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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from ZDNet Australia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Seven mail servers tested By Matt Tett, Technology & Business magazine March 31, 2005 URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/software/soa/Seven-mail-servers-tested/0,139023769,139186466,00.htm
 Exchange might be the most popular but is it the best? We test the alternatives. While I have dabbled with various different Linux- and Windows-based mail systems over the years such as Postfix, Exchange, Domino, and Q-Mail, I keep returning to Sendmail. The choice for Sendmail and other variants of Linux-based mail servers is fairly obvious -- the operating system. Linux is a very robust operating system to use when facing the public Internet and when running critical online applications. Particularly so in the days before alternative means of Internet protection such as firewalls, intrusion detection or prevention systems (IDS/IPS). Linux also has phenomenal reliability and can work with limited resources, we have an Intel PII 233MHZ CPU/128MB RAM server running Slackware/Sendmail which has been running with approx 500 mailboxes for the last six years with just one failure (a PSU fan). It has only been administratively down three times in that period, twice for routine maintenance to replace/upgrade the hard disk drive unit and once to relocate it to a different datacentre.
Don't worry this will not be a pro-Linux rant, we can assure you that we are certainly not a supporters of any one particular platform, operating system or appliance.
It also provides easily deployable integrated application options such as:
As mentioned, while some of these are available as additional applications and plug-ins to various flavours of Linux and its associated mail servers they are not as readily accessible or unified as most of the "other" vendors packages. Malicious content The majority of virus and malicious content such as worms are still spread these days via the Internet e-mail system, therefore it would be advisable to evaluate and deploy a separate dedicated e-mail antivirus application, for more information see the review I performed in the April 2004 edition of T&B "Stop MyDoom being your doom". Spam, spam, spam, glorious spam Another e-mail borne nuisance is spam, this requires a fair bit more planning and evaluation once you have settled on a mail server platform you can start down that path. For more information see the three reviews we have performed in the past for T&B in the July 2003, October 2003, and December 2004 editions. E-mail security gateways and services Due to the fact that in some way, shape, or form e-mail servers need to be publicly accessible and online 24x7x365 then a definite consideration when looking at your e-mail systems security would be to consider a gateway device. Two that we have come across in the past are Ironport who provide robust network attached security appliances which process the network traffic prior to delivery and after messages have been sent. For a complete managed e-mail security solution in a similar vein then see the folks at Network Box they deliver, configure and remotely maintain and monitor an e-mail gateway server at your own premises. Harden the servers O/S and batten down the perimeter Next on the list is to ensure that the server's operating systems are correctly hardened, primarily by turning off or disabling all services, processes and ports that are running unnecessarily. Also it would be assumed that the network perimeter security is correctly setup and fire-walled, (see our firewall review in the March 2004 edition of T&B), to allow a certain level of port access, preferably with an adequate multi-homed firewall, not just a default de-militarised zone (DMZ).
Avoid the common mis-configuration traps
Don't be a relay point for spammers The first cab off the rank is IBM with Domino Server 6.5.3. And with an array of access and administration options it is hard to know where to begin. Firstly, one needs the actual Domino server installed, this in itself is not much to look at, just a console window with text-based status information and events in it. To administer, monitor, and configure this there are two options, the first is Domino Administrator which is a separate standalone application which interfaces with the Domino server. The second option for administration, and technically more portable as it is Web based, is the browser admininistration interface. Both these administration interfaces are surprisingly similar and give the user full access to the overwhelming myriad of configuration options available. While first impressions can be quite daunting it only took me about half an hour or so to be quite proficient in accessing and configuring the various settings.
Users accessing their e-mails have three Lotus specific interfaces to choose from as well as traditional e-mail clients. Although with many specific features available most deployments of Domino would be matched with a Lotus client. The three Lotus e-mail clients are, Lotus Notes, Domino Web Access, and Webmail.
