Rated 5 out of 5 stars

by Minister Mario F. Stevenson on Dec. 9, 2014 · permalink

SID DTS-12092014:15:25] Review of ThunderSync 2.1


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Review of ThunderSync 2.1

The function of the add-on may be the future replacement of LDAP! In this review, I'll explain how the function of the add-on can serve as a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) alternative. In-line, I'll also explain the difference between "directory" .vcf and "single file" .vcf options. This is a great add-on for the collection: IETE Thunderbird Collaboration Suite.

The add-on presented no problems during installation and once the add-on has been installed, the end-user would go to Add-ons / Extensions / ThunderSync / Options to configure the settings. The add-on will open-up to address books on the left and tabbed settings on the right. The export format has two (2) options: (i) directory .vcf or (ii) .vcf single files.

During synchronization, the export will either export all the contacts of the selected address book as single .vcf files or as one complete .vcf file. Before selecting the directory it's advisable to follow the tips below:
(i) Create a new address book for synchronization.
(ii) Select the primary address book and copy all to the address book details that will be used for synchronization into the newly created address book for synchronization.
(iii) Go back to the ThunderSync settings and for the export directory choose a cloud synced directory. Here we created and chose the directory LDAP; this directory is synced with one of our cloud providers: SpiderOak, because we can give specific access to parties by unique URL routed through AWS IAM policies. Also MS Windows has a limit on long filenames and SpiderOak doesn't. When contacts are ranging in the 100 thousands and millions, this becomes important.

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Tips

_ Navigate to Options / Account Settings and deselect: Check mail at start-up.
_ Synchronize address book often.
_ Make sure view card files (.vcf) information is complete, otherwise it's poor (dirty) data.

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(iv) Choose the options for Import in Thunderbird on Startup so that, contact information is shared the moment it's updated.
(v) Choose Interactive Synchronization for Standard Action.
(vi) Choose Export From Thunderbird on Shutdown.

The next statement is virtually the most important resulting function of the add-on: Since we chose SpiderOak, there's virtually no need for an LDAP host server and millions of contacts' information are regulated, updated and synced automatically across devices and platforms.

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Update} 12272014:11:24]

We now use Box for Business for crypto commerce and overall design research and development. Although, it probably isn't necessary for use, Box does have a LDAP plugin. In any case, what will be looking for is ThunderSync to track files that have changed rather than trying scan and sync everything. We're now moving to more than 5k contacts and ultimately in the millions. Therefore, it's important for the add-on present an option: track for changes only.

_ SpiderOak removed due to numerous long-time fails;
_ OwnDrive managed by OwnCloud removed due to daily: domain can't be found.


Thank you,


--- MMS]


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