Linux Mail Server (Web based Email Support)

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Gawd
Joined
Sep 28, 2001
Messages
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What do you guys use for a Linux mail server that also has built in web mail support? I need something that...

a) Will run on Fedora Core 4
b) Is Free
c) Is not a huge pain in the ass to set up and maintain.

I found Open Exchange but don't know if it's any good...
 
What exactly are you wanting to do?
A full Exchange type setup, with shared calendars, and etc?

There is no 'single' package (with the exception of maybe openexchange heh) that will do all of this. If you need to have the full features of something like Exchange, be prepared to do some legwork, as you will have to install and configure many pieces of software.

For a basic mail server, the system is made up of various components and softwares that you will have to setup:


A good MTA (mail transfer agent -- IE mail server) I recommend looking into is Postfix
Next,
If you want users to be able to check mail via a webmail system, then you are going to need two things:
A webmail client, for which, I suggest Squirrelmail

In order for squirrelmail to work, you need to have it backended with an IMAP server. I personally use Courier-IMAP

Now all of this might not make much sense, so here are some links to mail server tutorials that you can read through (all are for linux, the setup should be similar on Fedora for you)

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/virt-mail-howto.xml
http://postfixwiki.org/index.php?title=Virtual_Users_and_Domains_with_Courier-IMAP_and_MySQL


Also, look at the postfix webpage, http://www.postfix.org/docs.html , and look under the section labeled "POP/IMAP and the kitchen sink" for links to many more good how-tos
 
Postfix is good, I personally like qmail better, but it's a moot point I think.

If I could recommend: Ditch the Fedoras. They are headaches waiting to happen, especially with stuff like email servers. Centos is highly recommended, as it's based off of RHEL.
 
draconius said:
What exactly are you wanting to do?
A full Exchange type setup, with shared calendars, and etc?

There is no 'single' package (with the exception of maybe openexchange heh) that will do all of this. If you need to have the full features of something like Exchange, be prepared to do some legwork, as you will have to install and configure many pieces of software.

For a basic mail server, the system is made up of various components and softwares that you will have to setup:


A good MTA (mail transfer agent -- IE mail server) I recommend looking into is Postfix
Next,
If you want users to be able to check mail via a webmail system, then you are going to need two things:
A webmail client, for which, I suggest Squirrelmail

In order for squirrelmail to work, you need to have it backended with an IMAP server. I personally use Courier-IMAP

Now all of this might not make much sense, so here are some links to mail server tutorials that you can read through (all are for linux, the setup should be similar on Fedora for you)

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/virt-mail-howto.xml
http://postfixwiki.org/index.php?title=Virtual_Users_and_Domains_with_Courier-IMAP_and_MySQL


Also, look at the postfix webpage, http://www.postfix.org/docs.html , and look under the section labeled "POP/IMAP and the kitchen sink" for links to many more good how-tos
Click to expand...

That all makes perfect sense (back in the day, years ago, part of my responsibility were some Solaris boxes running sendmail and post.office) and I would personally take a similar approach. I was just looking for something simple because this is not something I want to spend alot of time on. It's for another department within the company that needs it (on a temporary basis), but does not have the know-how to build it. I am more or less doing them a favor (I scratch your back, you scratch mine). That is why I requested something simple, not because I can't handle something complex. Just looking for suggestions, not a tutorial (not that I don't appreciate it, I just don't want you to waste your time). Basically, I just need basic mail support with a web based front end for clients...

Oh, and they already have a server running Fedora, that is why Fedora is a requirement. Personally, I don't like it either...
 
XOR and draconius have got the right idea.

Id suggest following XOR's advice.
Ditch fedora, use CentOS or Debian, or Ubuntu. Fedora IMHO is a piece of shit. CentOS is based off of RHEL so maneuvering within CentOS is very similiar to Fedora.

The follow draconius advice.

use postfix, courier-imap, and squirelmail. none of these are terribly hard to get working for a simple email system.
 
Also, and I can't believe I forgot this, look into clamAV. Nothin' better than knowing your users are safe from email-borne virus..es....( did we ever decide what the correct form of that word was? ).

Friend of mine is forced to work with a system that is pretty..ah.."open". Users bring laptops in from home, some systems are forced to be completely open based on their software, that kind of thing ( mind, this is a *government* location. You have no idea how horrid their security truly is ), and he was scrambling with the latest fun fun virus. I read about it, that was about my exposure to it. :)
 
XOR != OR said:
Also, and I can't believe I forgot this, look into clamAV. Nothin' better than knowing your users are safe from email-borne virus..es....( did we ever decide what the correct form of that word was? ).
Click to expand...

As far as I know there is no plural for the word Virus, it is a Latin word and the plural is not Viri, because that means something else entirely...
 
I'm fairly sure the (rather prosaic) "viruses" would be the most correct plural form.
 
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