Discussion on:

An inexpensive e-mail server setup

Is this a free open source based antivirus for sendmail? Does it really work?

Most, not all, free Windows software does not tend to stay free over the long haul. Free is usually an advertising cost. These free solutions tend to be a patch rather than a solution. On paper, it appears to have some nice features. I guess it really depends on specific situations. Postifx and Postfix/Procmail software configurations are used by ISPs, can this software scale as well? I have seen just the SMTP checks alone reject 20% to 30% of inbond UCE. But MailEnable (the free version) lacks the post SMTP processing that Procmail can provide. I am impressed with the features MailEnable gives for free for the Windows realm, it just does not compare to the open source combinations that can be built. Look at (http://rt.fm/~jcs/spamwall.phtml) as a nice example.

I used Mdaemon on an NT box (sorry, Linuxphiles), and was very impressed with how well it worked (only crashed once, and it wasn't Mdaemon's fault or NTs). The price was right on the mark as well, so much so, that I bought a copy for my home system to handle my domain mail.

The newer versions are getting more sophisticated and a bit more difficult to use, but so far, I haven't found anything better.....

We went with IMAIL and DECLUDE to handle all of our email, webmail, virus checking of email, spam control. Declude works well with IMAIL and is a breaze to set up. IMAIL was fast and easy to set up and requires very little work. Upgrades are veryeasy as well. Compared to something like Exchange... it costs far far less and is cheaper to run both in terms of system resources and people resources.

Try Message Sniffer 2.0

THis stuff is all Linux GPL so it's free; but on the other hand that means it's not quite as warm and fuzzy if you're not used to Linux- as *I'm* not, by the way. My limited experience is that it's a bit more cryptic than Windoze, but more stable and faster. If you're reasonably technical, give it a try, and if it bombs, get a Linux guru to help set it up. It'll cost you less than buying one proprietary software package, work better, and take less of your time.

I am currently using SA-2.53 and it is working great. I have a Postfix/Procmail gateway in front of MS Exchange. Procmail is also the conduit to using spamc/spamd. Not utilizing Bayes yet but SA with DCC kicks butt. Spam really is individually and orgainzationally morphic. One technique does not fit all and that is why I keep my Procmail regex which runs white list, black list, header, and body checks. I actually use the "junk" put in the header from SA in logging Procmail activity. Thatway I can use pflogsumm for Postfix and my own logging/reporting facility for Procmail (pre and post SMTP stats).

One open source project left out of the article is Webmin (http://www.webmin.com). The entire gateway is managed by SSL enabled web-based administration. I was able to write a module to administer the filters, SpamAssassin, reporting, save configurations, etc.

Comming originally from a Windows background, I can comfortably say that Linux is worth learning. It has already allowed me to better manage my Exchange environments in a way I would never have thought possible.

I'm a bit slow on the lingo uptake and not sure whether Darwin Mac OS X is Open BSD. DOes any know if these options can be compiled effectively there? If not, how to port them?

The article here basically describes a mail server solution with some basic calendaring, etc. There isn't a complete solution in Linux yet. There may be one later on, but you'll pay for it just like Exchange and it probably won't be as robust as Exchange. Don't let the security issues fool you. Most of the solutions outlined in these articles have had as many, if not more, security patches released as Exchange. You have to remember the time and effort that will not only be involved in building the system (with minimal user disruption) but in maintaining the system as well. after the server is built, how difficult will it be to maintain it, monitor it, patch it, back it up, restore, troubleshoot, etc. What additional tools will you need to keep it alive? what happens if you need support? who do you call? Don't believe the mumbo-jumbo that it's stable and never needs any hands on. keep all of that in mind. Microsoft, Novell, Lotus have all had many, many, many years of product development and they've evolved the mail system to do more than just mail. Based on your post here, I'd recommend with sticking with your plans with migrating to microsoft Exchange. it has all of the tools that you'll need for now. if the linux community can come up with a better package that you don't need to build yourself and has all of the tools available to keep it alive, then maybe consider making the switch. you have to remember one thing; most of the posts here are dealing with ISP mail (completely different beast than corporate mail; less impact if mail goes down. SLA Agreements are much different.) or a small 20 to 30 user office that simply needs just mail or some one's basement setup.

Hi Tony and others,
They are all available starting from here:
http://techrepublic.com.com/5171-22-5030268.html
(the eldest being first in the list)

Regards,
Francesco