While the free and busy calendaring process differs depending on the partner system, the process looks the same from the point of view of the Exchange client. For more information on the particulars of partner systems, see the topics on individual partner systems.
When an Exchange user queries the free and busy information of a user on a partner system, Calendar Connector will try to find the free and busy record for the user on the partner system in the free and busy public folder.
If there is not a free and busy record in the free and busy public folder, the Exchange user does not receive any calendar information. The target user's free and busy time is represented in Outlook by diagonal lines, on the Attendee Availability tab.
If there is a record in the free and busy public folder for the selected target user, then Calendar Connector is able to intercept and process the query. In order to ensure that free and busy records exist for users on partner systems, Calendar Connector finds all partner users in Active Directory and creates free and busy records for them in the public folder. When Calendar Connector starts up, it checks for users on partner systems and creates records for them. After the initial check, Calendar Connector performs subsequent checks according to the schedule you configure on the Calendar Connector's Schedule tab.
Related Topics
Free and Busy Calendaring Overview
Understanding the Status of Free and Busy Information