RSS Feeds
organise
Turn an Ubuntu/Debian System Into an IMAP Mail Server
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 10:00 PM on August 22, 2008
Just because your email account doesn't offer IMAP access doesn't mean you have to put up with reading and deleting the same messages ad nauseum. Web how-to site Webmonkey offers a detailed rundown on setting up the free Dovecot server on your system to pull in any kind of mail and dish it out in that synced, folder-sorted, always-accessible IMAP way. This guide is specific to Ubuntu and Debian-based systems, but Dovecot is available for lots of open-source platforms. If running your own box seems like a bit of overkill, you can always set up Gmail with IMAP as a go-between.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
davidron
Posted 12:20 AM 23/8/08
I don't really like gmail's broken IMAP implementation. I know that having an @aol.com address is newbilicious, but AOL offers "unlimited" free storage and full complete IMAP.
When on a public terminal, I can ssh into my server and run MUTT which is far superior to any web interface I've used (gmail, AOL, Yahoo, or otherwise) and when I'm on a computer I own, I can use Thunderbird.
davidron
Jay_N
Posted 1:00 AM 23/8/08
I run a dovecot server on my box, which serves my e-mail archive on localhost. I transfer all messages from my Trash folder to my local server once a week (using fetchmail and procmail). This way I get fast access to my old e-mail and minimise use of web space.
I can definitely recommend Dovecot for this kind of thing, very easy to set up.
Jay_N
TheFu
Posted 12:42 AM 23/8/08
There are many good points to running your own IMAP this AND many bad points dependent on your network and hardware stability. Don't forget to use IMAPS (TLS/SSL) for security.
Bad things:
- DHCP forces IP change and you're out of town; no email access
- Power outages; get a UPS or 3
- WAN connection down-eaten by mole, chipmunk, other critter
- You still need to get to an SMTP server "somewhere"; your DHCP address is probably in a dynamic address range that is blocked by 80% of all email servers, so your ISP relay may be the default option.
GMail is evil, IMHO. They parse every email and tag the content with your ID. That's just a little too much lack of privacy for me. Google-analytics is evil for a similar reason. The same could be said for google searching ... just don't auto-login and force their cookies to be session only.
TheFu
azwr
Posted 2:25 AM 23/8/08
@TheFu: "- DHCP forces IP change and you're out of town; no email access"
Anyone with this problem, check out services like dyndns.org. There are free options that allow you to assign a dns name to a dynamic ip. Then, using a program like ddclient on linux, you can have it automatically update your dns name to match your dynamic ip address.
Not foolproof, but has allowed me to ssh and imap to my home server with only about 2 ip problems in the last year and a half or so.
azwr
Mythokia
Posted 9:05 PM 23/8/08
TheFu made good points about the stability of running this at home. The chances of my home's internet connection going down, a power trip/loss and equipment failure (murphy's law says that the moment you're going to be away for awhile, it happens) are too great. If I have to start shelling out for backup equipment then the economics of it cancel out any benefits of the project.
Mythokia
tomasso
Posted 7:16 AM 24/8/08
I did this for several years before moving to a hosting company that provided IMAP and later to gmail.
It was very easy to setup, and it was even better when I setup SSH on the server so that I could connect while on the road.
But, like all things DIY ... backup backup backup!
tomasso
fogmaster
Posted 4:45 AM 23/8/08
personally I run a virtual machine for my own mail/webserver. using vmware server, it is very easy to set up and free too!
I use dovecott for the IMAP as well as squirrel mail for my webmail.
You should look into running a router with tomato. EVERY time my IP changes, my router sends a notice to no-ip.org and updates.
fogmaster