I need some Email Server help

kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
edited November 2005 in Science & Tech
So I've finally been given the ok to run a proper email server at work. Until this point I've been forced to deal with a bastardized system that batch pulls emails from our ISP, filters them and then sends them out to the employees.

But I've finally gotten the powers to be, to bend there knee and possible grant me the couple grand I need to set it up propperly. However with all tight asses they want a full proposal. Which I understand but still I hate doing them up.

So I need to come up with advantages and dissadvantages to having our own internal email server. The advantages I can come up with - that's pretty simple. It's the dissadvantages that I'm stumped on. I can't really think of any beyond security risk of openning up a port in our firewall.

So please I beg, can you come up with any dissadvantages to hosting our own email server.

Comments

  • citrixmetacitrixmeta Montreal, Quebec Icrontian
    edited November 2005
    another thing comes to mind is, since its going to be your server, then its going to be your responsibility to maintain it, patch it, secure it etc..
    its going to be more work for you.

    i can see disk space being an issue at one point in time, when people start getting sloppy and not deleting unwanted email, spams that snuck in.

    also, how do you plan on filtering spam and virus's?
    pm me your phone number, i might have something for you ;)
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited November 2005
    True it will require time. But should require less time then my current solution of batch sucking them into a program called Mercury and filtering them there with spambayes.

    On the new server I'll be using clam for anti-virus and spam assassin probably for my email filtering in addition to anti-relay and null address rules in the firewall.
  • verselloversello New
    edited November 2005
    What email server do you plan on using?

    The only other disadvantage that I can think of, other than what Citrix mentioned, is downtime... ISP's hopefully have some sort of redundant solution in place.
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited November 2005
    versello wrote:
    What email server do you plan on using?

    The only other disadvantage that I can think of, other than what Citrix mentioned, is downtime... ISP's hopefully have some sort of redundant solution in place.

    It'll be a debian linux install using postfix and dovecot for the mail handling. Then using clam and spamassasin for anti-virus and anti-spam. Clients will just pick-up/send email using standard pop/smtp initially. But I will probably turn that into IMAP. I can also, if I'm feeling ambitious, add in groupware (linux answer to exchange) and horde if I want to enable webmail. Which I'm on the fence about. Not because it's not usefull, but because if you recal any of the other 'my stupid user' posts I don't want to have to train them on it.


    Downtime is an issue regardless of internal/external mail servers. However in the event ours goes down internally our ISP will be the secondary MX client and (I have to double check) but think they bucket mail for 5 days.
  • rapturerapture
    edited November 2005
    For downsides you could use some of your upsides.

    Internally maintained by current IT staff... That could be your main bad point. List it at the top and say its the biggest bad point you can think of. Without having your ISP maintain a mail server you lose some productivity when the mail server goes down. That could also lead to an upside. When the mail server is down instead of sitting around phoning your ISP for updates your own guys are fixing the problem in real time.

    You could try and talk about security and abuse of the mail server but cover that with some ideas about security and settings (no open relay etc - common problem for corporate mail servers)

    Other than that as long as you have the staff who can maintain this stuff (including when you are away) then its all good...

    [edit]atfer reading over my post there is another downside which can up an upside. If your other staff cant maintain this kind of stuff yet then you can talk about training sessions to give them more responsibilities and improve their skills.[/edit]
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited November 2005
    All good points and I've done the down > upside stuff when I did up the proposal. Now we wait the time until they decide on my fate. That or I just collect some more spare parts flip the mx and do it anyway.
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