Traditional way of synchronizing your calendar data with your mobile handsets is via Desktop Machine (First synchronize your desktop machine with calendar server data and then synchronizing your mobile handset by connecting it to your desktop machine or laptop and vice versa).
With mobility you need a mechnism to synchronize your calendar data directly from your handset without connecting your mobile to desktop or laptop. Today's post covers overview and implementation steps for providing infrastructure so that users/managers/employees can be in synch and update their meetings, shedules directly from mobile.

Overview of Oracle Calendar
-------------------------------------
Oracle Calendar is component of Oracle Collaboration Suite which you can
install stndalone as well as part of oracle collaboration suite . Calnedar is used to book your schedule, online diaries, events and meetings.
Below note explain implementation of Standalone Calendar so that they can be synchronized with Mobile Handset (For explanation purpose I have taken example of Nokia E61 and Nokia E50 series)
In order to synch your mobile handset with Calendar you need standalone calendar server and HTTP Server (Oracle HTTP Server or any other web server like Apache, Webspahere...). If you installed Calendar as part of Oracle Collaboration Suite, you don't need web server as it is installed by default with Collaboration Suite.

Overview of Standalone Oracle Calendar synch directly from Mobile Handset
-------------------------------------------------------------

A) Install Standalone Oracle Calendar Server
B) Install Standalone Oracle HTTP Server
C) Configure Oracle Calendar to access via Oracle HTTP Server
D) Upgrade Calendar to version 10.1.2.4 to get Nokia E50 and E61 profiles
E) Configuration at Nokia Handset / Mobile device
F) Related Documentation

Assumptions
---------------------
Below is software and operating system I used which can vary as per your
requireemnt.

--Standalone calendar Server
--Standalone Web Server (Oracle HTTP Server)

Installed on same machine in two different oracle_home (Though you can install them on different machine as well)

ORACLE HOME for Calendar : /apps/oracle/product/CAL
ORACLE HOME for Oracle Web Server : /apps/oracle/product/OHS

-- Operating System is Red Hat Linux ES 3 (Though this can be on ES4, solaris or windows as well)

Calendar and other Software Location
-----------------------------------------------------------
i) Standalone Calendar -> Calendar Software for Linux
ii) Standalone Oracle HTTP Server -> Application Server Companion CD
iii) Red Hat Linux -> http://rhn.redhat.com/

Operating System Prereq.
-------------------------------------
i) Make sure kernel version of Red Hat ES3 should be minimum 2.4.21-27 or higher
ii) Install following additional RPM’s if they are not installed already. sysstat-4.0.7-4.EL.3.3
gnome-libs-1.4.1.2.90-34.2
compat-glibc-7.x.2.2.4.32.6

(To check if RPM is already installed or not use "rpm -qa grep {rpm_name}" )

iii) Add following kernel parameters in /etc/sysctl.conf
kernel.shmall = 3279547
kernel.shmmax = 2147483648
kernel.shmmni = 4096
#semaphores: semmsl, semmns, semopm, semmni
kernel.sem = 256 32000 100 142
fs.file-max = 327679
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 10000 65000
kernel.msgmni = 2878
kernel.msgmax = 8192
kernel.msgmnb = 65535

and execute "sysctl –p /etc/sysctl.conf" (From root user)

iv) Add following lines in /etc/security/limits.conf
* soft nproc 4096
* hard nproc 16384
* soft nofile 16384
* hard nofile 65536 (Don't forget to put *)

Start Standalone Calendar Installation
----------------------------------------------------------
Login with user "oracle" (or any other user with whom you wish to install software). Navigate to standalone calendar software location and start installation like

i) /calendar_standalone/runInstaller

ii) Click Next on Welcome Screen and enter ORACLE_HOME name PATH and click next.
ORACLE_HOME CAL_HOME
PATH /apps/oracle/product/CAL

iii) Select component you wish to install and click Next, Select All Components

iv) Select language (leave default) and click Next

v) Select directory server you wish to use : Select Internal in our case

vi) Enter Oracle Calendar Administrator Password (This will be used during administration and user management)

vii) In Oracle-Calendar Node ID screen enter Node ID, since this is our first and only Node so lets make this one as Master Node with ID as 1 (Select this as Master Node)

viii) Enter Host or Alias, Enter host name here as any thing your actual hostname of machine or virtual name like focusthread.com

ix) Click Next & then click on Install Button

On successful installation Next Step is to install Web Server (Oracle Standalone HTTP Server)

Standalone Oracle HTTP Server Installation
------------------------------------------------------
Login with username "oracle" or any other user with whom you wish to install HTTP Server. Navigate to Oracle HTTP Server software location and Start OHS Installation using runInstaller

i) ./runInstaller

ii) Click Next on Welcome Screen and enter ORACLE_HOME name PATH and click next
ORACLE_HOME OHS_HOME
PATH /apps/oracle/product/OHS

iii) Select Product to Install, Select Web Server Services 10.1.2.0.2

iv) Select Installation Type Select Oracle HTTP Server with Apache 2.0

v) Select other default options till install screen

vi) Click Next & then click on Install Button

vii) In the end it will ask you to execute root.sh From root execute like /apps/oracle/product/OHS/root.sh

Configure Oracle Calendar With Oracle HTTP Server
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Order to configure Calendar via Mobile Handset, first it should be accessible via HTTP Server on HTTP/HTTPS protocol. So in this step we will configure Oracle Calendar with HTTP Server

i) Include following files in httpd.conf of HTTP Server at
/apps/oracle/product/OHS/ohs/conf

/apps/oracle/product/CAL/ocad/config/ocad.conf and /apps/oracle/product/CAL/ocas/conf/ocal.conf

(Here ocad.conf is Oracle Calendar Server Configuration file and ocal.conf is Oracle Calendar Application Server or OCAS configuration file)

ii) Restart OHS as
ORACLE_HOME=/apps/oracle/product/OHS
export ORACLE_HOME

opmnctl stopall
opmnctl startall (opmnctl is located in $OHS_HOME/opmn/bin directory)
iii) Start Calendar & OCAS Server
ORACLE_HOME=/apps/oracle/product/CAL
export ORACLE_HOME
unistart (located in $CAL_HOME/ocal/bin)
ocasctl –startocasctl –start –t ochecklet
(located in $CAL_HOME/ocas/bin)

iv) Create users and groups using Node administration Screen
http://hostname.domainname:port/ocad-bin/ocad.cgi?object=nodeadm

In my case during Calendar Installation, I hostname or Alias as
focusthread.com and default HTTP Server port number during installation was 7777 so I'll access Calendar Administration Screen as
http://focusthread.com:7777/ocad-bin/ocad.cgi?object=nodeadm

v) Check if you can access Calendar via Web Services URL
http://hostname.domainname:port/ocas-bin/ocas.fcgi?sub=web or
http://focusthread.com:7777/ocas-bin/ocas.fcgi?sub=web

If you get message like "Message Catalogue Unavailable" check Metalink Note # 275524.1

Next
Synch Calendar from Mobile Part II

Related

Collaboration Suite Overview
Calendar Server Overview

Synchronizing Calendar directly from Mobile Handset with important files and related documentation coming in part II

Labels: calendar, ocs