server instance, specified with a URL).

3. Start and verify all instances of Communications Express.

4. If your solution uses load balancing for the Communications Express instances, verify that the load balancer is working properly.

Choosing Configuration Values for Communications Express

For each Communications Express instance in your solution, you must input values that configure the instance to interoperate with the other components in the solution. In particular, Communications Express is configured to interoperate with the Messaging Server and Calendar Server instances that provide messaging and calendar data, and the Access Manager and Directory Server instances that provide authentication and authorization services. Use Table 3–11 to help you choose configuration values.

Table 3–11 Key Configuration Values for Communications Express

Input Field	Choosing a Value for Your Solution
Mail Component and Calendar Component	Select the Communications Express components for the services your solution is providing.
Hostname and DNS Domain Name	These fields, together, identify the computer on which you are configuring Communications Express.
Web Server or Application Server	Select the web container your solution is using. You can find this information in the deployment architecture. For more information, see Analyzing a Deployment Architecture.
Server Root Directory, Server Instance Identifier, Virtual Server Identifier, HTTP Port	If you are installing Communications Express and Web Server together, use these fields to specify how Web Server is installed.  If you are installingCommunications Express on a computer where Web Server is already installed, use these fields to specify an existing Web Server instance.
	If you are installing Communications Express and Application Server together, use these fields to specify how Web Server is installed.  If you are installingCommunications Express on a computer where Application Server is already installed, use these fields to specify an existing Web Server instance.
Web Container User ID and Web Container Group ID	Specify the user and group that will run the web container process.
URI Path	Specify the URI for accessing Communications Express
LDAP URL, Bind DN, Administrator Password	Specify the Directory Server instance that your solution uses for user and group data. Bind DN and Administrator Password are the directory manager account and password. If your solution uses load-balanced Directory Server instances, type the logical URL for the load-balanced directory service.
DC Suffix Tree	Specify the base DN of the user and groupDirectory Server instance. This was established when the Directory Server instance was installed. For more information, see Table 3–5.
Enter the Domain Name	Type the name of the mail domain your solution is using. This mail domain was established when Messaging Server was configured. For more information, see Table 3–9.
Login URL, Administrator DN, and Administrator Password	Specify the values used to connect to Access Manager.  Login URL has the form http://hostname:port/amserver/UI/login, where hostname specifies the computer on which Access Manager is running. Administrator DN must be the full LDAP name for the Access Manager administrator account. It should resemble the following: uid=amadmin,ou=people,o=DirectoryBaseDN. The administrator password must be the password established when Access Manager is installed. For more information, see Table 3–8.
Messenger Express Port	Specify the port that Messaging Server is using. The port was specified when Messaging Server was configured. For more information, see Table 3–9.
Calendar Server Hostname and Calendar Server Port Number	Specify the name of the computer that is running Calendar Server. If the calendar service in your solution is clustered or load-balanced, supply the logical name for the service.  The Calendar Server Port Number was assigned when Calendar Server was configured. For more information, see Table 3–10.
Administrator User ID and Administrator Password	Use the Calendar Server administrator ID and password. These values were established when Calendar Server was configured. For more information, see Table 3–10.
Login URL, Administrator DN, Administrator Password	Specify the Directory Server instance that your solution uses for personal address book data. If you solution uses load-balanced Directory Server instances, type the logical URL for the load-balanced directory service. These values were established when theDirectory Server instance was configured. For more information, see Table 3–5.

Adding Procedures for Communications Express to Your Installation Plan

To add installation and configuration instructions for Communications Express, do the following:

1. If theCommunications Express instances are load balanced, add an instruction to your installation plan to confirm that the load balancer is functioning before anyJava ES software is installed.

2. Next, in your plan, list all of the computers with Communications Express instances.

   1. Communications Express has a local dependency on a web container. Each computer that runs an instance of Communications Express must also run an instance of the specified web container. Your deployment architecture should indicate which web container your solution is using.

   2. For each computer, add an instruction to run the Java ES installer and select Communications Express. Add an instruction to select either Web Server or Application Server as the web container. Add an instruction to select either Access Manager SDK or Access Manager.

   3. If the computers that run Communications Expressare already listed in your plan (if the plan already has instructions for installing another component on the same computer) simply add an instruction to select Communications Express when the installer runs. You can install Communications Express at the same time as the other components, and deploy it to the same web container, but your plan must put the instructions for configuring, starting, and verifying any Directory Server, Access Manager, Messaging Server, or Calendar Serverinstances ahead of the instructions for configuring or starting the Communications Express instances.

3. Add an instruction to run the Communications Express configuration wizard. Underneath this instruction, list the key values for configuring the instance. Use Table 3–11 to help you select configuration values.

4. Underneath each Web Server or Application Server instances, list the key values for configuring the instance. For information on selecting configuration values for these components, see Web Server or Application Server. If your plan already installs Web Server or Application Server on the computer, you do not need to repeat this step. You can deploy Communications Express to the same web container instance when you run the Communications Express configuration wizard.

5. For each computer, add an instruction to start and verify the Communications Express instance.

6. If the instances are load balanced, add an instruction to verify operation of the load balancer.