Sun Java System Calendar Server 7 is a high performance, Internet standards-based calendar server for service providers and large enterprises that is based on the new standard for calendar access called CalDAV, the calendaring and scheduling client/server protocol. Calendar Server 7 provides a calendaring solution that is interoperable with a number of other CalDAV compliant products and clients.

How is Calendar Server 7 priced?

Calendar Server is available with both subscription based licensing and perpetual licensing on a per user basis, with volume discounts. It is also available as part of the Sun Java Communications Suite with annual subscription-based pricing; this Suite also includes Sun Java System Messaging Server, Sun Java System Instant Messaging, and support, as well as limited licenses for Sun Java System Access Manager, Sun Java System Directory Server, Sun Java System Web Server and Sun Java System Application Server.

What languages are supported?

Sun Java System Calendar Server has been localized in the standard Java Communications Suite languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. Note that these are the languages that are shipped. The software has the capability of supporting nearly any language and character set.

Are tasks or to-dos supported?

Yes. Sun Java System Calendar Server 7 supports tasks. Tasks can be repeating or non-repeating and public or private.

Can I schedule group meetings?

Yes. Calendar Server 7 fully supports group scheduling and free/busy lookup. You can invite attendees (using their email address) to a meeting. The invitations go to the attendees' calendar-inbox. The attendee can see the invitations through a client's interface to the calendar-inbox. Once the invitation is accepted, the event is placed as a confirmed/tentative event onto an attendee's calendar by the client.

What is Java System Calendar Server 6.3? What are the differences between Calendar Server 7 and Calendar Server 6.3?

Calendar Server 6.3 is based on a proprietary but open protocol called WCAP (Web Calendar Access Protocol). See the Calendar Server 6.x FAQ for more information on Calendar Server 6.3.

Calendar Server 7 is a complete redesign of the Calendar Server. The primary difference between Calendar Server 7 and Calendar Server 6.3 is that Calendar Server 7 supports CalDAV but Calendar Server 6.3 does not. Hence Calendar Server 7 is more standards-based than is Calendar Server 6.3. Both calendar servers support iCalendar as well as a number of other Calendar specifications.

When would I choose to deploy Calendar Server 7 over Calendar Server 6.3?

Calendar Server 7 addresses the issue of interoperability with other calendar clients by providing a truly standards-based approach to calendaring. A number of vendors currently support the CalDAV standard and this number is increasing. Customers seeking interoperability with other calendaring solutions such as Apple iCal and Apple iPhone, but who do not have an immediate need to support the clients supplied by the Java Communications Suite should deploy Calendar Server 7.

When would I choose to deploy Calendar Server 6.3 over Calendar Server 7?

Although Calendar Server 7 is based on an open standard, it is not yet as mature as Calendar Server 6.3. If the primary goal of the deployment is to achieve interoperability with other CalDAV compliant solutions and clients such as Apple iCal and Apple iPhone, then Calendar Server 7 should be deployed. If the goal is to have a calendar server that supports all the components of the Sun Java Communications Suite such as Convergence, Outlook Connector, Mobile Communications, Communications Sync, and Communications Express, then Calendar 6.3 should be deployed. In other words, if you only plan to use the clients supplied by Java Communications Suite, Calendar Server 6.3 would be the right choice for you.

Note that although Calendar Server 7 does not currently support the Outlook Connector or Convergence, support for these components is coming shortly. When this occurs, we see no reason to deploy Calendar Server 6.3 over Calendar Server 7, since Calendar Server 7 will surpass Calendar Server 6.3 in both functionality and scalability.

Technical Questions

What internet standards does Calendar Server 7 support?

Sun Java System Calendar Server was designed from the ground up to support Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) calendar standards. Its standards-based features make it easier for users to share calendaring information across the network. As standards continue to evolve and emerge, Sun will continue to support these new IETF standards. The relevant IETF calendar standards are:

iCalendar (RFC-2445)
CalDAV (RFC-4791 Calendaring Extensions to WebDAV)
iTIP (RFC0-2446 iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol)
iMIP (RFC-2447 iCalendar Message-Based Interoperability Protocol)

The calendar server uses HTTP (RFC 2616) as its primary transport mechanism.

10.

What is iCalendar?

iCalendar is the Standard calendar schema definition. It defines the properties and parameters associated with events, todos, journals, alarms, and timezones. iCalendar is defined by the IETF in RFC 2445.

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What is CalDAV?

CalDAV, also called Calendaring Extensions to WebDAV, is an Internet standard that enables client access to scheduling information on a remote calendar server. WebDAV, also called Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning, is a set of extensions to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that enables users to collaboratively store, edit, and manage files on remote World Wide Web servers. The WebDAV protocol makes the web a readable and writable medium that enables users to create, change, and move documents on a remote server. This is useful for authoring the documents that a web server serves, but it can also be used for storing files on the web so that the files can be accessed from anywhere.

Until recently, the calendaring world has lacked any highly adopted standards. Different vendors have used their own proprietary protocols to coordinate their clients and servers. For example, previous versions of Sun Java System Calendar Server used the proprietary WCAP protocol.

CalDAV, described in RFC 4791, was approved as an IETF standard in March 2007. RFC 4791 and its extensions provide interoperable exchange of calendaring and scheduling information between all servers and clients conforming to these standards. The CalConnect group maintains a list of supported CalDAV clients.

By supporting CalDAV, calendaring solutions enable a wide spectrum of client choices as well as more flexibility for calendar synchronization solutions, including those offered by Notify and others.

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On what platforms can I run the Calendar Server?

Calendar Server 7 supports the following operating systems: