Setting up e-mail server

[Blue_Gundam2002]

I want to make an e-mail server for me and a few freinds. I have a static IP, what else would I need?

[aym]

Depends on the OS, Linux has many options like Sendmail, Postfix, and QMail.

Under Windows, one option is MS Exchange.

So what OS/mail server are you planning to use?

[Blue_Gundam2002]

I was planning on useing Mandrake or Fedora. Not sure what program tho. Would I need to register a domain name or anything like that?

[aym]

I have never installed a mail server before, but I think you do need a domain name, and you can use one of the servers in my first post, they are the popular ones, and they all have guides on their pages.

Hopefully, another member with more experience than me will help.

[LiVeWiRe]

Blue_Gundam2002,

I am not familiar with setting up email servers on any non-Windows platform. However, aym_7 is right in that you would need to purchase your own domain name in order to have your own email addresses (user@yourdomain.com).

Some other things you would have to consider is how to deal with spam, security, etc. An option you may want to consider is paying either a webhosting site (most plans include email addresses) or something like Yahoo's Personal Address where you pay a yearly fee (which includes the domain registration). The benefit with either of these options is that you don't have to deal with securing the server, spam filtering, etc.

If you decide to go Windows, I could help you but you'd also likely need to spend some money on software if you go that route.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

HTH,
-LW

[glc]

Livewire: Mercury Mail from the Pegasus folks is free, and they have a Win32 version.

Blue - you may have a static IP, but you need to review your ISP's terms of service and acceptable use policy before you go hosting domains and servers on your residential account. They may also be blocking the needed ports to run these services. You are much better off using a cheap commercial hosting service, no sense jeopardizing your account and your security just to have bragging rights. Let the pros handle the security, etc.

[Blue_Gundam2002]

From what I've read on sbc's site, I can host a web server. But before I start doing anything I will ask them. I have plenty of time untill I start setting any of this up. I wont start till summer vacation, my teachers have gone mad with homework. Thanks for all the info.

[LiVeWiRe]

Originally posted by glc Livewire: Mercury Mail from the Pegasus folks is free, and they have a Win32 version. Blue - you may have a static IP, but you need to review your ISP's terms of service and acceptable use policy before you go hosting domains and servers on your residential account. They may also be blocking the needed ports to run these services. You are much better off using a cheap commercial hosting service, no sense jeopardizing your account and your security just to have bragging rights. Let the pros handle the security, etc.

glc,

I always forget about Mercury/Pegasus...thanks for reminding me!

-LW

[glc]

You becoming a M$ slave too? I've been using Pegasus since before M$ knew what the Internet was.........

[LiVeWiRe]

Originally posted by glc You becoming a M$ slave too? I've been using Pegasus since before M$ knew what the Internet was.........

LOL...well, when working with M$ products puts food on the table I guess it's tough not to be a bit 'biased'.

-LW

[glc]

I hear ya - I set up far too many machines with Outhouse Express. I refuse to use the POS myself though.

[Xayd]

Originally posted by Blue_Gundam2002 From what I've read on sbc's site, I can host a web server. But before I start doing anything I will ask them. I have plenty of time untill I start setting any of this up. I wont start till summer vacation, my teachers have gone mad with homework. Thanks for all the info.

SBC doesn't care what you host. I've been hosting my mail and a backup webserver for testing purposes on my SBC DSL line for years .

That said, mail is much better handled on Unix/Linux than it is on Windows for server purposes. There's alot more you can do with filtering and such, but it does take some time to learn if you don't have a Unix background.

I personally run Postfix and BINC Imap, along with a majordomo list for the staff here, but there's lots of mail server options for Linux/Unix, you can pretty much do whatever you want if you're willing to learn how .

Major things you wanna consider:

• Do you want plain ole pop mail, or more features like webmail, IMAP shared folders, etc?
• Do you intend to use this server for outgoing mail as well, or still use SBC's mail server for SMTP?

Plain ole pop mail is easy to set up. IMAP is much nicer but requires some choices to be made about which mail server you're gonna use (can't use sendmail with it that well). SMTP is another question. If you wanna use your server for outgoing mail that's fine, but you're gonna need to read up on securing the server against spam relaying, otherwise you WILL be a spam target eventually.

Sendmail: the default on many *nix servers, although it's stable and can be secured, it doesn't have alot of features that people usually want. Namely the ability to deliver mail by any means other than the traditional Unix MBOX file format.

Postfix: Aimed at being a direct replacement for Sendmail, comparably easy to configure, supports alternate delivery methods just fine.

Exim: Default mail server with Debian Linux, has the best support for many virtual hosts imo, but not as easy to configure as Postfix or Sendmail. Can do more than Postfix or Sendmail if you're up for learning how it works and how to configure advanced settings.

Qmail: Royal pain in the ass to configure, but designed with security and self-monitored stability in mind from the ground up. Also has built in support for per-user filtering and rules and such. On the upside it is second in widespread use only to Sendmail, so there are lots of external plugins and extra applications that go with it.