By default, every user will check the database every 5 minutes for the following:
New incoming mail
New pending notifications
Overdue tasks
Appointment reminders
Remote log off requests
You may change the interval for each of these checks from within the Polling page of the Workgroup dialog box.
Polling, in this context, means that each user will check the database for new relevant data. The disadvantage of polling is that network traffic increases with larger workgroup sizes. Larger workgroups should use server-based checking.
Server-based checking requires you to designate one machine as the poll server and this machine is made responsible for performing each of the above checks periodically for all users in the workgroup. If new mail is found for a particular user or another user's task becomes overdue then the user is notified of this using NetBIOS and the client machine will then access the database in order to retrieve the new mail message or to update it's display to show the overdue task.
You may configure a machine to be a poll server from the OfficeTalk Services dialog box. Select OfficeTalk Server… from the Options menu. This will display the OfficeTalk Services dialog box.
Check the Polling Database Service check box in the list of services and press the Settings… button. This will display the Polling Service Settings property sheet.
Specify the interval between checks and press OK to save your changes.
Note: Any machine may be configured as the Polling Server but it is most efficient if the machine holding the database performs this action since it involves no network activity.