Backup Mail Server

asterhex · 2010-09-29 07:35:51

Hi,

I'm not sure if it's the right section of the forum but it seems to be the most appropriate.

My question is: It's possible to setup a mail server that downloads mail from different mail accounts (given by Isp) and store them.

I need this because the space in the mail account is ridicolous.

It's possible also to let users download email from this local server instead from the Internet?

Thanks

Asterhex

zenlord · 2010-09-29 08:18:29

What you describe is actually a(n incoming) mailserver

You use getmail/fetchmail to retrieve emails into a maildir and then you use a mailserver like dovecot to distribute the emails through pop or imap.

Our small office uses gmail as a pass-through to filter out SPAM and other unsollicited emails - our setup is as follows:

<domain provider> -> forward to gmail-address -> fetchmail to local maildir -> local dovecot -> evolution/thunderbird/roundcube

You can use backup-software to backup those maildirs (we use bacula to do that) and you could also install an extra server on your network an use rsync to keep the maildirs synced on a regular basis. If the main server goes down, it is only a matter of editing the accountdetails of the client to be able to continue working.

Last edited by zenlord (2010-09-29 08:29:53)

asterhex · 2010-09-29 08:21:08

Ok I'll try in this way. Postfix isn't good for that or is too complicated for that??

Thanks for your fast answer.

zenlord · 2010-09-29 08:38:58

IIRC postfix is an SMTP-server, so only for outgoing mail.

fukawi2 · 2010-09-29 09:44:45

IIRC, fetchmail needs a local MTA (such as postfix) to deliver the mail to, so you would need postfix also. (I stand to be corrected)

skanky · 2010-09-29 10:05:07

getmail doesn't need postfix. It can deliver to maildir/mbox etc., or to something like procmail.

I do vaguely recall seeing some basic (smaller than dovecot, etc.) app that served up local mail boxes to clients...but cannot remember its name. A search revealed nothing, so may be mistaken.

karol · 2010-09-29 12:13:21

There's http://www.archlinux.org/packages/?sort … =&limit=50 but I don't know if it can do all you need it to do and if the configuration is any easier.

zenlord · 2010-09-30 09:05:06

fukawi2 wrote:

IIRC, fetchmail needs a local MTA (such as postfix) to deliver the mail to, so you would need postfix also. (I stand to be corrected)

Aha - I think that's where exim4 comes in on our network... We certainly don't have postfix installed, but we do have fetchmail fetching our mail. I have read somewhere that getmail is a lot easier to configure than fetchmail, so it is possible you don't need an MTA with getmail.

If the OP'er will be checking the mail only locally, there is not really a need for an IMAP or POP-server (like dovecot): most email clients can handle plain maildirs. I have no experience with this, so I don't know if this is a workable suggestion or not.

/EDIT: The getmail documentation states explicitly that it can deliver email locally to an mbox or maildir without the need of an MDA or MTA.

Last edited by zenlord (2010-09-30 09:09:05)

Dieter@be · 2010-09-30 11:15:30

i use dovecot and imapsync

zenlord · 2010-09-30 16:04:02

imapsync + cronjob could come in handy to make a stand-in-server for your mail...

madeye · 2010-09-30 16:37:13

I use fdm[1] to fetch my email from the various mail boxes I have. It stores the emails in maildir folders that I serve up with dovecot(imap) and roundcube(webmail)
It's nice to have access to my mail even when I'm out roaming in the world.

fdm is called from cron to fetch the mail with set intervals. And it's really quite simple to setup.

[1] http://fdm.sourceforge.net/

Arch Linux

#1 2010-09-29 07:35:51

Backup Mail Server

#2 2010-09-29 08:18:29

Re: Backup Mail Server

#3 2010-09-29 08:21:08

Re: Backup Mail Server

#4 2010-09-29 08:38:58

Re: Backup Mail Server

#5 2010-09-29 09:44:45

Re: Backup Mail Server

#6 2010-09-29 10:05:07

Re: Backup Mail Server

#7 2010-09-29 12:13:21

Re: Backup Mail Server

#8 2010-09-30 09:05:06

Re: Backup Mail Server

#9 2010-09-30 11:15:30

Re: Backup Mail Server

#10 2010-09-30 16:04:02

Re: Backup Mail Server

#11 2010-09-30 16:37:13

Re: Backup Mail Server

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