Charlie Brady wrote:
> As Gordon says, nearly all of this exists already in SME Server (earlier
> versions of which were known as "the e-smith server and gateway"). The
> only significant thing missing is virtual users - because SME server is
> also a file server, all users are real linux users, with home
> directories (although they do not have shell access, and can only access
> the directories via pop/imap/smb/etc).
>
> A variant distribution without file server capabilities and with virtual
> users probably wouldn't be too hard to build, and might be a better use
> for your spare cycles than starting from scratch.
>
> Regards
>
> Charlie (SME Server Lead Developer)
I'm not really starting from scratch, the software is all there. I've
been running qpsmtpd for quite some time now, together with
vpopmail-mysql, qmail, spamassassin, etc. The thing is that there are so
many packages, and the qpsmtpd wiki has only recently become a valuable
resource (I created the first wiki which was plagued by spammers and
failed as a result). People who are currently using qpsmtpd really are
considered "hackers" in my eyes, because they all do their own custom
scripts and solutions for their special problems... it's a shame the
group is not sharing the efforts to create one single powerful and
modular package. I know it's partly difficult because it's a lot of work
and the majority of us have jobs...
Anyway, the emphasis here is to create a package that can be installed
on any debian derived distribution, and open sourcing the whole thing
will allow someone else to create RPM packages for this.
If you load the SME Faq in Contribs.org you will see the top FAQs are
about hardware issues. This is just an example of how creating a
distribution takes the focus from the actual task at hand which is to
setup a robust and modular mail system. It's also a shame that there is
no support for virtual users (stored in ldap or mysql).
I hate to re-invent the wheel, and the screenshots from SME do look
really good and inviting, but I really think the way to go is to create
packages that are installable on an existing server. I'm not going to
change my server to SME, it's running well, I know and trust debian, and
it really is quite difficult for me to even consider a new distro.
I also have to admit I have a personal interest in this, you see I am
installing a new mail server on average every 3 years. I installed one
last year, and I expect to install a new one in 2 years when the storage
and cpu/memory capabilities of the current machines are depleted. I've
been through 3 such cycles. I guess at that point when I have to install
again in 2 years, it will be great to have something I can just install
with one command, and then to have it load configurations from a central
LDAP server in order to join a cluster. (or setup an initial ldap
repository if it is the first server).
I mean look at Bill's qmail toaster. People around the globe actually
copy & paste those lines to install a server..!
Your feedback is important to me of course. If there is a way to do this
easier let me know.
Skaag