Ipswitch sent us a really neat package called the Ipswitch Collaboration Suite premium edition which not only contains the iMail Server but e-mail and discussion lists, secure instant messaging, schedule and contact sharing, anti-spam filters, and antivirus protection. We were only interested in the iMail Server for the purposes of this review. Installation could not have been easier, likewise the initial configuration. This package really is simple, unfortunately too simple. Perhaps a few years ago a mail server like this would have been quite good, however when compared to any of the other packages in this review the Ipswitch iMail Server lacks in many areas. We decided not to can the product immediately but to press on and have a look at its Web messaging interface and Web calendaring. Unfortunately this was equally unimpressive, quite awkward and very basic. It may well have just been the design and layout but it seemed to lack the finish, features, and polish of all the other applications. In summary perhaps iMail was a good server in the past, but it has seen its day and definitely is due for some graphical and feature overhauls. On the upside, at least not all of Ipswitch's products are like this, I can personally attest to the fact that its popular WSFTP and What's Up applications are both excellent products.
Kerio has a very impressive product with MailServer 6, that is easy to install, configure, monitor, and administer. This application comes in two parts, the first part is the mail-server engine itself and the second is the administration application. It took us less than five minutes to install and configure this mail-server. Mind you it took about half an hour to play around with all the options and features in the administration console. One of the best features of this application is its comprehensive in-built anti-spam engine, which is based on Spam-Assassin. As you can see from the screenshot the package is well featured without being overly complex and the finish to the product is exemplary. If you are after a small to medium enterprise solution that is ridiculously easy to administer then you would be hard pressed to go past Kerio MailServer 6 -- I suggest you download and begin evaluating it today.
Microsoft Exchange is probably the most commonly used mail server in enterprises. We would've used Exchange servers on an almost daily basis over the last 12 months in test rigs for various projects. Exchange 2003 builds incrementally on the previous version, and has a greatly improved mobile device support list. The Exchange application configuration, management and monitoring is via a management console. This console is very straight forward to navigate and administrators can quickly find the particular options they are looking for. More monitoring tools would be a nice addition in the future, particularly real time tools. While Microsoft have placed an ever growing emphasis on information technology security over the last 12 months. To really reap the benefits of true security without having to spend hour upon hour tweaking, disabling, and reconfiguring processes, services, and applications it is best to begin migrating to Microsoft Windows Server 2003 at the same time as making the move to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 -- this is not to say you can relax your guard as there are still a few advisable security tweaks and precautions one needs to take care of but they are just a lot less and a lot more straightforward. Microsoft has finally realised it is not worthwhile trying to ship a product that tries to be everything to everyone with all bells and whistles running and open from the initial install, instead it leaves it up to the owner to install and start only the components they need the machine to handle... mostly. Overall, a wise step forward for Microsoft and slightly better to manage and maintain mail server than previous incarnations. Added mobile device and remote mail support may be advantages to some enterprises.
The last time we really had anything to do with Novell, apart from using it functionally as the University's e-mail system, was back in the dim dark days of 3.1 and 4.01. Things have certainly changed a fair bit since then. Installation was straightforward, the Novell engineers who assisted the Lab with the installation suggested a large enterprise install and configure would take between five to eight hours. Management is excellent mostly being achieved remotely by Novell's centralised management tool called ConsoleOne. ConsoleOne can administer several Novell servers from the one administrative workstation. For those interested in the behind the scenes nuts-and-bolts there is still a purely text-based interface on the server which mostly allows engineers to monitor activity and log events. It is always good to know that when the GUI stops responding there is still a CLI to turn to before panicking. As one would expect, Novell uses its directory service for the majority of the user and group control. Groupwise should easily scale up to 30,000 or even 40,000 users. An interesting feature is Novell's quickfinder technology which integrates a document management indexing and search facility into the users interface that is updated periodically (default is once every 20 hours) that allows authorised users to search through global or group document stores for keywords. Overall a powerful package with perhaps not so many customisable options as Domino, but still worthy of evaluation if a large-scale mail server deployment is on the cards.
