Unison FAQs

Unison overview

If I get Unison, what systems does it replace?

Unison replaces your Exchange or groupware server, your PBX telephone system, your directory server and (if you have one) your instant messaging server. Instead of separate systems, Unison runs on one server.

What if I already have an e-mail system or PBX in my company?

You can replace just one of them with Unison (for instance, just replace Microsoft Exchange), but we recommend just migrating to use Unison for both e-mail and telephony.

Deployment

Is Unison software or is it a hosted service (SaaS)?

Unison is currently software. It is usually deployed on-premise, though you can install it on a dedicated server from a hosting provider if you wish. In the future there will also be Unison software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings.

How do I migrate from my current e-mail system?

We offer a server-side migration tool to move e-mail and contacts from Microsoft Exchange to Unison. You can also do client-side migrations. Our client, Unison Desktop, will automatically import data from Microsoft Outlook or Thunderbird on the same PC.

How do I switch from my current phone system to Unison?

If you have standard telephone lines, you can buy a gateway or digital card from companies such as Cisco or Digium. Starting at around $300, this allows you to connect your existing analog or digital telephone lines to Unison. If you already have a SIP provider, you can simply configure Unison to work with that system using Unison Control Panel.

Client/server

Do I have to use both the server and your desktop client?

Yes – you must deploy both Unison Server and Unison Desktop. They are designed to work together, so that e-mail, IM, telephony, voicemail and other features are fully-unified between the server and client.

Can I use Microsoft Outlook as a desktop client?

Currently, Unison Server is not compatible with Outlook. We recommend that all users deploy Unison Desktop instead – for users familiar with Outlook, the learning curve is very simple.

Does Unison run on Windows?

Yes, Unison Desktop, for end users, runs on Windows and Linux desktops. Unison Server runs only on Linux.

Telephony

Does Unison use VoIP?

Yes, Unison's built-in PBX uses voice-over-IP for telephone calls.

Which telephone service companies can I use with Unison?

You can buy VoIP 'minutes' – that is, telephone service – from any major telephone company that provides IP authentication. Generally, all major telcos around the world offer this option. Examples in the USA include Verizon, AT&T, Level 3, XO, Broadvox, Link2VOIP and many others.

Is the Unison PBX based on Asterisk?

No, the Unison PBX is not based on Asterisk. It was developed by Unison Technologies and is patented for its scalability.

Which telephones does Unison work with?

Unison works with any SIP-compatible telephones or SIP adaptors. For instance, you can use IP telephones from Cisco, Nortel, Avaya, Linksys and others. Alternatively, you can connect any analog phone (such as your existing phones) using low-cost SIP adapters from companies like Linksys and Grandstream.

Web mail and access

Do you have a Web mail client?

Currently, Unison does not have Web mail – you must use our Unison Desktop client. However, the client does not require a separate license, so you can download and install it onto any PC without charge (unlike Outlook, for example).

Does Unison support mobile devices?

You can synchronize e-mail to almost all popular devices, such as the BlackBerry, Windows Mobile or Nokia smartphones, via IMAP. We will be adding broader mobile device support early in 2009.

Open standards

Is Unison open source?

Unison is not open source, though the server is based on Linux and some open source components are used. Unison is commercial software.

Does Unison use open standards?

Yes, Unison uses IMAP for e-mail, LDAP for directory services, SIP for telephony, XMPP for instant messaging and CalDAV for calendaring. This means it can easily be integrated with other applications. In the future, we will be providing API documents to simplify integration.

Security

Does Unison Server communicate securely with Unison Desktop?

Yes, Unison uses only SSL and TLS communication between server and client.

Is it a security risk to put all communication on one box?

Unison Server runs on Linux and has built-in anti-virus and anti-spam. It is designed with security in mind and has a far lower 'attack surface' than Microsoft Exchange and Active Directory.

Reliability

What kind of uptime does Unison Server offer?

In testing so far, Unison Server has demonstrated much higher uptime than Microsoft Exchange. Many of Unison's components, such as Postfix, have been stress-tested under huge loads, with the result that Unison is highly robust, and need be taken offline only occasionally for maintenance or updates.

Isn't it risky to consolidate all communications in one server?

The different Unison communication features run as 'daemons' on the Linux server, so they are isolated from one another. In addition, Linux is a very reliable platform, which keeps downtime minimal.