dovecot - Oct 2020 - Looking for a guide to collect all e-mail from the ISP mail server

> What you are looking for would be a very advanced setup
 > [...]

I don't think so. But we'll see!

I would be happy to take a pre-packaged mail server solution like iRedMail which
includes RoundCube or whatever.

I just need a "easy", practical guide to reconfigure it to 1) download
e-mails from a multidrop, and 2) relay external e-mail to the ISP's SMTP
server. Well, at least saying it like that does not sound hard. 8-)

> More importantly, most ISPs are very limited in the way of support.
 > [...]

While that assertion is generally true, most ISPs I have seen do get the basic
e-mail service right. All have a kind of "catch all" e-mail address.
Level of service is normally fine for a small business. If it is not, you can
always change ISP.

Hardware costs are not a problem. Most small companies I have seen have a file
server sitting idle most of the time. Creating a VM with VirtualBox or
KVM is relatively easy.

Backing the mail server up is easy too: you just copy the VM as a big file. In a
small business you may need a few Gigabytes per year if you want to
keep all e-mails.

I have even written a script that stops a KVM virtual machine every day at 4 am,
backs the big file up to a NAS, and the restarts the VM. OK, I am not
actually using it, and there is room for improvement, but the basic idea would
work. If the server breaks, you have some downtime and you lose some
data, but not too much. Most small businesses have more downtime and more data
loss for other reasons.

Retention is problematic anyway even if you use an external provider. With an
external provider you also have to consider data protection issues.
Small businesses are often exempt from difficult legal requirements (but I am
not a lawyer either).

> The server would still need to be accessible publicly for email to be
routed to it.
That's not the case. It hasn't been for an Exchange Server with
"POP3 Connector" that I have seen. And it will not be the case with a
Dovecote that
fetches e-mail from the ISP over multidrop.


 > [...]
> things unexpectedly and you still have maintenance regarding deliverability
> (i.e. reputation, dkim/spf/dmarc) and will still be paying additional 
Not applicable. Reputation, SPF, etc. is handled by the ISP. Those are standard
things, a commodity nowadays.

> [...]
> Webform attacks are rising so there would
Not applicable. No web interface exposed. Only accessible over a VPN connection.


 > [...]
> This includes the workaround.org guide which you'll inevitably run
across.
> That guide was designed for a personal server, its a good step forward
> but there are many more requirements needed for business.
That is true. On the other hand, you may be overestimating the needs of a small
business. Some of them still use Hotmail addresses!

> [...] > Stakeholders will need to include all emails related to it at
the final signing.
 > [...]

I am thinking of a small business here, where most things are rather more
informal. Something along the lines of "I would do it this way, but if you
need something professional, I am out of my depth, because I am not actually an
admin at all, you know". That's how real life often works. 8-)

In other words, I am looking for a workaround.org guide for multidrop. Just for
fun!

Regards,
   rdiez

26. 10. 2020 v 12:15, R. Diez <rdiezmail-2006 at
yahoo.de>:
> 
> I would be happy to take a pre-packaged mail server solution like iRedMail
which includes RoundCube or whatever.
Have a look at Mailcow too, it comes with almost everything. I?ve been running
it for a year now, after many years of using a self-assembled stack, and it?s a
bliss.

I have it coupled with Amazon SES for some domains that run mailing lists.
That?s a cheap option if you want to offload the sender reputation problem to
someone else.

-F

There was just a recent discussion on the spamassassin mailing list 
where also amazon was mentioned, and from what I can recollect and my 
experience, outgoing amazon mail has a bad reputation. So if you want 
host your vm somewhere, choose something that is not cheap and not big. 
Spammers more most likely to choose cheap.



-----Original Message-----
Cc: N; dovecot at dovecot.org
Subject: Re: Looking for a guide to collect all e-mail from the ISP mail 
server

26. 10. 2020 v 12:15, R. Diez <rdiezmail-2006 at
yahoo.de>:
> 
> I would be happy to take a pre-packaged mail server solution like 
iRedMail which includes RoundCube or whatever.

Have a look at Mailcow too, it comes with almost everything. Ive been 
running it for a year now, after many years of using a self-assembled 
stack, and its a bliss.

I have it coupled with Amazon SES for some domains that run mailing 
lists. Thats a cheap option if you want to offload the sender 
reputation problem to someone else.

-F

> Have a look at Mailcow too, it comes with almost everything.
> I?ve been running it for a year now, after many years of usin
> a self-assembled stack, and it?s a bliss.
Thanks for the hint. I initially discarded Mailcow because of this:

"mailcow: dockerized comes with multiple containers"

The installation instructions mention that Docker Compose is required. Not long
ago I learnt enough to launch one Docker container. I could be
convinced to use a dockerised application, but multiple containers and Docker
Compose? I have a feeling that Mailcow is not really designed to run on
premises in a small business or a volunteer-based club or charity.

> I have it coupled with Amazon SES for some domains that run mailing lists.
> That?s a cheap option if you want to offload the sender
> reputation problem to someone else.
 > [...]
 > So if you want host your vm somewhere, choose something that is not cheap
 > and not big. Spammers more most likely to choose cheap.

Yes, I gather that you guys want me to expose ports and use the cloud. But I
will resist you all to the end! 8-)

Regards,
   rdiez