How to configure Exchange integration

This guide is for the IT administrator and explains how to connect an exchange service account with Planner.

Table of contents

• Requirements
• Connecting the service account with Planner
• Connecting the exchange rooms to Planner
  • Disableing email notifications during the import
  • How to import the rooms
  • Sign explanations
  • Possible issues
  • Enabling the email notifications for future bookings
• Re-importing meeting rooms

Requirements

• A service account with application impersonation rights in exchange. We recommend it is set to password never expires. Please see our guide on the service account How to create the service account for Sign In Workspace and Exchange integration
• For cloud: Exchange integration has to be enabled. Ask Helpdesk@pronestor.com to enable it if it isn't enabled already.
• For on-premise: The exchange module has to be installed, see this guide Link
• We can only connect towards one exchange environment, so all the users, calendars, meeting rooms and the service account has to be in the same exchange environment. Some exceptions have been described here Hybrid Exchange setup
• All calendars, meeting rooms, and users must have their primary smtp set to the original and not an alias.
• If you want to import meeting rooms, make sure your meeting rooms match Supported settings on Exchange meeting rooms
• AutoDiscover on Exchange must be reachable from Sign In Workspace - here are some guides on setting it up: In general regarding AutoDiscover:https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/jj900169(v=exchg.150).aspxHow to test/validate:https://testconnectivity.microsoft.comhttp://blogs.technet.com/b/rmilne/archive/2014/10/02/how-to-check-exchange-autodiscover-srv-record-using-nslookup.aspx
• o365/Exchange mail notifications for rooms should be enabled as default - this is recommended to ensure that all mails from Exchange reaches the user.

Connecting the service account with Planner

Log onto your Planner solution, with administrative rights.

Click "Settings"

Click "Other settings"

Add your email domain to the "Attendees" filter and click "Save"

Click "Exchange"

If you tick the exchange online box, Sign In Workspace (SiW) uses a default URL which is normal for those with exchange online

Fill out URL, Username, Password, and Domain if necessary

Fill out a fallback user. If the meetingowner isn't a user in Planner, this user will be set as the owner.

Click "Save and test the connection"

Connecting the exchange rooms to Planner

Disabling email notifications during the import

During this step we will import the rooms and import the meetings connected to the rooms. Every meeting imported will send out an email notification to the meeting owner. So during the import, we recommend that email notifications are disabled.

You can enable the email notifications in SiW.

• Go to administration -> settings
• Click Email
• Ensure that the box "disable all email notifications" is Blue
• Click save
• 

How to import the rooms

Go to "Resources"

Click "New resource"

Click "Yes"

Fill out the meeting rooms email address

Click "Validate"

Fill in the desired settings for the meeting room

Click "Save"

Repeat for each meeting room you want to import.

Sign explanations

When a room is imported it takes some time (depends on the amount of meetings that needs to be loaded) for SiW to import all the meetings in the room's calendar. To the left of the room resource name a status icon will be displayed.
There are the following states:

•  Room calendar has been succesfully imported / the meeting room is integrated with Exchange and everything is working correctly.
•  Room calendar is currently being imported
• SiW is currently synchronizing with the Exchange calendar
• SiW has received an error message from Exchange. SiW will try to recover from this state
• Connection to the Exchange server has been lost. Troubleshoot by verifying that the Exchange server is up and running and, subsequently, that the Microsoft Exchange information in Administration --> Settings --> Exchange integration is correct
• The exchange account can't find the meeting room. Please check that the meeting room exists and that the exchange account has application impersonation rights towards the meeting room.

Possible issues

If the meeting room was recently created or changed in Exchange, there might be some replicationtime before it becomes available for use.

You can force the replication serverside. See for example this guide https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/exchange/update-offlineaddressbook?view=exchange-ps

Enabling the email notifications for future bookings

We recommend that you get email notfications from both Outlook and SiW since SiW's notifications contain more information, for example about catering and equipment.

You can enable the email notifications in SiW.

• Go to administration -> settings
• Click Email
• Ensure that the box "disable all email notifications" is grey
• Click save
• 

Re-importing meeting rooms

It is possible to re-import meeting rooms at a later date. This is practical if your users weren't properly imported during the first import.

During a re-import SiW reads all the appointments connected to the meeting room in exchange. If a meeting got defaulted to the default user during the last import, and the meeting owner is properly in SiW now, the old meeting is deleted and a new meeting is created with the correct meeting owner. This is a great way to fix meetings so they have the correct host.

It can be resource heavy so it is recommended that it is done outside business hours.

To re-import a meeting room:

• Go to Administration - Resources
• Click on the pencil under actions for the meeting room
• Click on the button "Re-import"
•