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Ingram Micro price quote: SUSE Linux Openexchange Server 4.1. With 10 groupware client licenses, $1,249. Additional 10 groupware licenses, $498. Total: $1,747 (including PostgreSQL database server).

If your organization doesn't need the fanciest features of Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, such as mobile-device synchronization or remote desktop access, SUSE Linux Openexchange Server 4.1 is an ideal, cost-effective choice. It can be deployed quickly and requires little in the way of ongoing IT expertise.

Although the Openexchange user and management interfaces are not quite as polished and refined as those in Microsoft's product, they're still impressive, particularly the collaboration features. We found both interfaces easy to navigate, letting users at any expertise level painlessly complete their daily chores.

Openexchange is built on top of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8, a stable server OS based on open-source standards; it is practically transparent to users and administrators, unless your environment requires special configuration. Additional included components are the Apache Web server, OpenLDAP, the Postfix mail server, a PostgreSQL database, Samba (for Windows-compatible file sharing), and the Tomcat application server.

E-Mail and Web Serving

SUSE's own impressive e-mail client, with its Web-based interface, is intuitive and can easily serve the needs of most businesses and users. But if you truly want or already depend on Outlook, you can use it via the WebDAV/XML connector application and get full calendaring and conflict management capabilities.

Though the Web-based mail client is not as feature-rich and refined as Microsoft's new Outlook Web Access client (OWA), it meets all of a user's basic needs. For example, the Openexchange client can be used in conjunction with both the contacts and calendaring components via the portal. The system is also very secure, relying on an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) connection by default.

The portal offers a variety of other collaborative elements, which can be extensively tailored. In addition to calendaring and contact management, Openexchange offers a discussion forum, a simple project management tool, and a bookmark and knowledge depository.

Many of the collaborative elements take advantage of the integrated PostgreSQL database, which allows linking objects from different parts of the groupware portal. For example, you can create a meeting and link a PDF document from the document management section to it, or link a bookmark to a meeting or contact. Since everything is stored in the PostgreSQL database, users are just creating links and not duplicating documents.

Other useful collaborative elements include the integration of DyCE Instant Messenger for your organization's internal use, as well as a bulletin board.

Installation

Designed as a complete groupware solution targeted at a broad range of customers (companies with anywhere from 5 to 2,500 users), Openexchange cannot be installed on systems already running a SUSE server OS; it is intended to be set up as a dedicated system. Typically, a small business will be starting from scratch and installing a fresh Openexchange server anyway. While Openexchange is comparatively uncomplicated, small-business owners will still probably want a consultant or VAR completing the initial installation and configuration, especially if their businesses need any customization or additional applications installed.

After the initial installation, all configuration and management of groupware-related functions are performed through the dedicated Web-based interface. This lets administrators or consultants remotely configure and maintain the system with ease from their own workstations.

One catch: For specialized setups and the integration of some applications, especially enterprise-level products, an administrator may still need to log on to the server locally and use either the YaST2 management tool or the command line interface. Also, the architecture ties some core networking components directly into the Openexchange administrative platform. DNS and LDAP are good examples of applications that should be changed only through Openexchange—and not edited or manipulated at the SUSE Linux OS level unless you know exactly what you are doing.

Groups and Management

Openexchange lets designated administrators easily create groups that include any system users and any shared folders. The separation of groups and folders might be a little confusing at first, but it actually turns out to be a flexible and handy tool once you're used to the concept, which is similar to the shared folders in Microsoft Outlook. Shared folders are used in the e-mail portion of the system and can be used not only to store mail but as global mailing lists. Users can subscribe to a shared folder, and new mail will appear within the folder in each user's mail tree.

The mail server is fully featured with SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) authentication, TLS (Transport Layer Security), and the user-configurable SpamAssassin, a spam-filtering solution. POP (Post Office Protocol) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) are also supported.

From an administrative point of view, Openexchange is easy to manage. All basic configuration is straightforward and explained with balloon help, a feature that is also accessible to end users. Using the Web interface, the administrator also has access to various monitoring items, such as graphs that display historical data over time (up to one year). These are helpful tools for detecting bottlenecks.

If you are a Linux expert, you might want to take advantage of the WebDAV/XML interface documentation for the calendaring, contacts, and document management sections of the system. Companies that already have existing XML-based CRM or project management solutions can transparently exchange and synchronize data with Openexchange.

Our one big complaint is that Openexchange lacks a backup mechanism or even advice on how to choose the right backup plan. You can set up your own bare-bones server backup through the local interface or YaST2, but only if you are an experienced Linux administrator; no guidance is offered.

Having said this, we find that on the whole, SUSE Linux Openexchange Server 4.1 is a well-rounded, affordable product. It provides all the key ingredients needed to get a small business or organization off the ground. And a knowledgeable administrator, VAR, or consultant can add many other applications to the system's basic feature set.

Copyright ?? 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.