Section C.4. Recommended Email Server Projects


C.4. Recommended Email Server Projects

In this section, we present three mail servers and the OpenLDAP data store that can support the mail server in an environment with many users.

C.4.1. Postfix

Postfix is an email server that was designed with performance security and Sendmail compatibility in mind. Like Qmail, Postfix is a collection of modules that create a pipeline to handle various aspects of transferring and delivering email. Unlike Qmail, it stores its configuration file in one monolithic file.

C.4.1.1 Product strengths
  • It is flexible with configuration options and it handles large volumes of email effectively.

  • It works well with popular content scanners.

  • It provides easy-to-use spam relay control features.

C.4.1.2 Product weakness
  • It has a complex configuration file.

C.4.2. Qmail

Qmail is a secure email server designed to be a drop-in replacement for Sendmail. It is designed as a collection of modules that create a pipeline to handle various stages of transferring and delivering email. Each program has its own configuration. Qmail works on the Unix system philosophy of "do one thing, and do it well." It also addresses security concerns by not running as root and by carefully managing trust relationships and intermodule communications.

C.4.2.1 Product strengths
  • It provides easy-to-use spam relay control features.

  • It is designed with security and performance in mind.

C.4.2.2 Product weaknesses
  • Some critical Qmail functionality is available as patches, and several popular patches are not regression tested against one another.

  • Configuration management is cumbersome due to multiple configuration files.

C.4.3. Exim

Exim is a general-purpose email server that is very flexible and powerful. It is also designed to be a drop-in Sendmail replacement. It is a monolithic program, very much like Sendmail, but unlike Sendmail, it is very easy to configure.

C.4.3.1 Product strengths
  • It provides deep integration with SpamAssassin and does not accept delivery of email that is considered spam. This provides cutting-edge spam control.

  • It provides deep integration with GNU Mailman.

C.4.3.2 Product weakness
  • It has no Webmin support.

C.4.4. OpenLDAP

OpenLDAP is the de facto solution for open source directories. It is a popular, mature, stable, and widely used product, and is well supported by an active user and developer base. OpenLDAP has broad support for the latest version of LDAP (LDAPv3) and interoperates well with other LDAP servers (Microsoft Active Directory, Novell eDirectory, Netscape Directory Server, IBM Tivoli Directory Server, etc.). OpenLDAP is the common choice for implementing a directory when replacing a Microsoft Exchange server.



Open Source for the Enterprise
Open Source for the Enterprise
ISBN: 596101198
EAN: N/A
Year: 2003
Pages: 134

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