Configure Access to External (Off-board) Directory

Conditions

To support connection to an external directory:

• MiCollab Client must be configured in integrated mode.

• An external LDAP solution, such as Mitel MetaDirectory, that aggregates the contents of separate databases into a large central directory, is required.

• You must configure an Integrated Directory Services connection between the MiCollab and the external LDAP solution. Only one connection to an external directory is supported.

• Regardless of the connection method which is enabled (for the IDS connection to the directory server),the external directory search will always use an unsecured channel (non-SSL).

• An IDS synchronization operation is not required to support the external search feature. An IDS synchronization operation imports the accounts from the external directory to the MiCollab server. However, for external searching the accounts are not required on the MiCollab server.

Configuration

To configure access to an external directory:

1. Under Configuration, click Integrated Directory Service.

2. Click Add connection. The Add Integrated Directory Service connection page opens.

3. Complete the fields to create a connection to the external directory. See Manage IDS Connections for field descriptions.

   • Set the Directory server type (for a connection to Mitel MetaDirectory, select Generic LDAP).

   • Select the External search box to select this connection as the one that MiCollab Clients will use for external directory searches.

   • Enter the name of the external search base.

   • Enter an external search query string that will narrow the search criteria and reduce the number of results.

   The following are examples of the connection settings to Mitel MetaDirectory or Mitel InAttend solutions:

   Field	Mitel MetaDirectory Setting	Mitel InAttend Setting	Notes
   Directory server type	Generic LDAP	Generic LDAP
   Primary directory server	<FQDN or IP address of Mitel MetaDirectory>	<FQDN or IP address of Blustar server>
   Enable synchronization	<unchecked>	<unchecked>
   Synchronization schedule
   Domain	<domain name>	<domain name>	Name of the node in the Mitel MetaDirectory or Mitel InAttend
   Distinguished name	<username>	<username>	User for accessing the Mitel MetaDirectory or Mitel InAttend in distinguished name format, i.e., cn=MiCollab
   Password	<password>	<password>	Password of the user
   LDAP Port	712	389	Default value
   Connection method	Unsecured	Unsecured
   Default query string	ObjectClass = person	ObjectClass = person
   Search context
   External search	<checked>	<checked>
   External search base			The search base to use for the external directory search, for example: "ou=users,dc=mitel,dc=com"
   External search query string			The query string to use for the external directory search, for example: "objectClass=person".
   Partition attribute	None	None
   Partition method	Organizational unit	Organizational unit
   Enable reverse lookup	<unchecked>	<unchecked>	Unchecked for Active Directory. Checked for Generic LDAP server type.
   Remove leading digits count			Default value is 0.
   Re-Initialize on next cycle	<unchecked>	<unchecked>
   Defer all operations	<checked>	<checked>

4. To use custom attribute mappings for this connection to the external directory, clear the Use default attribute mappings box and modify the modify the IDS attribute mapping. you must map LDAP attributes to the following IDS attributes: Distinguished Name, Email, First Name, and Last Name. All other fields can have blank LDAP attributes.

   Note:

   Ensure that the contacts on the external directory contain entries in the fields that map to the following IDS attributes: Distinguished Name, First Name, Last Name, and Email.

   The following is an example of custom attribute settings to a Mitel MetaDirectory and InAttend:

   MiCollab Field	Mitel MetaDirectory mapping	InAttend mapping	Notes
   City	l	l
   Company Name	company	company
   Country	c	c
   DID Number			Use a custom field in Mitel MetaDirectory or Mitel InAttend
   Department	department	department
   Distinguished Name	distinguishedName	distinguishedName
   Email	mail	mail
   Fax	facsimileTelephoneNumber	facsimileTelephoneNumber
   First Name	givenName	givenName
   Home Element		pbxNode
   Info	info
   Info2			Use a custom field in Mitel MetaDirectory or Mitel InAttend
   Language			Use a custom field in Mitel MetaDirectory or Mitel InAttend
   Last Name	sn	sn
   Location	physicalDeliveryOfficeName	physicalDeliveryOfficeName
   Login	sAMAccountName	accountName
   Mobile Phone Number	mobile	mobileTelephoneNumber
   Mobile Phone Number 2	telephoneCar
   Photograph			Not supported. Leave blank.
   Position			Use a custom field in Mitel MetaDirectory
   Postal/ZIP code	postalCode	postalCode
   Primary Phone Directory Number	telephoneNumber	telephoneNumber
   Role
   Secondary Phone Directory Number	otherTelephone	softPhone
   Street	streetAddress	streetAddress
   Title	title	title
   User ID	entryID	objectGUID

5. Click Save.

   Note:

   When InAttend is configured with a fresh MiCollab server, the MiCollab root certificate should be installed in the Trust Store of InAttend Client, to ensure the correct presence of instant messages.

Test Directory Access from Clients

From a MiCollab Client, check to ensure that contacts stored in the metadirectory are listed in searches.