Unity 3.1.3 - NT4 domain

[admin_2]

Our customer has a NT4 domain where we are installing a Unity 3.1.3 voicemail system (integrated with CM). We installed an Exchange 5.5 on the Unity server, in the existing NT4 domain. The installation went OK, but now we want to create the Unity mailboxes: Is it possible to create a new Unity mailbox and to associate this mailbox with an existing NT4 account of the domain?<br><br>We don't want to create new accounts on the domain (because they already exist). We want to use the existing accounts in order to give the users access to the Active Assistant.<br>If we add a Unity mailbox by creating a new Exchange User, it says that the NT alias already exists... And we can't add a Unity mailbox by importing an existing Exchange user as our Exchange server contains no mailboxes yet...<br><br>Any solution for this problem? Thanks in advance!<br><br>

[#2]

What license do you have? If you only have a Voicemail license can`t do this that way.
Do the customer use exchange for Mail? If he does you have to set the Unity Exchange Server to the same site as the normal Exchange server of the customer. Then you can import the User Accounts. This is only possible with an UM license. By an VM license you have to install an Domain Controller on your Unity Server and have to create each Mailbox new.

Achim

[#3]

Technically (according to the license agreement anyway) it doesn't matter where the mailbox itself resides (on or off box). The license for VM only simply means you can't use VMO at your desktop, can't get at emails via TTS over the phone and that you're responsible for a CAL to Microsoft if you're using another client (besides the phone) to get at your inbox.

Our configuration docs definitely reccomend setting up seperate mailboxes for subscribers if you're using VM only. If you already have mailboxes configured for your users and you want to use those, you really should get UM licenses and go with it.

BTW, there's no restriction as to how the domain controller is configured... Unity can be a member server in an existing domain (and I reccomend it) or a domain controller in either UM or VM configurations.


Jeff Lindborg
Unity Technical Lead/Answer Monkey
Cisco Systems
lindborg@cisco.com
http://www.AnswerMonkey.net (new page for Unity support tools and scripts)

[#4]

But if the Unityserver is Memberserver you have the Problem that all exchange accounts are created in Windows NT or Windows2000 too.

[#5]

I'm kinda confused by your comment... first, why is that a problem? For Exchange 2000/AD you have no choice but to create an AC account SOMEwhere. For Exchange 5.5 you have the option of not creating an NT account but only creating a mail account (if you don't plan on using VMO/AA stuff requiring network authentication).

If you want a strict voice mail only system that doesn't touch the company's network in any way, then yes... you can install us as a stand alone system and have the customer maintain two seperate directories etc... But having Unity also serve as a domain controller is to be avoided if you can since it adds a bunch of additional overhead to the server you don't need in most cases.


Jeff Lindborg
Unity Technical Lead/Answer Monkey
Cisco Systems
lindborg@cisco.com
http://www.AnswerMonkey.net (new page for Unity support tools and scripts)

[#6]

You say that for Exchange 5.5 you have the option of not creating a NT account but only a mail account. Can you do the same when creating a new Unity mailbox (with the Unity Administration application)?

Because that's what I want to do: I'm installing a VM system and I want to link the Unity mailboxes with the user's existing NT account (so that they can use the Active Assistant with their existing accounts). When I create a new Unity subscriber (with the Unity Administration application), I have the choice between creating a new Exchange User or importing an existing Exchange User:
- if I choose to create a new Exchange User, then Unity creates a new NT account on the domain...But I want to use the existing accounts.
- I can't choose to import an existing Exchange User, because it's a VM system and the Exchange server contains no mailboxes yet...

I already found a little workaround: first create the mailbox manually in Exchange 5.5 & link it with the user's existing domain account and then go to the Unity Administration application & create a new Unity mailbox by importing this Exchange User. But it's a quite heavy way of working! And if the customer wants to create new mailboxes later on, it's not so easy for him: he first has to go into the Exchange Administration application and afterwards he has to go into the Unity Administration application.

Is there another way of working?

[#7]

Unity can't create an Exchange box and bind it to an existing NT account on the fly for you... we can only create both and pair them together in one shot (actually the Exchange API creates the NT account for us) or we can just create an Exchange account with no NT account association at all (this requires a registry change which you can get at in the Advanced Settings tool).

In your case the best option is to create Exchange accounts on your own and bind them to the NT accounts. You can do this quickly by exporting your NT user information to CSV and using the import user option in Exchange to create mailboxes for these users automatically. Once you've done that you can import them into Unity as subscribers no problem.

If you want to get fancy you can even prepopulate the Busines Phone field in exchange with the user's extension which will allow you to bulk import these guys into Unity in one shot using the Import tool in the Unity program group...


Jeff Lindborg
Unity Technical Lead/Answer Monkey
Cisco Systems
lindborg@cisco.com
http://www.AnswerMonkey.net (new page for Unity support tools and scripts)