Get Comfortable: Migrating GroupWise to Linux

by Ken Baker

Novell Connection Magazine - April 2009

Here's an excerpt:

Novell has placed a lot of focus lately on helping its customers take advantage of the benefits of Linux with Novell Open Enterprise Server. In terms of your GroupWise environment, whether it’s hosted on NetWare or Windows servers, moving to Linux enables you to leverage the latest 64-bit hardware platforms, improve system stability, enjoy better application fault handling and recovery, and lower negative impacts from agent crashes or hardware failures. To make it even easier for you to take advantage of these benefits, this article steps through some of the keys aspects of moving your GroupWise systems to Linux.

Getting Comfortable with Linux

According to Dana Palmer, product lead for Novell GroupWise Support, one of the nicest things about migrating GroupWise to Linux is that you can make the move a few pieces at a time. This lets you get comfortable with the Linux environment before you migrate everything. Palmer first suggests installing one or two GroupWise components on Linux that are redundant to components that you have on your NetWare or Windows servers. For example, just installing WebAccess on a Linux server gives you valuable experience with the Linux platform as you set up all the required pieces to access a GroupWise system. This component approach to migrating lets you still keep your post office data on your NetWare or Windows environment until you’re ready to move other pieces.

Palmer also suggests installing a GroupWise Internet Agent (GWIA) that performs a specific function, such as POP and IMAP. This gives you more experience with GroupWise in the Linux environment while allowing your SMTP messages to continue to flow through your existing GWIA without disrupting your current operations. (See More GroupWise Linux Insights.)

To help your team get even more comfortable with GroupWise on Linux, you might want to next move your IT organization to a post office on Linux. This can give your IT team valuable experience in administering the GroupWise system on a local message store on Linux. At this point, you might even consider adding a GWIA that is dedicated to inbound or outbound mail. While you're acclimating yourself and your team to the GroupWise on Linux environment, it’s also a good time to plan and make a few decisions about the move.

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