Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux FAQ

Q: Why is Fujitsu now releasing Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux?

A: Fujitsu is a long-time supporter of the view that adherence to a single server platform policy is not in the best interest of its customers. Up until now, Linux has not been widely demanded among Fujitsu’s customers, but with the successful commercial Linux products, primarily OpenLinux from Caldera and Red Hat Linux, the situation is rapidly changing, and Linux is becoming accepted among customers.

Q: Does Fujitsu itself sell Linux?

A: Fujitsu have validated several Linux variants on their servers. The latest information on the Linux distributions for Intel-based Teamservers is available at http://www.fujitsu-computers.com/support/linux/

Q: What Linux versions will be supported by Teamware Office 5.3?

A: Initially supported Linux platforms are Caldera Open Linux, Red Hat Linux, Turbo Linux, SuSE, Red Flag, Mandrake Linux with Kernel version 2.2.

Q: Who is Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux meant for?

A: Like any Linux software, Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux suits ideally those who want to run their own systems in a cost-effective Intranet environment. Typical such customers include small enterprises, departments of larger organizations, government offices and educational institutions.

Q: How large systems will be supported?

A: While the software architecture of Teamware Office 5.3 lets the product scale easily from tens of users to tens of thousands of users, Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux is initially intended for small to medium sized organizations of up to a few hundred users. The native Linux support for load sharing across multiple servers is planned for the later releases. With this, the system scales up to thousands of users like it is already does in other available platforms.

Q: What kind of system administration utilities will there be available on Linux?

A: Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux has graphical, Windows based system and user administration tools as well as a versatile set of prompt based system administration tools. In addition, many of the common administrative tasks can be performed through a standard web browser.

Q: Will there be other Fujitsu software products available for Linux?

A: Initial plans for commercializing other Teamware products such as Teamware Flow exist, but their schedules have not been set.

Q: Is it possible to mix the Linux variant of Teamware Office 5.3 with other server platforms?

A: From the user’s point of view, all Teamware Office 5.3 servers provide the similar functionality in the network. The first edition of Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux can not be mixed with other server platform editions.

Q: The press release only mentions web browsers as clients. Is it possible to use the regular Windows PC clients for Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux?

A: The client-server interface peculiar to Teamware Office 5.3 is also available on Linux version. Windows PC clients work quite normally with a Teamware Office Linux server.

Q: Linux is based on the so-called Open Source policy. Will the source code of Teamware Office 5.3 be published?

A: Teamware Office 5.3 is a commercial software product that contains code from several sources. Due to the legally binding contractual reasons it is not possible to publish the source code of the whole product. We are, however, studying the possibility of publishing parts of the source code, relevant to e.g. interfacing Teamware Office 5.3 with other software.

Q: Which open standards will Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux comply with?

A: The standard features of Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux include a MIME gateway for interfacing to the standard sendmail service of Linux, support for POP3 and IMAP4 mail protocols as well as WebService, Teamware Office’s standard HTML support for all Teamware Office functionality.

Q: How will Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux be packaged?

A: Because of the recommended use of web browsers as standard clients, Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux will made available in a simple and efficient single server package site license with a flat price per physical server, with all the available gateways included in the package. For users who want to mix and match Windows clients with Web browser use, the Windows PC clients will be available separately.

In Europe, Teamware Group Oy will launch the product through its direct sales and its indirect sales partners after the Japanese version. In USA, all Teamware software is marketed and sold in USA by Fujitsu Software Corporation. At present, FSC plans to launch the product through its direct sales and its indirect sales partners after the Japanese version.

Q: Is SSL, Secure Sockets Layer, available for Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux?

A: SSL is not currently implemented as part of Teamware Office for Linux. However Stunnel, http://www.stunnel.org/ , is a program that allows you to encrypt arbitrary TCP connections inside SSL, http://www.netscape.com/eng/ssl3 , available on both Unix and Windows. Stunnel can allow you to secure non-SSL aware daemons and protocols (like Teamware Office Webservice) by having Stunnel provide the encryption, requiring no changes to the daemon's code. Check the Stunnel site for more information.

Q: When will Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux be available?

A: Teamware Office 5.3 for Linux is currently shipping.

Please note that all products may not be available worldwide. Contact your local Teamware representative for details.