A must when contemplating a Sendmail environment is to purchase a copy of the O'Reilly -Bat" book (Building, Installing, and Administering Sendmail by Bryan Costales with Eric Allman) -- this is a comprehensive guide to pretty much anything one needs to know about Sendmail and is extremely easy to follow. One thing that Sendmail has never been known for is its ease of configuration (particularly the virtually cryptographic Sendmail.cf file), while it is simple to get up and running fine tuning and tweaking it can leave one a little wobbly in the knees let alone in the head. Don't worry if you need help or extra features and are willing to pay for them, the developers of the freeware version of Sendmail have a commercial company, see www.sendmail.com. A myriad of open-source plug-in applications are available for managing and monitoring Sendmail. A very popular tool for those with a GUI bend on Linux is Webmin. I ran up a server with Slackware 10.0, Sendmail and installed Webmin for the purposes of this review. Webmin not only manages Sendmail but also many other aspects of Linux applications and their associated configuration. And the best bit is the author of Webmin comes from Melbourne. Ok so it is a bit of a soft option for most hardcore Linux nuts out there who prefer the CLI but some people must eventually grow up and realise not everyone is a ubergeek super programmer who live, eat and breath in vi commands. In that vein if you are looking for a laugh then check out www.ubergeek.tv. It is a very reliable, robust, scalable solution when combined with Webmin, and a decent Linux distribution should give the owner many years of faithful service. If you haven't tried it, get the book and give it a spin in a test environment -- you should be pleasantly surprised.
If a company has a requirement for a basic, easy-to-administer mailserver, then OpenExchange Server 4 must be on the shortlist for evaluation. And before the Microsoft proponents out there start jumping up and down about us recommending Linux and its lack of formal support and how it has been mashed together by a rogue bunch of anarchistic hackers so it may not be around tomorrow, SuSE was bought last year by Novell. So there should be plenty of support and future for this product, now it is the Linux community who can start ranting and raving about the coming of the end of the world through the commercialisation of some Linux distributions. Installation and full configuration takes less than a couple of hours. Management is easily completed via a well-featured interface accessible through any Web browser. The underlying mail server used is called Postfix. In the basic, and even advanced, graphical configuration windows OpenExchange misses some more obscure and complex configuration options, however for all the diehards there is a page for manually changing the main.cf and master.cf postfix config files.
The menu system is well setup allowing for easy management of users and groups. Of particular note on the monitoring side of things is administrative access to a very impressive range of round robin database tool (RRDtool) graphs. For those familiar with multi router traffic grapher (MRTG) you will be familiar with the type of output Tobi Oetiker's applications produce. In the OpenExchange monitoring system RRDtool is used to show.
If you are in the market for a basic mail server that is easy to use and monitor, then definitely look at Novell's SuSE Linux OpenExchange Server 4.
This company has 200 users but is looking to expand to 400+ in the next few years. Approximate budget: Small Requires: A mail server that can cope with the company's intended growth. Concerns: Cost -- the mail server needs to be inexpensive and easy to maintain. The Scenario 1 winner is Novell's SuSE Linux based OpenExchange, closely followed by Sendmail. Novell's application is far easier to manage, but also costs $$$.
Sample scenario 2 
Editor's choiceThere are three Editor's Choice winners this month, each covering a very specific category. For those looking for a robust, powerful, and reliable mail system with limited bells and whistles then Sendmail is the winner. For those SMEs needing a simple-to-install and manageable e-mail server system with good support then Novell OpenExchange Server 4 is the winner with Kerio MailServer 6 coming a close second. And for those needing a server with the majority of bells and whistles covered then it is a closely run race between IBM and Microsoft with Microsoft just pipping IBM at the post. This article was first published in Technology & Business magazine. Click here for subscription information. 
RMIT IT Test Labs is an independent testing institution based in Melbourne, Victoria, performing IT product testing for clients such as IBM, Coles-Myer, and a wide variety of government bodies. In the Labs' testing for T&B, they are in direct contact with the clients supplying products and the magazine is responsible for the full cost of the testing. The findings are the Labs' own -- only the specifications of the products to be tested are provided by the magazine. For more information on RMIT, please contact the Lab Manager, Steven Turvey.
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