Novell Certified Linux Engineer (Novell CLE) Study Guide (Novell Press)

Test Objective Covered:

2. Install Virtual Office.

As with other NNLS components , Virtual Office is an optional product that can be installed during the NNLS installation process. If you installed NNLS using the Express installation option, Virtual Office was automatically installed on your server. If you selected the Custom installation option, you had the opportunity to select Virtual Office as an optional component to be included in the installation.

When installing NNLS, be aware that Virtual Office functions as a front end to the various components you install. If you don't install a particular component, such as iFolder, it won't be available to users using the Virtual Office interface.

When planning your deployment, be sure you either already have these NNLS components. Although it is possible to install NNLS components and integrate them into Virtual Office after the fact, this will require a great deal of manual reconfiguration of your Virtual Office service.

Virtual Office can integrate NNLS components on the same server where it is running or on a distributed NNLS implementation. If you have deployed NNLS in the latter configuration, Virtual Office really shines. End users don't have to remember one URL for iFolder, another URL for NetMail, and yet another for iPrint. They simply pull up Virtual Office using a single URL and then have access to all the other NNLS components you have deployed.

If you didn't select Virtual Office during the initial installation of NNLS, you can perform a post-installation by completing the following steps:

1. Mount your NNLS ISO image.

2. Run the install.sh script.

3. When prompted, specify a Custom installation.

4. When prompted to select the products to be installed, deselect all products.

5. Select Virtual Office .

6. Finish the installation according to the instructions presented in the lab exercise in Chapter 5.

During the installation process, the Virtual Office system files are copied to the /opt/novell/virtualoffice/bin directory in your Linux server's file system. The contents of this directory are shown in Figure 11.1.

Once Virtual Office is installed, you can access it by opening a web browser and navigating to http:// your_server_IP_address /vo. When you do, the screen in Figure 11.2 is displayed.

Virtual Office is fully integrated with eDirectory. To authenticate to Virtual Office, enter an eDirectory username in the Username field and the associated password in the Password field. When you do, the screen in Figure 11.3 is displayed.

Before you deploy Virtual Office, you need to configure several settings. Let's discuss how this is done.