FIM 2010: Sharing GALs and Free/Busy Info between Exchange Orgs
OVERVIEW
In support, we receive lots of calls with the question of
“I want to share free/busy information between two Microsoft Exchange Organizations. How can I accomplish this task?”
Or
“I want to share GALs and Free/Busy information between two Microsoft Exchange Organizations. "
PURPOSE
The goal of this document is to help guide you through the steps of what you need to do to be able to accomplish either of the above two scenarios.
Sharing GALs between MS Exchange Organizations
In order to share free/busy information, the very first thing you need to do is setup a GalSync Solution. The GalSync solution is a solution that is delivered, and can be configured inside of one of our Microsoft Identity and Access Management Products.
Here is a list of the products:
- Microsoft Identity Lifecycle Manager 2007 Feature Pack 1 (ILM 2007 FP1)
- Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager 2010 (FIM 2010)
*NOTE: There are other Microsoft Identity and Access Management products that are not referenced here, but can be used for GalSync Solutions. They are older products whose support lifecycle will be ending soon, and will require extra steps to work with versions of Microsoft Exchange 2007 or later.
If you do not have either of these products, then review the Hardware and Software Requirements for the products.
- Microsoft Identity Lifecycle Manager 2007 Feature Pack 1 System Requirements
- Microsoft Identity Lifecycle Manager 2007 Feature Pack 1 Updated System Requirements
- Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager 2010 Hardware and Software Requirements
Determining which Microsoft Identity and Access Management software you need, can really be determined on a simple question.
What version is the version(s) of the Microsoft Exchange Organizations will you be synchronizing?
Synchronizing two Microsoft Exchange 2003 Organizations: ILM 2007 FP1 or FIM 2010
Synchronizing Microsoft Exchange 2003 and Microsoft Exchange 2007: ILM 2007 FP1 or FIM 2010
Synchronizing Microsoft Exchange 2003 and Microsoft Exchange 2010: ILM 2007 FP1 SP1 or FIM 2010
Synchronizing two Microsoft Exchange 2007 Organizations: ILM 2007 FP1 or FIM 2010
Synchronizing two Microsoft Exchange 2010 Organizations: ILM 2007 FP1 SP1 or FIM 2010
Synchronizing Microsoft Exchange 2007 and Microsoft Exchange 2010: ILM 2007 FP1 SP1 or FIM 2010
To understand how to setup a GalSync solution, review one of the GalSync Videos on the GalSync Resource Wiki.
To understand permissions needed for a GalSync User, review the Permissions document referenced on the GalSync Resource Wiki.
To understand how to automate the GalSync solution, review the Run Profiles section referenced on the GalSync Resource Wiki.
Once you have a GalSync solution in place and working, you are now ready to work on your Microsoft Exchange servers to share the free/busy information.
Sharing Free/Busy info between Exchange organizations
If you are stepping through this section, it is assumed that you either, understand that you need to setup a GalSync solution, or that you already have a GalSync solution in place.
Between two Microsoft Exchange 2003 Orgs:
You will need to utilize a tool known as the Microsoft Exchange Server Inter-Organization Replication Tool. You can download the Microsoft Exchange Server Inter-Organization Replication Tool from here. You can find more information on the Microsoft Exchange Server Inter-Organization Replication Tool and how to configure it here.
Between two Microsoft Exchange Orgs that are Microsoft Exchange 2007 or later:
In this configuration, you will need to work with the Exchange Availability Service. You can find great information about installing and configuring this Exchange Availability Service on the Exchange Team Blog.
Between two Microsoft Exchange 2010 Orgs:
In this configuration, you can utilize the new Federation feature in Microsoft Exchange 2010. Learn about it on the Exchange Team Blog here.