The Global Address List (GAL), also known as 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 mode setting for each domain determines where the GAL lookup is performed. The GAL Configuration Wizard is used to configure the attributes. Select one of the following GAL configurations:
Internal. The Zimbra LDAP server is used for directory lookups.
External. External directory servers are used for GAL lookups. You can configure multiple external LDAP hosts for GAL. All other directory services use the Zimbra LDAP service (configuration, mail routing, etc.).
Both. Internal and external directory servers are used for GAL lookups.
Note: The maximum results settings can also be set in the Global Settings. The value entered in Global Settings becomes the default for domains that do not have this value explicitly set. The default is 100 results.
You configure the following External LDAP Settings
LDAP URL and whether to use SSL. Enter the LDAP address. The port is 389. 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* |
Enter 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.
Note: If your LDAP server performance becomes an issue when the Autocomplete from GAL feature is configured, you can disable the Domain's GAL autocomplete feature in the COS and Account settings.
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.