[TriLUG] Linux email server appliance

[matt at noway2.thruhere.net]

Add another vote for Zimbra if you want a turkey solution.

I have also seen a lot of recommendations for this script called iRedmail,
which is pretty much a wrapper for a Postfix install.  I looked at it once
and noticed one of the first things it did was turn off SELinux and that
made it a no go in my book.  Giving it root privilege was bad enough, but
that was a show stopper.

I've been running a Postfix + Dovecot solution for going on 7 years now. 
As far as routine admin overhead it is very minimal and the occasional
user maintenance is done through a PHP script.  The installation is a bit
more complex but there are also plenty of 'how to' recopies to follow
available.  The degree of complexity depends upon some of your choices,
such as using virtual (database lookup) users or user accounts on the
local machine.

The one exception to the overhead is dealing with SPAM, but that is going
to be a task regardless of what method you choose if you run your own
server.


> I'm unsure of your definition of "a lot of overhead" but if you can afford
> a few gigabytes of ram (4 would be great) then I think zimbra would be a
> fantastic solution. I've been using it for years inside either virtual box
> (hosted on Solaris and freebsd) and now kvm (via smartos). I'm currently
> providing it with 4GB of RAM but have used as little as 2GB.  I host 11
> email domains and a couple of dozen users. I believe Zimbra meets your
> requirement for a turnkey solution as it provides webmail, spam and virus
> protection, personal and shared calendars and contacts and tasks, document
> storage and more. Pair it with Zpush and you can connect to it with mobile
> devices using their support for exchange.
>