Extend Dovecot/Postfix setup with Calendar/Contact Sync

Question

I am currently running a mailserver with dovecot (maildir) and postfix.

Now one user has to sync his contacts and calendar with outlook and iOS using our service. The only way to do this seems to be with exchange, right?

I dont really want to change anything big in the existing setup since it is working really well. Is it possible to somehow integrate an Exchange / Sync service in this existing setup?

I already tried Z-Push with IMAP/CalDAV/CardDAV but it has not really worked reliable.

Or is there something else to consider? Outlook does not seem to support Cal/CardDAV out of the box.

Horde

Although I don't know if your also using Plesk/Odin, which I am, I ran in the same problem. After some search it seems Horde Webmail has some built-in functionality for that and if that is not the case for you, you can install addons for that.

For example, when you login in to Horde Webmail go to Agenda and edit the agenda you want to have on multiple devices. At the Subscription tab you'll find some CalDAV (read and write) en WebDAV (read only) information.

Take note of the CalDAV account URL (which I used), here's an example;

hxxp://webmail.domain.tld/rpc.php/principals/[email protected]/

If you prefer another url, be sure to check the Horde CalDAV and Horde CardDAV pages first for compatibility.

When you don't have the functionality already at your disposal, have a look at Kronolith for Calendar support, Turba for Contact management and finally SabreDav for the implementation. Or maybe consider switching to Horde Groupware Webmail or Horde Groupware

Outlook

To add this in Outlook (even works in 2016) you don't have to add the agenda to Outlook itself, but install Outlook CalDav Synchronizer and you get another tab in your outlook ribbon which says CalDAV Synchronizer.

Just create a new profile in the synchronizer to get the Agenda in Outlook, and edits will be synchronized both ways.

To have your contacts synchronized, create another profile for those using the same method.

iOS (iPhone/iPad)

Last but not least, the principals (account) url you get from the Horde Webmail, for both Agenda and Addressbooks can be added to an iPhone or iPad (iOS) separately as their respective usage. Meaning, they don't show up if you only add a new mail account. Here's how to do it:

At Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars tap Add Account then tap Other from there you can add the CalDAV Agenda(Calendar) or Addressbook(Contacts) using the same credentials you use for logging into Horde Webmail. For the Server address, you guessed it, you use the same CalDAV principals (account) url from before.

If you use another mail client, I'm positive this information will get you on the right track to get a solution for that as well.

Comments

[Roy Jacobs]

Could not add url's because of the reputation, i'll add these later, or maybe someone with enough rep can edit them in; [1]: wiki.horde.org/CalDAV [2]: wiki.horde.org/CardDAV [3]: github.com/aluxnimm/outlookcaldavsynchronizer [4]: horde.org/apps/kronolith [5]: horde.org/apps/turba [6]: sabre.io/dav [7]: horde.org/apps/webmail [8]: horde.org/apps/groupware