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Best mail server setup
Hey guys,
As Google Apps has stopped and Microsoft are now getting rid of their version I am wanting to set up my own mail server.
I quite like the look of IRedMail simply because its free and simple to install. I have a few questions for those with more experience!
- Is IRedMail a good choice for a beginner, if not what would you recommend thats free? (scripts/mailserver software not prehosted).
- What would be the ideal spec for a mailserver to handle say... 10-30 mailboxes of medium use (i.e. 5GB space, 1000 emails per month). I read on the IRedMail site that they recommend 1GB RAM for production use, but what would you go with to make sure i have enough room to grow?
- Do i need more than 1 IP address to run a mail server?
- Any suggestions who to go with for the server its self? I live in the UK so any UK providers are a bonus, otherwise what part of the US/Europe would be best for me (My budget is $5 really but can stretch to $7 for the real deal!).
Thanks in advance
Will
Comments
I'd highly recommend a managed, free service like Mandrillapp. Their free plan comes with 300-500 emails a day, fully managed. SSL/TLS & regular SMTP offered.
Mandrill is not so good if you also want to accept incoming emails and hold them in a mailbox accessable by IMAP/POP3. Have a look at IRedMail and see if it suits you, 1GB should be enough for your needs.
Mandrill only does outgoing though doesnt it? I want my own version of Gmail for my family if you will.
Ah okay, I'm planning on giving it a try - are you able to answer any of my other questions?
Cheers
iRedMail includes pretty much all you will need, but maybe you have a problem with using greylisting which is the default on iRedMail to filter spam. Other useful things for spam prevention like outright filtering using RBLs or bayesian filters aren't enabled by default with iRedMail.
Anyway iRedMail is nearly the only acceptable choice for a beginner, so go with them and then tweak the setup to your needs.
512MB of RAM are enough for your needs with the iRedMail stack. Even 256 with some swap would do, but go with 512 since virus scanning is resource intensive.
You only need one IP address. If you are European, get an European server.
+1 for Mandrillapp. Their plans are cheap if you want to send more than 12,000 emails p/m
Do i need more than 1 IP address to run a mail server?
I have 3 mailboxes, about 2-2GB each, about 500 email a month on a 128MB RAM VPS @ BuyVM with a single IP. It runs postfix+dovecot+spamassassin+hastymail2. You'd get by easily with 10-30 mailboxes and 1k emails/month on a 512MB RAM box.
OP, you can fit a mail server on some 512MB VPS, but that is right on the edge. I would go with 768MB-1GB if you do not wish virus scanners to blow out sometimes when scanning. IMO, a proper inbound mail server should have virus and spam scanning. You may also wish to have an outbound mail relay (smart host). You can use a relay service or get a second VPS with 64-128mb to use as the outbound mail relay. This way your inbound mail IP is safe from blacklisting and ... other provider issues
EDIT: Crissic's openVZ 512MB is the only 512MB that I have found that runs my mailstack without problems. Every 1GB VPS runs the stack without any tweeking. Just saying..
Just to tweak the question a little (not intending to hijack), I have half a dozen tops mailboxes in a postfix/(dovecot|courier) setup. Would be good to hear more about anti-spam programs being used and also how resource intensive they can be.
By Les Jones
A bit dated, but simple and good.
you could go with an Office 365 K plan - Full Outlook Web Access and Mobile Phone access and 1GB mailboxes for about $2/month/user. You can upgrade your own to E1 for a full 50gb mailbox access with public folder support, outlook support etc for $4.40month. Those are $AUD prices so may vary a bit in your location. In Aus we can purchase on monthly subscriptions and vary it month to month...
iredmail is fine, just make sure you disable greylisting and remove spamhaus-bullshit.
I am using Hmail on windows server with spam assassin set up on Linux.