Exchange Alternative on Linux - Money Saving Project

maximus0983

Hi,

Im working on a new project for my company and we want to stop using MS Exchange and move onto a Linux Based alternative.

I have downloaded and installed Ubuntu Server Edition which is probably the most common build. Has anyone ever attempted this before?

Can you recommend any software that would cater for this based on the idea of the whole project to be completed with minimal or no cost at all?

PS: The thread title is related to the topic and no way pointing towards moneysavingexpert.com. Apologies if this breaks any rules.

asininity

I've never run an email server before so can't really help there, but I assume the emails will be going to MS clients in which case you'll need an on-demand AV for scanning the emails as they come in. It wont infect the server but will the windows side of the network. Clamav has this capacity but requires code.

My advice is get a linux expert in or pay the support subscription, especially if no one has any experience with linux. Linux is free and will save money in the long run but could be a costly mistake if no one has any experience in it.

timbim_2

Or you could use google Apps, not free but certainly cheaper than exchange.

gavinp

Not something I have done personally but this looks like a good reference:

http://flurdy.com/docs/postfix/

Thanks

Gavin

[Deleted User]

PostPath or Zimbra are the two Linux based Exchange clones, although neither are free of charge.

How many users does the server support? Is it primarily just email, or do you need the other features of Exchange and web based email accesS?

kevsan

Are you looking to replace exchange as an email server only - or all the other collaborative functions such as calendar, tasks, notes & sharing etc as well.

If you want a full replacement of exchange, you might want to have a look here: http://www.openchange.org/

maximus0983

Our client machines have AV installed on all of them for real time email scanning but this will be tested on a dummy machine first.

The original problem is to get a piece of software that behaves in the way Exchange does.

I have a couple of people that are helping me with this and they are good with this but again this is a first time project for all of us so any advice we get and any progress we make will be posted up on here.

I know people have done this before so its easy to copy but we wanted to see if there are people out there who have good ideas to make this project unique.

We will then post our version of the build onto a secure server for anyone to download and use for free with full instructions.

John_Gray

maximus0983 wrote: »

I'm working on a new project for my company and we want to stop using MS Exchange and move onto a Linux Based alternative.

I may be missing something, but you want to move from something which is already paid for and people know, to something which you don't know and have no idea what it will cost?

Ubuntu may well be free - but "who will you run to when it all falls down"?
(Heart, "Who will you run to?", off the Bad Animals CD, 1987)

isofa

Firstly - why do you want to stop using Exchange? Is it a cost issue, lack of internal expertise?

If it's cost, then open source alternatives are still going to cost to support and setup.

If the latter, I'd suggest looking at hosted exchange solutions, depending on your company size.

If it's just a fun project, then good luck

Never fall into the trap that Free software alternatives are cheaper than commercial ones.

maximus0983

Its a bit of both. Our current email host offers us a cheap IMAPPing option with decent sized storage. We do not currently have an exchange server but need one for the increase in emails.

As i run the company its both business and fun. We have help with it but it will be trialled before we use it

[Deleted User]

How much are you paying your current host?
How many mailboxes/users do you need to support?
What volume of emails do you handle per day?
Do you just need email, or do you have a requirement for calender, notes, sharing, general collaboration etc?
What mail client do you use on the workstations?
Are you supporting a single domain, or multiple?

Edit: I don't think you've chosen the best distro to use as a server, and you'll probably be better off using Debian, Suse or Slackware. Ubuntu is aimed more at the dekstop audience, whereas Debian and Slackware are aimed towards server use. Although, Free/OpenBSD would probably be a much, much better choice but might be above your requirements.