Emulating an email server

[JCrou82]

I currently have two servers and about 40 client machines. The one server runs Apache, PostgreSQL, Pure-FTP and Sendmail. My second server is not yet running but will be soon. Currently what we do here at my company, and this was prior to my arrival so I have been finally given the go to attempt to change this around, is we have one client machine on the network that runs outlook express and all the email is retrieved from our server running sendmail. The Administrative assistant then goes to this client machine, checks for incoming email and then literally moves the emails to folders on that client machine. She then goes back to HER own workstation and goes through network neighborhood to retrieve the email so that she can print it or burn it to cd or do whatever she needs to do with it. I was wondering is there a way to retrieve this email not from a client machine, but from the new server and then allowing her to retrieve it from her machine. The president of the company's biggest concern is dat he wants the emails backed up somewhere so that if the Admin Assts's hard drive where to crash, the emails would not be disturbed and we could continue to receive our emails. I understand that this is a long post and that it is also not technically speaking, the way you do things, but this is how the president wants it. I know I can also purchase exchange, but i'm not sure if that would replace or juss be a supplement to sendmail. any help or pointers are greatly appreciated.

Thank You

 

[wten]

Some possibilities for you:

You can use procmail with a script(s) to make a copy of all inbound mail to any location on your network that you wish.

There are other modules you can use with sendmail that can do that as well (even for outbound mail using the smtp server on the same box). See the Sendmail documentation. Try

http://www.sendmail.org/faq/section4.html#4.20

You have to realize that with these solutions, you'll also make copies of all junk mail.

The good thing about the procmail solution is that you can make rules so that mail being sent to a particular recipient can be forwarded to a particular folder.

Now the users can go directly to the mail server and get their messages themselves via their own mail clients while a copy of all messages exists elsewhere.

You can proceed to backup the copied mail to tape or burn to disk or whatever. I don't know what your firms requirements or desires may be as far as retention goes.

Or...

You can purchase Exchange but now you are talking a different ball of wax. Domain controllers, the mail server and probably more headache than its worth unless your users desire the richer set of features available via the full Outlook client. You will still need to enable journaling to make a copy of all messages and then find away to store it near &/or offline. If you are just going to use Outlook Express, don't bother IMO.

Good luck.

 

[Marcs41]

Instead of Outlook Express, use Outlook 2000 or XP (2002).
After retrieving all mail, close Outlook and make a backup on the network of the PST files. That's all the mail in there, and it does not cost you a cent.

Better yet: Tell your President he is foolish in wanting to work this way. (well, use some more diplomatic words ;-) )

And why does the mail get retrieved on one PC, to then move mails in folders, to then next access that from another PC? Talking about complicate thing. Just setup the mail on the other PC, no running around for the secr.
The solution is out there.