Linux email server for a small business reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EnthusiasmGreat686 · 2023-10-30 18:28 I have a small business that needed a self hosted mail server. I've already planned for this server to be hosted on a VPS, and I already have a domain name. Now I just need a mail server that do what I need. I need it to have: \- A web interface \- Be able to easily create new accounts/users from the web interface \- Be able to create account/user without having to create a user on the server itself (optional) I've been looking into PostFix, Mailcow and Mail-in-a-box, but I'm not quite sure about them. Thanks a bunch. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-10-30 18:34 [poste.io](https://poste.io) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thekrautboy · 2023-10-30 18:35 Search this sub for "mail host" and enjoy the lively discussions that happen basically every week about this. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EnthusiasmGreat686 · 2023-10-30 18:36 ay thanks ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EnthusiasmGreat686 · 2023-10-30 19:25 I looked into it, and seems like the feature that I need are locked behind a paywall, Domain administrators ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HoustonBOFH · 2023-10-30 19:30 You will also need someone to deliver you mail as most places block email from a VPS. Also look at Modoboa. https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/modoboa- email-server-ubuntu-20-04 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- No_Dragonfruit_5882 · 2023-10-30 19:43 Mailcow-dockerized. Use it once, use it always ---------------------------------------------------------------------- hdddanbrown · 2023-10-30 20:01 Then pay for it? Your post doesnt mention it needs to be free. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EnthusiasmGreat686 · 2023-10-30 20:02 Right, i forgot about that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MaxBroome · 2023-10-30 20:31 Petition for the mods to have a bot that auto responds to all mail server related posts, with the collective answer of; don’t. We get this question like twice a week. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- slowmail · 2023-10-30 21:15 Could you share what are some of the reasons/considerations as to why it \*needs\* to self-host its mail server? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-10-30 21:29 You did not say it has to be free. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- xftwitch · 2023-10-30 21:49 Do you want to spend all your time managing your email server? 'Cause this is how you get to that point. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DoTheThingNow · 2023-10-30 21:54 You bought a domain and website? Use the cheapo email service that come with one of those vendors …. There is pretty much no reason to roll your own these days. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- anotherucfstudent · 2023-10-30 21:54 I disagree. Use hetzner and you have no issues ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DoTheThingNow · 2023-10-30 21:54 I second this notion. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- vegebloomstein · 2023-10-30 21:58 Mailcow, all the way. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tim-Fra · 2023-10-30 22:02 You can do it with postfixadmin but you have to install a complete mail server : Tutorials (ubuntu server) : Step 1 : [https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/setup-basic-postfix-mail-sever- ubuntu](https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/setup-basic-postfix- mail-sever-ubuntu) Step 2 : [https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/secure-email-server-ubuntu- postfix-dovecot](https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/secure-email- server-ubuntu-postfix-dovecot) Step 3 : [https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/postfixadmin-ubuntu- postgresql](https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/postfixadmin-ubuntu- postgresql) Step 4 : [https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/setting-up-dkim-and- spf](https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/setting-up-dkim-and-spf) Step 5 : [https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/create-dmarc- record](https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/create-dmarc-record) Step 6 (optional) : [https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/microsoft-outlook-ip- blacklist](https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/microsoft-outlook-ip- blacklist) Step 7 : [https://www.linuxbabe.com/ubuntu/install-roundcube-webmail-ubuntu- postgresql](https://www.linuxbabe.com/ubuntu/install-roundcube- webmail-ubuntu-postgresql) Step 8 (optional) : [https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/postfix-amavis-spamassassin- clamav-ubuntu](https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/postfix-amavis- spamassassin-clamav-ubuntu) Step 9 (optional) : [https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/how-to-stop-your-emails-being- marked-as-spam](https://www.linuxbabe.com/mail-server/how-to-stop- your-emails-being-marked-as-spam) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This-Gene1183 · 2023-10-30 22:35 How and why? Please explain ---------------------------------------------------------------------- maxmalkav · 2023-10-30 22:41 And miss / lose important business-related emails in the process .. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CyberHouseChicago · 2023-10-30 22:50 Directadmin + crossbox is a nice combo I use neither are free tho ---------------------------------------------------------------------- anotherucfstudent · 2023-10-30 22:58 Hetzner doesn’t block port 25 if you ask nicely and have an account older than a couple months. None of the IPs I’ve had has ever been blocklisted. I’ve been running mail-in-a-box for years now with no problems with delivery or receiving ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Droophoria · 2023-10-31 02:16 Seconded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ithakaa · 2023-10-31 02:42 Why is gmail not an option? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sotvn · 2023-10-31 02:54 IredMail is really easy to setup and super customizable (MySQL backend). I'm running it personally on a small Debain vps and have had no problems for almost a year now. You can select either roundcube or SoGo webmail during install. Web interface is easy to create new users and what not. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Lucky-Pie9875 · 2023-10-31 04:03 Mail is one of the hardest things to do correctly. Mail was the most high maintenance services I did. I have since moved it to a hosting service. It was way too much stress. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Future__Space · 2023-10-31 07:35 I have hosted one for about 5 years and the only issue I had was that every few years Microsoft blocks outgoing emails, so you have to write two emails to their "support", which takes them a few hours. All other providers have been fine. You should have some experience with server administration though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Nibb31 · 2023-10-31 07:48 What kind of business can pay for a VPS but not for an email provider ? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bufandatl · 2023-10-31 09:55 Mailcow is pretty good. They install fail2ban to protect all endpoints against attacks. And it’s pretty easy to setup and the documentation is pretty good. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sajberspejs · 2023-10-31 11:38 Good way to mess up and waste time. Seems to always be some hiccups even if managed by a pro. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- naxxfish · 2023-10-31 18:05 Beyond the shorthand advice of "don't" - here's some reasons (from somene who ran a mail server) why you might not want to: * If your server goes down for any reason, you'll probably loose mail - and potential business - with nobody to blame but yourself. * You'll probably find that randomly your users can't send email to some domains for no apparent reason - even if your DNS and SPF records are perfectly in line. Fixing this is often non-trivial. * Gmail and the like has made people forget how much of an issue Spam (and Phishing) is. Run your own mailserver and you'll find out very quickly it's still a huge issue and mitigating it is non-trivial. * A mail server is a tasty target for attackers, with potentially lots of confidential information in it and the ability to impersonate your users or their contacts - and unless you're doing a full time job keeping it secure, and trust that all the software on it is being patched regularly - it is an easy one to breach. * At some point your users will complain that it's slow, and you will spend days trying to figure out why. * Either you'll enforce strict quotas on your users (which they will complain about), or you don't and need to continually feed it disk at ever increasing costs. * Resetting passwords / 2FA will be another workload on top of all of the above. All of this may be worthwhile if having your own mail server is the only way to achieve your goals. But, 99% of the time, a managed service (any managed service really) is more than adaquite. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- vegebloomstein · 2023-10-31 22:35 I should really expand on this... I'm generally pretty cynical about docker, I haven't had a load of great experiences with it. Mailcow however is EXCELLENT, their maintenance of their docker container/s is excellent. The auto-updating scripts is phenomenal and I've never had it break. It's super easy to manage, adding mailboxes and users is straight- forward and easy. It makes setting up trusted mail-servers and DNS settings a breeze. It really does "just work". The UI is also pretty spot-on, being feature rich and easy to navigate. Adding your own SSL certificate is a bit of a pain in the ass, but not difficult. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- teabag_ninja · 2023-11-02 00:00 Pay Migadu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mean_Acanthaceae6356 · 2023-12-24 20:01 Yes same here.