[German]The russian Astra Group has developed a replacement for Microsoft's Exchange Server that fully implements its functionality. The product is scheduled to hit the Russian market at the end of the first quarter of 2022. The company intends to fully replace Microsoft with a range of "Astra" solutions, from operating systems to cloud services.
Advertising
Brief review
In 2015, plans started in Russia to replace foreign software from technology companies such as Microsoft and Apple with Astra Linux. All government agencies and major businesses for Russia were to be affected by this ban. In December 2018, it became public that this plan would extend until 2030 at the latest.
Within this initiative Astra Linux was developed. This is a Russian Linux distribution based on Debian, which is specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Russian Armed Forces, other armed forces and intelligence agencies.
The Astra Group
According to this source, Astra is the name for an association of legally independent Russian software developers whose products are developed under independent brands. On October 30, 2020, it became known that GK Astra Linux, the developer of the Linux in question and various virtualization tools, founded the Astra Group as a merger of several companies.
The goal of the Astra project is to create a domestic software stack to meet the IT needs of Russian customers at various levels. This ranges from operating systems to specialized applications. The Astra Linux Group of Companies has therefore launched the "Ready for Astra Linux" cooperation program. Within the framework of the program, a comprehensive test of compatibility of products of domestic and foreign IT manufacturers with the operating system of the Astra Linux family is carried out. If the solutions have passed the tests, they receive official certificates.
As of October 2020, Astra Linux GC specialists, together with experts from IT partner companies, have formed a large ecosystem of IT products that includes more than 500 compatible solutions. Ready for Astra Linux continues to grow and significant resources are being invested in this project. So it is possible, if you only want it politically and do not consider Microsoft's or Apple's solutions to be without alternatives.
Advertising
Russian Exchange replacement
On cewnews.ru I just read a news item dated November 25, 2021, according to which the Russian Astra Group has developed a counterpart to Microsoft Exchange Server. The product, RuPost Corporate Mail, is scheduled to go on sale in Russia at the end of the first quarter of 2022. Pricing has not yet been determined, according to CNews.
The Russian product fully implements Microsoft Exchange Server functionality, according to the report. RuPost is a ready-made boxed solution that includes mails/mailboxes, calendar, contacts and address book search. At the same time, Astra Mail also includes tools for Microsoft Exchange migration. The solution includes libraries of specially developed and tested configuration templates, as well as a cluster server for building a scalable, fault-tolerant enterprise mail system.
"First and foremost, we are focused on solving problems faced by enterprises with a large infrastructure: an enterprise communications system that enables tens of thousands of users to interact in a highly loaded and geographically dispersed IT infrastructure," Sergey Orlik, director of products and technologies at Rupost (part of the Astra Group), tells CNews. According to him, the number of e-mail users and ease of management is comparable to Exchange.
"We are developing and strengthening the Linux ecosystem and creating our own ecosystem of interconnected solutions: a complete package of software products and services that the customer can get from the vendor in a one-stop store," Sergey Orlik says.
Goal: Replace the Microsoft ecosystem
One goal of "Astra" is to replace the Microsoft ecosystem with the Astra stack mentioned above. In this scenario, Windows got replaced by AstraLinux OS. An Microsoft Active Directory replacement also already exists under the name ALD Pro. The product works under the Astra Linux operating system, which is used with Russian processors of the Baikal line. Sales of ALD Pro are scheduled to begin in December 2021. The Microsoft Exchange mail server will be replaced by RuPost, and Microsoft's Azure cloud services will be replaced by the WorksPad mobile workstation.
Astra Software Stack
I find the Astra software stack shown in the above image interesting. On the left is the Microsoft software stack with Teams (or Slack apps), OneDrive, Outlook, VMware, Citrix, Microsoft VDI, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Microsoft Active Directory and Windows. On the right, the Astra software stack is contrasted.
For example, Astra developers rely on Thunderbird as an Outlook replacement and use various WorksPad modules to replace OneDrive, Teams, etc. They also have a WorksPad mode for SharePoint. With RuPost, ALD Pro and Astra Linux OS, you can now throw Microsoft out as a solution. The development was made possible in the first place because the state contracting authorities stipulated in the tender documents that the Russian operating system AstraLinux OS be used. (via)
