dovecot - Feb 2006 - Maximum Folder Size/Number of Messages

I hope I'm asking this question in the right place,  I don't want to
offend.

I've recently put together a proof of concept Dovecot IMAP server, and 
I'm very happy with its performance up to this point.  I'm looking into 
using it to replace our existing POP3 server, allowing users to store 
email on the server rather than on their local machine, hopefully 
avoiding loss of data.  The big question I have is, is there a realistic 
maximum realistic folder size, either in reference to number of messages 
or total file size with Dovecot?

I'm using Maildir and running it on Debian Linux x86.  Right now the 
filesystem is Ext3, although once the system goes live I'd be looking at 
something a little more fault tolerant and able to handle the large 
amount of data.  Any recommendations you may have on Filesystem choice 
are appreciated too!

Thanks,
Ropetin.

Ropetin wrote:
>  The big question I have is, is there a realistic maximum realistic 
> folder size, either in reference to number of messages or total file 
> size with Dovecot?
>
The main question is your intended mail folder format -  mbox or maildir?

Each have various tradeoffs (mbox better for huge numbers of read-only 
msgs, maildir better for huge but actively changing folders).  Dovecot 
doesn't (afaict) conveniently support mixed folder format (except for 
the special case of INBOX).

I personally run with several Gb of Maildir, with folders of 20k+ 
messages (my spam folder :<) and Dovecot has
never been a problem..... pity I can't say the same about Thunderbird :<