The Global Address List (GAL), also known as a corporate address book or company directory, is a listing of all employees within an organization or department. GAL is a commonly used feature in mail systems so users can look up another user's information by first or last name, without having to know the complete email address.
GAL is configured on a per-domain basis. The GAL Configuration Wizard is used to configure the GAL attributes. Select one of the following GAL mode configurations:
Internal. The Zimbra LDAP server is used for GAL directory lookups.
External. External directory servers are used for GAL directory lookups. You can configure multiple external LDAP hosts for GAL. All other directory services use the Zimbra LDAP service (configuration, mail routing, etc.) When you configure the external GAL mode, you can configure GAL search and GAL sync separately, to configure different search settings and sync settings.
Both. Internal and external directory servers are used for GAL lookups.
You can configure the maximum number of search results that can be returned in one GAL search.
The value entered in Global Settings becomes the default for domains that do not have this value explicitly set. The default is 100 results.
When you configure an internal or external GAL, a GAL sync account is automatically created for each domain. The address book in the galsync account is where the LDAP contact data is sync'd. Syncing the LDAP to this account gives users faster access to the GAL data and makes it easier for them to search the GAL.
If Both is selected, a GAL sync account is created for each LDAP data source. These accounts display in the administration console's Accounts list.
The internal GAL polling interval for the account determines how often the GAL sync account syncs with the LDAP server. The sync intervals can be in x days, hours, minutes or seconds.
When the GAL sync account syncs to the LDAP server the first time, all GAL contacts from the LDAP are added to the galsync account's address book. During subsequent syncs, the account is updated with information about new contact, modified contact, and deleted contact.
Do not modify the GAL sync account address book directly. When the LDAP syncs the GAL to the account, changes you make to the address book are deleted.
You configure the following External LDAP Settings
LDAP URL and whether to use SSL. Two server types can be configured, LDAP or Active Directory. For LDAP, the port is 389. For Active Directory, the port is 3268. If you use SSL, the port is 636. You can configure multiple external LDAP hosts, so users can access GAL from the next available configured server when a GAL server is down.
LDAP filter. The filter defines the search rules used for directory searches. The parameters in a filter you construct determine the thoroughness of a search. A search filter must be specified.
The following is an example of the filter string. Syntax "%s" represents the string the user types.
(&(|( cn=*%s*)( sn=*%s*)( gn=*%s*)( mail=*%s*)( zimbraMailDeliveryAddress=*%s*)
( zimbraMailAlias=*%s*)( zimbraMailAddress=*%s*))
(|( objectclass=zimbraAccount)( objectclass=zimbraDistributionList)))
This filter example, combines the basic search filters using the Boolean operation OR to first search the various attributes ( cn, gn, etc.), and then verifies that the entry matched is either a Zimbra account or distribution list.
Filter |
Matches |
cn=*%s* |
Entries with a common name approximately equal to user's input |
sn=*%s* |
Entries with a surname approximately equal to user's input |
gn=*%s* |
Entries with a given name approximately equal to user's input |
mail=*%s* |
Entries with an email address. |
zimbraMailDeliveryAddress=*%s* |
Entries with a Zimbra email address |
zimbraMailAlias=*%s* |
Entry is a Zimbra alias |
zimbraMailAddress=*%s* |
Entries with a Zimbra distribution list address |
objectclass=zimbraAccount |
The matches found exist as a Zimbra account. |
objectclass=zimbraDistributionList |
The matches found exist as a Zimbra distribution list. |
Autocomplete filter. To enable the ability to let users use the Autocomplete from GAL feature, the autocomplete filter must be configured. For LDAP, the default GAL filter setting is (|( cn=%s*)( sn=%s*)( gn=%s*)( mail=%s*)). For AD, adAutoComplete is the default filter.
LDAP search base. To search within a specific part of your directory, enter a search base. For example, ( dc=server, dc=com).
Use DN Password to bind to external server. If the filter you entered cannot be run using an anonymous bind, then enter the DN/password of a service account on the external LDAP that has been granted access to the attributes required to do the search.
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