[Users] April 14, 2020 Zeta Alliance Conference Call Summary

[Randy Leiker]

Hello Zeta Alliance Community, 

Here is a summary of this week’s conference call. A few brief reminders: 


    * Conference calls are every Tuesday and open to all using either the FreeConferenceCall.com VoIP app or via a dial-in number: [ https://www.freeconferencecall.com/wall/zetalliance | https://www.freeconferencecall.com/wall/zetalliance ] 
    * Each week’s call agenda can be found at: [ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uUUDJpwp2CAylU6lxtbEdVcUX_qSbciyes6gLTWw2fY/edit | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uUUDJpwp2CAylU6lxtbEdVcUX_qSbciyes6gLTWw2fY/edit ] 
    * A copy of each week’s summary is also posted to the Zimbra Forums: 
        * February 2020 : [ https://forums.zimbra.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=67726 | https://forums.zimbra.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=67726 ] 
        * March 2020 : [ http://forums.zimbra.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=67855 | http://forums.zimbra.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=67855 ] 
        * April 2020 : [ https://forums.zimbra.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=68073 | https://forums.zimbra.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=68073 ] 
    * Constructive feedback on these call summaries is always welcome. 

April 14, 2020 Conference Call Summary 

Zimbra Connect Network Configuration 
Mark S. asked if it is possible to setup a STUN/TURN server that uses a private IP (RFC 1918) address (example: 192.168.0.2). When combined with split-horizon DNS, he proposed that a full-qualified domain name (FQDN) like turn.example.com could resolve to an address like 192.168.0.2 within the internal network, while resolving turn.example.com to a public IP address for all others on the Internet. Cine said that this should work as long as Zimbra Connect is provided with the FQDN (turn.example.com) via the “zxsuite connect iceServer add…” command, instead of the TURN server’s RFC 1918 private IP address, ensuring that Zimbra Connect advertises the FQDN to clients rather than the RFC 1918 IP address. Cine also explained that it is still recommended to run a TURN server on a public IP address whenever possible to avoid potential operational issues and that the most common issue reported to Zextras, related to Zimbra Connect, is restrictive firewalls that block WebSocket connections from client web browsers, required by Zimbra Connect to operate normally. 

Zimbra 9 Demonstration 
Barry D. & Cine demonstrated some key features of the new modern UI from a Zimbra 9 install to everyone on the conference call. 

Updating Zimbra 8.x Zimlets to Zimbra 9 
Barry D. reported that he has published new guides for developing and upgrading Zimbra 8.x Zimlets to Zimbra 9 Zimlets. The guides also include links that will benefit those new to Zimlet development with additional resources related to getting started with the React framework: 


    * [ https://github.com/Zimbra/zm-extension-guide | https://github.com/Zimbra/zm-extension-guide ] 
    * [ https://github.com/Zimbra/zm-zimlet-guide | https://github.com/Zimbra/zm-zimlet-guide ] 

Low Bandwidth Devices And Zimbra 9’s Modern UI 
Noah P. asked how clients with low bandwidth are handled in Zimbra 9 with the Modern UI. He said that in Zimbra 8.x, clients are normally presented with an option to switch to the Standard (HTML) version of the Zimbra Web Client when logging in, if needed. John E. said that a portion of the Modern UI can now be installed directly on a low-bandwidth device, allowing the device to still use the full set of features of the Modern UI, while minimizing bandwidth usage, but he did not elaborate on how this is implemented for end users. 

Community Reactions To Synacor’s Closed Source Policy For Zimbra 9 
Several on the call commented about initial reactions they have read from the Zimbra community regarding Synacor’s closed source policy change for Zimbra 9, both in the Zimbra forums, and elsewhere on the Internet. Marc G. said he felt that if Synacor employees would directly correspond with the community on the Zimbra forums that it would help answer many of the angry comments posted, while simultaneously correcting inaccurate information. John E. said there are politics involved for Synacor employees to directly participate in the Zimbra forums. He also said that he is concerned there is a lot of misunderstanding about Zimbra’s position on Synacor’s open source policy. He referred to a brief note at the bottom of the Zimbra 9 release notes (https://wiki.zimbra.com/wiki/Zimbra_Releases/9.0.0) about Synacor’s plans for open source versions of Zimbra going forward, in addition to his comments from last week’s call (refer to the April 7th call summary for details). 

Zimbra 9 Network Edition Servers With Expiring Licenses 
Mark S. said that in licensed versions of Zimbra Network Edition version 8.8.15 and earlier, that if the license expires, Zimbra reverts back to an open source mode, effectively disabling the features normally included with the Network Edition version. He asked if this still works the same way for a Zimbra 9 installation. John E. confirmed that Zimbra 9 will revert to the equivalent of an open source version of 8.8.15. He said that in such an instance, it is his understanding that Zimbra 9 components will continue to receive updates. 

Zimbra Connect’s 5 Simultaneous Video Stream Limit Per Call 
Zimbra Connect allows a theoretically unlimited number of participants to join a call (aka Instant Meeting), but states in its documentation that it is recommended that no more than 5 callers’ video stream be enabled simultaneously, as the web browser performance of each caller noticeably suffers with more than 5 video streams. Marcelo asked if there was a plan at Zextras to find a means to increase the recommended limit of 5 simultaneous video streams per video call. Cine said that they are monitoring feedback they are receiving related to Zimbra Connect closely to see what is possible. 

Broken Email Searches In Zimbra 9 
Marcello reported observing that the email message search feature in the Zimbra Web Client, for both the Classic UI and Modern UI, appears to be broken after upgrading to Zimbra 9. John H. & John E. said that this is a known issue affecting some installations that is currently under investigation. So far, Zimbra Support has not been able to reproduce this issue yet and they are working with the reporters of the issue for more details. 

Zimbra Connector For Outlook (ZCO) Version 9 Feedback 
John H. reported that since ZCO version 9 was released, he has heard from few customers still experiencing crashes, as compared to customers running earlier ZCO versions. He said that the only issue that has emerged with ZCO version 9 relates to using non-Latin characters within the name of an Outlook profile (for example: an Outlook profile name containing Swedish characters) which has been shown to lead to a crash of the Outlook profile upon startup. 

Zimbra Connect Requests For Enhancement (RFEs) 
Marcello offered several RFEs to improve Zimbra Connect and asked for the recommended way to submit his suggestions. Cine said that submitting RFEs through Zimbra support is the preferred channel. Randy L. reported that many of his customers are making feature comparisons between Zimbra Connect and services such as Zoom, WebEx, and others. He asked if Zextras could share the vision of what Zimbra Connect (aka Zextras Team) is intended to be in the long term so he can ensure he is giving customers accurate information about the future road map. Cine said he could not comment on behalf of Zextras, but said that the Zextra development team is open to all new suggestions and has seen a large spike in RFEs very recently which they are working through as the road map for Zimbra Connect continues to evolve. 

Open Drive and Zoom Zimlets in Zimbra 9 
Andre A. said that he is having trouble using the Open Drive Zimlet in Zimbra 9, which results in the mailboxd service failing to start. He said that after disabling this Zimlet, the mailboxd service can then be started successfully. Cine said the Open Drive Zimlet is not compatible with Zimbra 9 and suggested opening a support case with Zimbra for additional assistance. Andre also reported that he is having an issue with the new Zoom Zimlet initializing correctly in Zimbra 9, related to an OAuth error. He said he will follow-up on this topic with a Zimbra Support case. 


Randy Leiker ( randy at skywaynetworks.com ) 
Skyway Networks, LLC 

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