Understanding
the need for a more comprehensive functional solution for Mac,
Microsoft provides a powerful Exchange Server client for the Macintosh
as part of their Office 2008 package called Entourage 2008. This option
is very effective for Mac users’ internal
and external connectivity needs because it provides the same look and
feel that Mac users are familiar with and many of the enhanced functions
of the latest Windows-based Outlook client.
The most compatible
platform with the Mac operating system, Entourage 2008 provides support
for email, calendaring, contact management, junk email filtering,
synchronization, and even support for handheld devices when combined
with Exchange Server 2010. Exchange Server administrators can now
leverage the Entourage client to provide Mac users with a familiar look
and feel while delivering full integration with added features and
access to Exchange Server 2010 data.
Features and Functionality
The Entourage 2008
client software combined with the Exchange Server 2010 platform and
latest service packs can provide enhanced functionality for the Mac user
in many areas not before available. The Entourage 2008 for Mac Web
Services edition update provides Entourage users access to synchronize
tasks, store attachments in calendar appointments, and other features
that were not supported in the original release of the Entourage 2008
application. To download the latest Entourage updates, go to www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx.
When combined with
the Exchange Server update, Entourage provides extensive support and
enhanced functionality in the following areas:
Enhanced Autodiscover capability—
Autodiscover is a feature added to Exchange Server 2007 (and continued
in Exchange Server 2010) that provides automatically failover
intelligence for client systems to connect to a surviving Exchange
server node if a server failure occurs. With Autodiscover enabled, when
an Exchange Server 2010 server fails over to another server, the client
will reconnect to Exchange Server automatically.
Full synchronization support—
With the Web Services edition, an Entourage client will synchronize
tasks, notes, and categories, features that weren’t synchronized with
the original release of Entourage 2008.
Attachment support— The Web Services edition also supports the synchronization of calendar appointments that have attachments.
Deploying Entourage 2008
Requirements for
installing Entourage 2008 vary slightly from the requirements of Outlook
and other Exchange Server solutions. Before installing and configuring
Entourage 2008 clients, administrators must ensure that minimum hardware
requirements at the Mac desktop are met and the Exchange Server 2010
prerequisites have been configured. In addition, the client must be
updated and installed with the required updates and software to ensure
proper functionality and connectivity when accessing Exchange Server
mail data.
Before installing Entourage, ensure that the following requirements and configurations have been enabled on the Exchange server:
Though most of
these settings are already enabled to support Windows-based client
connectivity to Exchange Server, review and address any of the hardware
and software requirements for installing Entourage by reviewing Table 1 and the software prerequisites for Exchange Server 2010.
Table 1. Entourage 2008’s Mac Hardware Requirements
| Processor | Memory | Hard Disk Space |
|---|
| Intel or PowerPC G4 or G5 (500MHz or faster) | 512MB | 1.5GB available disk space |
| Other Requirements | | |
| Mac OS X installed
Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later
Version of Entourage installed
Office for Mac 2008 Standard or Special Media Edition | | |
Verify that the Mac
client desktop hardware you are installing meets the minimum hardware
requirements to install Entourage 2008, as listed in Table 29.2.
If you do not know what hardware is installed on the Mac client, use
the Mac System Profiler available on the Tools menu of the Mac desktop
to display and evaluate the hardware installed on the Mac desktop.
After the Exchange
server has been prepared and the hardware requirement for Entourage has
been addressed, the next components to support Entourage are the updates
and software requirements for the Mac client. Before the installation
of Entourage 2008 can be completed, the following components must be
installed or updated in the Mac client:
Office 2008 for Mac— To install Entourage 2008, the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac suite must be installed.
Install Updates—
Because upgrades can be completed after the installation of Office 2008
for Mac, administrators can install any available updates before
running the Upgrade Wizard or configuring any identities.
Microsoft Exchange Update—
When connecting Entourage 2008 to Exchange Server 2010, be sure to
install the latest Office 2008 Service Pack on the client computer that
includes the Web Services edition for Entourage 2008.
After all updates
have been completed and requirements met, the installation of Entourage
2008 can be completed, and the Entourage client can be connected to
Exchange Server. To configure the Entourage client for Exchange Server
support, follow these steps:
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To further leverage
the available features of Windows and Exchange Server, administrators
can enable NTLM version 2 for authentication of Mac users when
connecting with Entourage clients.
To encrypt a password
using NTLM V2, select the properties of the Exchange Server mail account
and select the Advanced Features tab. Enable password encryption by
selecting the Always Use Secure Passwords option.
Entourage 2008 does
not support NTLM version 1; ensure that the default domain policy is
configured to support NTLM version 2 before connecting Entourage 2008
clients.
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1. | Launch the Entourage 2008 client, and select Tools, Accounts.
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2. | Select the Mail tab, select New from the New drop-down box, and enter the account type for connecting to Exchange Server.
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3. | Enter the user information for the account connecting to Exchange Server with the client:
- Account Name— Enter the name of the account created in Active Directory for the Mac user to connect to Exchange Server.
- Password—
Provide the password for the Active Directory account or leave this
entry blank to prompt the user to log on when connecting to Exchange
Server.
- Domain Name— Enter the name of the Active Directory domain where the account is a member.
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