I've been using UW-IMAPd for neigh on forever (at least since 2001). But,
as it's basically stalled, and I'm about to update the hardware that is
my mail server, I thought it was time to review existing open-source IMAP
servers. Dovecot is the top three in my looking.
The other of the top three candidates, because I know of people who've
used it, is Cyrus IMAP. So, I should note that my thoughts are "uw-imapd,
because I already know how to use it", "Cyrus, because someone I
know/trust liked it years ago", and dovecot, because "it seems stable,
professional, and to meet all of my needs".
I guess the biggest question I have is how files/folders are stored in the
filesystem. uw-imapd has a "mbx" format that all of my folders are
in, and also has support for mbox and maildir (i think). mbx had some
advantages for speed access, which would be unimportant I assume with
dovecot's indexes, but IIRC there was also some reason the mbox format coped
poorly with multiple clients accessing the same folder at the same time.
So, am I right that dovecot supports only the "one big full file"
mbox format, and the maildir format? And if so, is it known to allow multiple
simultaneous IMAP clients to access and monitor and/or modify the same folder
simultaneously?
After those questions, it's just a "what do you think the pros and
cons of each are?" I know asking in this forum, that I will get most if
not all votes for Dovecot. And that's fine, as long as you have specific
reasons why it would be better for someone with only a handful of users and
minimal time available to administer the systems in question.
Thanks! I appreciate any and all feedback.
- Chris
Am 17.12.2012 04:52, schrieb Chris Ross:> > I've been using UW-IMAPd for neigh on forever (at least since 2001). But, as it's basically stalled, and I'm about to update the hardware that is my mail server, I thought it was time to review existing open-source IMAP servers. Dovecot is the top three in my looking. > > The other of the top three candidates, because I know of people who've used it, is Cyrus IMAP. So, I should note that my thoughts are "uw-imapd, because I already know how to use it", "Cyrus, because someone I know/trust liked it years ago", and dovecot, because "it seems stable, professional, and to meet all of my needs". > > I guess the biggest question I have is how files/folders are stored in the filesystem. uw-imapd has a "mbx" format that all of my folders are in, and also has support for mbox and maildir (i think). mbx had some advantages for speed access, which would be unimportant I assume with dovecot's indexes, but IIRC there was also some reason the mbox format coped poorly with multiple clients accessing the same folder at the same time. > > So, am I right that dovecot supports only the "one big full file" mbox format, and the maildir format? And if so, is it known to allow multiple simultaneous IMAP clients to access and monitor and/or modify the same folder simultaneously? > > After those questions, it's just a "what do you think the pros and cons of each are?" I know asking in this forum, that I will get most if not all votes for Dovecot. And that's fine, as long as you have specific reasons why it would be better for someone with only a handful of users and minimal time available to administer the systems in question. > > Thanks! I appreciate any and all feedback. > > - Chris >Hi Chris, dove has some own high speed mailbox formats ( dbox, mdbox ) but it can handle maildir and mbox too, its up to you what you like to use, anyway as i had used cyrus and other imap servers in the past, my meaning ,dove is the best what you can choose today. Best Regards MfG Robert Schetterer -- [*] sys4 AG http://sys4.de, +49 (89) 30 90 46 64 Franziskanerstra?e 15, 81669 M?nchen Sitz der Gesellschaft: M?nchen, Amtsgericht M?nchen: HRB 199263 Vorstand: Patrick Ben Koetter, Axel von der Ohe, Marc Schiffbauer Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender: Joerg Heidrich
On Mon, 17 Dec 2012, Chris Ross wrote:> I've been using UW-IMAPd for neigh on forever (at least since 2001). > But, as it's basically stalled, and I'm about to update the hardware > that is my mail server, I thought it was time to review existing > open-source IMAP servers. Dovecot is the top three in my looking.I converted a few years ago and never looked back.> So, am I right that dovecot supports only the "one big full file" mbox > format, and the maildir format? And if so, is it known to allow > multiple simultaneous IMAP clients to access and monitor and/or modify > the same folder simultaneously?I still run using mbox, and have not had a problem with corruption, however, this is probably owing to our modest IMAP demand and careful coordination of file locks among all the different MUAs. You're better off with Maildir and other formats, that are better designed for simultaneous access. There are other good reasons to switch formats. Dovecot also supports its own mdbox/sdbox for high performance: its a hybrid that tries to incorporate the best of both words. More info http://wiki2.dovecot.org/MailboxFormat> After those questions, it's just a "what do you think the pros and cons > of each are?"I can't speak to the other software you are looking at, but two factors I found to be particularly good: - flexibility: you can get almost every oddball setup to work. Migration from uw-imapd is fairly easy, but then again, uw-imapd didn't have a lot of knobs to turn. Plugins are available that extends its functionality. - support: this mailing list is great, and Timo is an absolute wizard in getting bugs fixed. (Note: I am shamelessly buttering him up so that he fixes the outstanding bug I reported!) Joseph Tam <jtam.home at gmail.com>
Check out:
http://imapwiki.org/ImapTest/ServerStatus
--
David Morsberger
301-758-7387
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 17, 2012, at 2:00 AM, Chris Ross <cross+dovecot at distal.com>
wrote:
I've been using UW-IMAPd for neigh on forever (at least since 2001). But,
as it's basically stalled, and I'm about to update the hardware that is
my
mail server, I thought it was time to review existing open-source IMAP
servers. Dovecot is the top three in my looking.
The other of the top three candidates, because I know of people who've
used it, is Cyrus IMAP. So, I should note that my thoughts are "uw-imapd,
because I already know how to use it", "Cyrus, because someone I
know/trust
liked it years ago", and dovecot, because "it seems stable,
professional,
and to meet all of my needs".
I guess the biggest question I have is how files/folders are stored in the
filesystem. uw-imapd has a "mbx" format that all of my folders are
in, and
also has support for mbox and maildir (i think). mbx had some advantages
for speed access, which would be unimportant I assume with dovecot's
indexes, but IIRC there was also some reason the mbox format coped poorly
with multiple clients accessing the same folder at the same time.
So, am I right that dovecot supports only the "one big full file"
mbox
format, and the maildir format? And if so, is it known to allow multiple
simultaneous IMAP clients to access and monitor and/or modify the same
folder simultaneously?
After those questions, it's just a "what do you think the pros and
cons of
each are?" I know asking in this forum, that I will get most if not all
votes for Dovecot. And that's fine, as long as you have specific reasons
why it would be better for someone with only a handful of users and minimal
time available to administer the systems in question.
Thanks! I appreciate any and all feedback.
- Chris