Kolab

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Kolab is an open source groupware suite. It consists of the Kolab server and a wide variety of Kolab clients, including KDE PIM-Suite Kontact (full functionality since KDE 3.4.1), Horde Webfrontend (currently in late beta status), Mozilla Thunderbird and Mozilla Lightning with SyncKolab extension (beta) and Microsoft Outlook with Toltec Connector (stable) or Konsec Konnektor (stable).

The concepts on which Kolab relies have been fixated in the Kroupware Contract.

Contents 1 Basic Ideas 2 Main Features 3 Kolab Clients 4 External links

[edit] Basic Ideas

The special idea behind Kolab is the usage of IMAP as an underlying protocol not only for email, but also for contact and calendar entries. These entries are simply saved in special IMAP-folders utilising the Kolab XML-format and the IMAP-server takes care of the storage and access rights. The configuration and maintenance of Kolab is entirely controlled by the extensive use of LDAP.

Kolab clients and the Kolab server use well established standards for their work (i.e. IMAP as already mentioned, vCard, iCal, XML and LDAP).

[edit] Main Features

• Full seamless support of mixed clients environments (Outlook/KDE/Web)
• Support for the K Desktop Environment with Kontact
• Support for Microsoft Outlook with KONSEC Konnektor or Toltec Connector
• A web administration interface
• All configuration data is kept in a LDAP directory
• A global LDAP adressbook for contacts
• POP3 as well as IMAP4 access to mail
• Full support for client-side PGP and S/MIME email encryption (officially Sphinx-interoperable)
• Full support for shared calendars with access rights
• Full support for shared contacts with access rights
• Fully offline capable using Kontact or Outlook
• Support for server side resource management (e.g. rooms, cars)
• Full support for freebusy handling

[edit] Kolab Clients

• KDE Kontact [1] (K Desktop Environment, Free Software)
• Toltec Connector [2] (Microsoft Outlook Connector, Proprietary Software)
• KONSEC Konnektor [3] (Microsoft Outlook MAPI Storage Provider, Proprietary Software)
• SyncKolab [4] (Mozilla Thunderbird and Mozilla Lightning extension, Free Software)
• Horde [5] (webfrontend for web browsers as user-clients, Free Software)
• Aethera (Kolab1 Client)

[edit] External links

• Homepage of the Kolab-Project
• The Kolab-Wiki
• Kroupware Contract
• Kolab ADC: A Connector for Kolab-Servers to use Microsofts Active Directory (Proprietary Software)

• Integrated Server-Solutions (e.g. "SBS - Small Business Server") which utilise Kolab as Server-Component for E-Mail, Groupware and PIM:
  • _{"ClarkConnect" by Point Clark Networks; Source Code available, limited free edition ("Community Edition") available, based on CentOS Linux}
  • _{"Intranator Business Server" by Intra2net AG which also distributes a MS Outlook Connector}
  • _{"UGS - Univention Groupware Server" by Univention GmbH; Source Code available, based on Debian GNU/Linux}

• Kolab How-To's:
  • In the Kolab-Wiki
  • "KolabMailServer" (extensive) on Ubuntu User-Documentation
  • "Samba and Kolab Groupware integration" on WPKG (2005-11-24)

• Kolab in comparison with other Groupware-Solutions:
  • In the Migration Guide by the KBSt in the German Ministry of Interior