I'm doing some research about mail server software, because I want to migrate my mail server to Linux.

I've found some good solutions like,

· SuSE Linux Openexchange Server

· Bynari

· Stalker

· Exchange4linx

These are just a few I found. All got almost the same functions (wide range of supported clients, ...)

If someone has some experience with it, can u tell me what the best solution is for an organization around 200 employees. I thought maybe SuSE Linux Openexchange Server because the main distro we use is SuSE, but it is little bit costly I think. Around $1,400.00.

I set up Squirrel Mail a couple of months. Used it with Qmail. There are "toasters" all over the internet to help you set this up.

Web mail server guide - A toaster

http://www.squirrelmail.org/

This worked great for me and it's also used for a VERY large amount of accounts.

We needed a mail server for our organisation, and i was given the job of administering it

I had a look at sendmail, qmail, etc, etc, and concluded that i dont like these C mail servers with their horrible horrible configuration/installation.

Someone recomended Apache James to me. At first i thought it would be a bit dodgy using a java mail server. But i went with it simply because configuration was ridiculusly simple, and have stuck with it ever since!

We've got about 50 accounts running on it, and it works a treat - never crashed. Ok, so it's never had to deal with huge volumes of mail, but i get about 200mails a day.

Only downside i've found is that it doesnt include stable support for IMAP.

Configuring a mail server is a horrible job .

The support of IMAP is certainly needed. Also it is for an organization with a total of more then 400 employees.

Atm, I think SuSE Linux Openexchange Server is one of the better solution. I can count on the necessary support and some desktops are already running on SuSE, where I'm quite pleased of.

If someone know a better solution, let me know...

I had a read of that link to "Web mail server guide - A toaster"
Seems pretty good - covers most aspects. An isp i know of uses qmail - seems to do the job.
Just seems like a painful process to me

Suse sounds ok but 1400 is a bit pricy when you can get equivilent gpl software for free! Except support is helpful!!!

I still recommend the toaster I posted. It's not that hard. I set it up with Zero knowledge of Mail Servers. Granted it took three times, but for any half knowledgeable person it should be easy. It does take time but then again you end up knowing how it all works. and it's %100 percent free with lots of forums supporting it. I know first hand of at least two companies that are using this set up with over 40,000 accounts. They advertise hundreds of thousands of not only accounts but of virtual domains. Again it's not an easy one button set up, but once it's up and running you'll be glad. Oh and did I mention $0. hahaah

OK sorry I just really like my set up. Good luck.

I have to agree with the qmail.

Running it with Spamassassin, Clam antivirus, Squirrelmail, Horde and John Hardin's procmail sanitizer.

Very secure, very inexpensive, can handle large volumes of mail.

Not difficult to install at all although it takes a bit of playing around to properly understand it.

http://www.qmailrocks.org/ has complete packages with instructions although I run it on Slackware and at the time they had no packages for that (they now do).

Life with qmail is also an excellent reference.

$1400 seems like an awful lot for any software, certainly excessive for a mail server.

Go for qmail, I have been using it for a couple of years and it is the best, pretty easy to install and rock solid, I am also using squirrelmail, it is kept very up to date and has alot of good plugins that are very easy to install.

Indeed, qmail looks like the best solution I've found and it is FREE.

Thx for the advice...

PS: Maybe a stupid question, but can I only retrieve my mail through web-based interfaces? Or can I use Kmail (or something).

You should get pop3 and imap access - so you can use any standard mail client.

I suggest you http://www.postfix.org
pretty much like sendmail but much more simple....
pop and smtp server configuration very easy... should give it a try, good integration Amavis+Antivirus+spamassassin (virus + spam)
I'm setting up our new mail server and that's what i'm using...
postfix+clamav(anti virus)+spamassassin+amavis(antivirus+spam/server interface)

After reading a bunch of reviews about different mail servers my main conclusion is choose the Free MTA software if U don't need any kind of support.

So the main question was, which of these is best solution:

Sendmail
Postfix
Exim
Qmail

I've heard many answers, but the one who's recommended the most is Qmail. Because it would be more secure, reliable and have a beter performance.

Thx for the replies...

Qmail Rocks. SendMail sucks. Not familiar with the rest....

Seriously tho it's very solid and with QmailAdmin it's trivial to do most administrative tasks.

I too suggest Postfix. I started out with qmail and ended up using postfix. It has less to configure. If you are going to use a web-based email client, I suggest using imp over squirrelmail. You have the option of adding other things to it (address book, calendar, etc) from Horde.

can anyone tell me howto install a smarthost using qmail to handle mail relay..secondly i would like to set up another box to handle pop3 email a/cs and another box for webbased user-interface