Max-Planck Institute For Biophysics in Frankfurt, Germany
Sun, 05/18/2008 - 20:19
With over 300 employees, the Max-Planck Institute for Biophysics studies the structure and functionality of biological molecules. Only a very detailed understanding of molecular mechanisms allows researches to uncover the causes of individual diseases, like diabetes. The Institute counts among its most well-known researchers the winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Michael Hartmut.
In the summer of 2006, the Institute’s IT department decided to drop Sun's iPlanet email and groupware service. The hardware and software had become outdated, updating the system would be become cost-prohibitive, and technical support within the Institute could no longer adequately administer iPlanet.
System integrator science + computing ag suggested switching to the Open-Xchange Server, and the Institute immediately agreed. IT-leader Rolf Bergbauer recalls: “We could easily transfer the existing mail accounts, thanks to the open and modular architecture of Open-Xchange Server. That, together with the chance to make e-mail and groupware available in Linux without additional cost, sold us on Open-Xchange.“
Open-Xchange Server was deployed on a HP DL380 server with two Intel Core2 Duo with 3 GB RAM, using RedHat Enterprise Linux 4 with Application Server 2. The groupware database and the cyrus mailserver are on an attached storage, which is linked to another backup HP DL380, with Intel Core2 Duo processor and 1 GB RAM, to take over work in case the initial HP server crashes.
The storage is a fibre channel RAID, which can be mounted from both servers. Heartbeat ensures that only one server is mounted, by shutting down the other machine via ILO board once the service is handed over from one server to the other. User homes are mounted via NFS from the file server, which allows it to generate new users using the convenient graphical Open-Xchange administration module.
Consolidating file servers with Open-Xchange Server allowed a Linux openLDAP Server to replace the old Solaris SUN One LDAP server. This migration ran smoothly with some manual adjustment. Now, new “groups” can be generated within the LDAP server as well. The authentication at the LDAP server now takes place directly within the Open-Xchange Server, regardless of whether the user works on a Unix, Linux, Mac OX or Windows computer within the Institute.
“Our first experiences are very positive,” says Rolf Bergbauer. “Our users became familiar with the Open-Xchange web client very quickly, and now enjoy a new freedom to access their e-mail, appointment calendars, and addresses from home or on the road.”
Find more information about the Max-Planck Institute for Biophysics at www.mpibp-frankfurt.mpg.de
For further information on the project, please contact
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