Recommended setup for a rackmount email server?

[cholmon]

I'm working as a programmer for a small web development house, and we're in the process of upgrading pretty much everything that the business relies on...our flagship software, email services, and even (particularly) our hardware.

We currently run everything in-house, but the goal is to get into a nearby colo facility. Our main priority at this point is to build a 1U-2U rackmount that will replace our email server. We've got about 100-200 clients/domains, each with 5 to 20 email accounts. The current system is a dell 500mhz p3 running win2k server and Imail 7.0, and it is gradually giving us more and more headaches.

My question is this; what hardware would you recommend for a 1U-2U rackmount that will be used exclusively for email, will be running FreeBSD, and will have a budget of about $1000?

Since I'm new to the server hardware side of things, I am leaning toward a ready-built system until I get a solid handle on this type of hardware maintenance.

Thanks for your input.

[tranz]

You could do:

P4 2.6GHz
512MB Ram
2x 40G drives (enough room to grow)

Thats the basics really. You could get away with less but you might end up in the same spot you are now in the future.

Or, add bigger drives and then offer your clients and email backup service at an additional cost. You could sell this as a value added service.

[Chet]

I run imail 7.x (going to 8.x next month) with a client base of over 75,000 users, with about 20,000 really active users. We have no problems with the system at all.

The biggest bottleneck with any mail server will be the drives, buy the fastest scsi drives you can, put the spool on a seperate drive from the mailboxes.

We currently run on a dual p3 850 and are moving to a dual xeon 2.4 system as we continue to rapidly grow.

If you use the webmail and some of the other features of Imail, I would warn that you will have a tough road ahead going to a nix platform and cobbling together various programs to work together. We spent 6 months reviewing possible solutions last year and decided the best bet was sticking with imail.

We have been doing this for 7 going on 8 years now, and are always re-evaluating our software. Can I ask what problems you are having with imail?

Oh and I am not a windows snob, all of our hosting servers our nix based, just not our mail service which is independent from our hosting.

Thanks

Chet

[cholmon]

Hi Chet,

Our decision to build a new server is primarily based on the poor performance of our current machine, which was converted from someone's desktop a year or two ago. In addition to running IMail on 256mb of ram and a single 32gb HDD, it is also our primary nameserver. To say that our infrastructure needs a little work would be an understatement.

Our newer web applications are running primarily on a LAMP architecture (Red Hat), which is why we are leaning toward a nix-based platform. We have plans to integrate some of our apps with our email solution, so an open architecture, while it will take time to do the program-cobbling, will provide us with more flexibility.

As for the FreeBSD decision, this is what was suggested to us by the network/hardware guy that we used to outsource these sorts of tasks to. It has become my job, however, to conserve money and make use of as much in-house talent as possible. We are small enough to be able to explore the various options as far as server hardware and software go, but we're growing fast enough to require a "bigger pair of shoes", so to speak.

-Drew

[pageBuzz]

Cholmon - It looks like your server is so old that any upgrade will help. Try Dell for the cheapest and most reliable servers. You can get a 1u rackmount that will do the job in your budget. Well under $1000.00.

There is no substitute for good hardware. We run all quad xeon machines with scsi raid and many gigs of ram. So I am spoiled with unlimited performance.

But that comes from doing what you did. Using old desktops and slamming them in rackmont cases. After about 20 DNS failures because of my traffic, I tried better machines. Everyone tells me my name servers are overkill for the resources they need. But I am trouble free and when I listened to the "Experts" my machines always failed.

Spend what you need to. But get as much as you can, because if you go low, you will regret it later. As you are now, knowing that old pc cannot manage the load.

[aplushosting]

You can build a very good server for about that price.

At least a dual core processor (Pentium D), a couple of gigs of RAM, a 3ware hardware RAID card and at least two drives in it.

If you want even nicer hardware, go with a Supermicro server. We've been using their servers and boards for 6+ years. NONE have ever failed. Also, we've never had problems with Enlight cases and their power supplies. Good quality.

Dells/HPs/Compaqs... their techs come here way too often to fix issues with colo customers with those brands.

[crazyabs]

i suggest get a core2duo rig. i suggest it. or maybe an athlon x2. 2x120gig hd minimum of 1gig ram. then raid the hd.:banana: