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Beyond all the useful pieces of advice, given above, my email server configuration looks like this:
Also, I run imapsync periodically to store copy of IMAP folders elsewhere and do periodic backups of every service' data.
Also, don't forget to set up proper DKIM/SPF authentication.
@elwebmaster
I see your point but:
Professional providers don't have email as a flying zoo, they have mechanisms to auto-configure. And, probably more importantly, one can reinstall/move/copy a jail as quickly (or even quicker) as a VM.
My view. If you prefer VMs, fine.
Anyone here tried zarafa mail server?
Love it. Easy to setup and configure. Support for ActiveSync (they created Z-Push) and Outlook, along with the basic ICal/Pop/IMAP/etc. The main issues is that Zarafa stores mail in a database (requires more memory).
I hate that they don't give any clear pricing info on the page.
They have an open source version...
Yes they have an open source version which you can download from here http://download.zarafa.com/community/final/
Interesting conversation here, I'm sailing in the same boat looking to make a mailserver for a couple of hundred mailboxes. Have been trying out from last 4-5 months but never got time to complete my experience.
Anyways, the most important aspect is how well SPAM is handled. Setting up a mail server is a trivial job nowadays, but configuring, curing and maturing it into a highly Available, SPAM efciient and mobile compatible is the hardest job. No wonder commercial/hosted solutions cost a bomb, their is significant effort involved.
@Praveen, how well is Zarafa at handlling spam ? its not about being "tight", its being "smart" at learning what is Spam and what is not.
OVZ is fine to run a small mail server, just make sure to have ample disk space as the mailboxes tend to grow big, so does the mail logs. SSD isn't important here much IMHO.
@mehargags for me it seems working good almost 90% of spam it is catching ..
I used the following tutorial with some modifications to add ClamAV and DKIM. However it should get you started with a basic mail server:
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-configure-a-mail-server-using-postfix-dovecot-mysql-and-spamassasin
Was anything wrong with ZoHo ?
I am using ZoHo as well at the moment, so I am curious ,instead of my Dedicated Servers and as bsdguy said , "email is an ugly beast:" . My little cousin does a lot of torrenting and once in a while I pop in and look at the different IP addresses and countries he is downloading from, because that stuff fascinates me for some reason, and I always see mail servers being used to seed, which I assume are compromised boxes. So for my opinion, be really careful and make sure you are securing everything properly . Just make sure you keep up to date on that stuff , im sure you'll be fine .
Good luck !
-RoXi
AdventureTime,
I have have never had a problem with ZOHO, but I as a hobbyist I would like to move over to my own server. Please keep me updated on what you find.
You can easily eliminate spam entirely with recipient delimiter.
e.g.:
[email protected] <- main address
[email protected] <- address for amazon
[email protected] <- address for amazon
Now if I receive spam to [email protected] I know that amazon leaked it and can easily disable the address.
You can also discard emails from email addresses that are known to send stuff you don't want to read, without disabling the receiving email address.
Thanks everyone! Everything that you said were all awesome and helpful!
I have decided to use https://mailinabox.email/ for the future domain name that I'm planing to buy. But for now, it is definitely better to use MXroute since I won't be directly hosting it.
I hope there is some sort of a discount or a coupon. I am interested paying every month. I just need an assurance that my emails will always be there since I am currently with Zoho with a free account with a lot of mailboxes, and a cheaper solution than Zoho.
Also, I hope I can use the Outlook iOS app with MXroute. Another thing, how can I transfer my IMAP messages and mailboxes will aliases from Zoho to MXroute?
Help @Jar
Another thing, how can I transfer my IMAP messages and mailboxes will aliases from Zoho to MXroute?
https://github.com/imapsync/imapsync - I used one of the forks of imapsync recently to move a mailbox from zimbra to o365 seemed to work quite well.
Wow, thank you @dragon2611
how can I use it with MXroute?
Look at the Readme, should be a case of running it on a machine that has the required perl modules and specifying your server as host1 and mxroute as host2
@dragon2611 I hope @Jar can help me out with this.
Hola! Mind shooting me an email at [email protected]? I'll type up a guide for you and have that out in about 5-6 hours
Okay @Jar I'll be sending you an email right now. Also, let us talk regarding the coupon stuff.
In case this helps, here is a detailed four-part article at ArsTechnica that describes how to set up your own email server:
Part 1:
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/02/how-to-run-your-own-e-mail-server-with-your-own-domain-part-1/
Part 2:
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/03/taking-e-mail-back-part-2-arming-your-server-with-postfix-dovecot/
Part 3:
http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/03/taking-e-mail-back-part-3-fortifying-your-box-against-spammers/
Part 4:
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/04/taking-e-mail-back-part-4-the-finale-with-webmail-everything-after/
Thanks
I think I should also regularly ask people there 
I feel those articles are way too complex -- and shockingly complex -- for generally a mainstream-ish website such as ArsTechnica.
I run my own mail with Postfix since years, and my setup is perhaps not even one fifth in complexity of what is described in those articles. FFS, he even bothered with DKIM of all things. Not to mention AV scanning in a personal mail server (really???), etc.
If you really need a web interface, then one of the "boxed" packages should be easier to use and not require a month to set up and get right: http://lowendtalk.com/discussion/44334/free-mail-servers-a-brief-review-of-4-free-mail-servers-you-can-install-on-a-vps/p1
If not, just set up Postfix+Dovecot and that's it.
I was able to get a subscription from MXroute. Awesome support, thanks @Jar
They made a Droplet for me so that I can use the imapsync thing. At first it is difficult but if you follow the tips and guides that they provided, I was able to transfer all of my IMAP emails including the folders. I even made a bash script since I have more than 5 mailboxes.
After configuring everything and changing the DNS stuff, all is well. Although, MXroute is also hosted through OVH, same where my dedicated server is hosted too. I figured, at least if my server crashes (knock on wood), my emails won't get lost.
Going back, MXroute uses roundcube as their web-based email client. It is okay. It looks like Zoho Mail's GUI. Since the filters were not transferred, I had to manually create each and everyone of them. Afterwards, the problem I am facing is to apply or run those filters with the current actual emails, not the incoming ones. GMail and Zoho Mail have that feature. I don't know with roundcube though.
Good point.
My only significant difference from what you described is I prefer Exim.