Mail Server options

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VeeDubbs

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 9, 2005
Messages
398
I just got word from my boss that we will start looking into new e-mail options come October. We are currently using CommuniGate Pro by stalker.

We are a private college that use around 5,000 e-mail addresses. I don't know exactly what we are looking for in our new system -- that's what we'll be discussing in October. What is everyone out there using? Is Google mail any good? Is Exchange worth the money?
 
Google mail is very nice, it takes email administration (especially for that size of a system) down from a couple people to easily a single person, and it can be an entry level person after the initial config at that. Google handles all the spam filtering, server tasks, etc. All you have to do is give instructions on setting it up...very simple.

What do you guys use now, as far as features? Do you use (or need) calendaring? If all you need is a simple mail system, then consider a qmail or sendmail install, they both work great and are both free, you would just need to have the hardware to support that many users. For Exchange, you will be into it some serious coin by the time you pay all the licensing, hardware costs (it requires more hardware than most mail setups), administration costs, etc. At my last company we went through the process of moving to Exchange and the final cost was around $300K for ~400 users. Exchange is probably the best for a complete solution, there is a reason it is the most widely used system.
 
i think google mail would be perfect for a college, most kids are familiar with gmail and it will be by far the cheapest.

exchange would be good, but whats the point? not like the users will always have outlook to run.
 
I like Novell Groupwise.

But that would mean a pretty dramatic system wide change that would have to take place to implement it.
 
I :heart: me some zimbra

Very easy to setup for testing, easy to adminstrate, user friendly, easy migration....lots of joy! :)
 
Hmm Zimbra reminds me of what Claros.org should have been.

I wish Claros was more successfull because it was totally free.
 
supergper said:
Google mail is very nice, it takes email administration (especially for that size of a system) down from a couple people to easily a single person, and it can be an entry level person after the initial config at that. Google handles all the spam filtering, server tasks, etc. All you have to do is give instructions on setting it up...very simple.

What do you guys use now, as far as features? Do you use (or need) calendaring? If all you need is a simple mail system, then consider a qmail or sendmail install, they both work great and are both free, you would just need to have the hardware to support that many users. For Exchange, you will be into it some serious coin by the time you pay all the licensing, hardware costs (it requires more hardware than most mail setups), administration costs, etc. At my last company we went through the process of moving to Exchange and the final cost was around $300K for ~400 users. Exchange is probably the best for a complete solution, there is a reason it is the most widely used system.
Click to expand...
$750 per user? What the heck went wrong with that install?!
 
zimbra = sucks my left nut all day long.

shittiest excuse for exchange competition.

Go with google mail for students, and exchagne for admin.
 
for something like that piece of shit we can be blunt.

all the realestates around us got suckered into the email from zimbra from HREO, thing sucks. hate using hte outlook connector, hate how it doesn't sync up good with phones, JUST FUCKING SUCSK!!!!!!!!!!
 
LoStMaTt said:
I like Novell Groupwise.

But that would mean a pretty dramatic system wide change that would have to take place to implement it.
Click to expand...

LoStMaTt -

We actually already are a Novell shop, so it would probably fairly simple to implement this solution. Without discussing anything with anyone from work as of yet - I would say Groupwise and Google Mail might be the way to go.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!
 
I also work for a private college of around the same number of students. We currently use Exchange for staff/students, but we're going to break the students off and possibly go towards Microsoft Live@EDU -- better integration with AD than Google Mail.
 
Jgedeon said:
Might want to check with OSU as I hear that is what they are using and is larger than 5k
Click to expand...
Yeah, and I highly doubt they are using the free version. I also highly doubt that it's running un-moddified. Zimbra is a waste. If you pay for more than the free version, you may as well buy Exchange that works properly.

Also, have you done the math? Even at the 50% off education rate, it would still be $70,000 PER YEAR...like I said, you may as well buy exchange and do it the correct way.
 
I just switched our company over to google apps for domains. Overall it hasn't been bad, it's great for those that use the web interface, the people that wanted to stay in outlook don't care much for it. The biggest issue is the lack of folders and the use of tags when using IMAP. If you index email for searching you get multiple results because emails can reside in the all mail folder as well as in another folder. Overall we've been happy with it and it was cheap when compared to going with Exchange and the infrastructure that it would have brought.
 
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