Groove Servers
Microsoft Office Groove 2007 and previous versions of Groove typically use two types of Groove server:
A managed Groove domain may also run other Groove servers to audit management tasks and enhance functionality.
Manager
Publically accessible Microsoft servers provide unmanaged Groove users with the services needed to create an account or reset the account password. However, for managed users, Groove Manager may also associate those accounts with Active Directory accounts, back up account data, manage trust relationships, and provide policies to guide or structure how you use Groove.
Groove Manager servers are also able to manage installations of SharePoint Workspace 2010. However, many SharePoint Workspace account policies can also be managed from Group Policy Objects (GPOs) in an Active Directory directory service environment. For more information on SharePoint Workspace 2010 GPOs, see the following Microsoft web site:
Configure and customize SharePoint Workspace 2010Relay
SharePoint Workspace 2010 and Groove 2007 have some features that require a Relay server. Your SharePoint Workspace 2010 license or Groove 2007 license includes access to a Microsoft-hosted Groove Relay service that Groove 2007 requires for normal operation. SharePoint Workspace uses a Relay for fewer functions that are not core functions for all customers.
For Groove 2007, the following functions require access to a Relay:
- Awareness of contacts who are not on your LAN.
- Exchange of Groove Workspace data and messages with contacts who are not logged on to Groove at the same time that you are logged on.
- Exchange of Groove Workspace data and messages with contacts with whom you cannot establish a direct connection. In a restricted network environment, this may be any contacts who are not on your local network.
For SharePoint Workspace 2010, an enterprise deployment of Office Communicator can supply an alternative mechanism for awareness and messaging but only when your SharePoint Workspace account is associated with an Active Directory account. In other environments, Groove Relays will be used. In addition, many SharePoint Workspace customers do not use Groove Workspaces. A Groove Relay is never used for a SharePoint workspace to synchronize data with a SharePoint server.
For more information about how SharePoint Workspace uses Relays in an enterprise environment, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
2502051 SharePoint Workspace may still initiate connections to the Groove Relays, even when Groove workspaces are prohibited
All Groove workspace data is encrypted over the network and on the Relay and cannot be read by Microsoft.
For more information about Groove data security, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 916359 How Groove maintains the security of a workspace and helps protect data that is sent over a non-secure network
Server hosting options
You can use Groove 2007 or SharePoint Workspace 2010 in any of the following configurations:
- With licensed Groove servers that you manage in-house.
- With licensed Groove services that are hosted by Microsoft, but that you manage.
Note This option is no longer available to new subscribers.
- With an Internet connection to Microsoft servers. By default, unmanaged licensed copies of Groove 2007 and SharePoint Workspace 2010 use one of the public-facing Groove Relays owned and administered by Microsoft to support basic Groove functions, such as communication between users who are not online at the same time.
After account configuration, you can use Groove 2007 on an isolated network that cannot reach the Microsoft-hosted Groove servers. However, some basic features will not work. In order to send data to offline users, or in order to exchange data with users on the other side of a router, you will need access to a Groove relay server.
Microsoft Office Groove Server 2007 includes Groove Server Manager and Groove Server Relay. These services help you administer large deployments of Groove and provide more control of the Groove data in your domain. Most of the features of Groove Server Manager and Groove Server Relay are available through Microsoft Office Groove Enterprise Services, for customer who do not want to host the servers onsite.
If you deploy the Groove servers, the installation of Groove Server Manager will require access to a Microsoft SQL Server. Only Groove Server Manager needs access to the SQL server. The Groove 2007 client installations in the domain do not have to have a client access license (CAL) for the SQL server.