[sf-lug] somebody wants a linux hosted mail server

[jim stockford]

Mike is lobbying for a linux hosted mail server.
(his email request at bottom, my reply to him at top:
fire away, 'specially if you can do the job).

    got your email, copying your request (but not your
phone numbers) to the san francisco linux users'
group. Respond and let me know if it's okay for me to
give out your access info.

    As to doing the work, there's going to your place:
figure 30 minutes.
    first task is to determine the specifics of the box itself:
motherboard, nic, drives, ram.... figure 30 minutes.
    second task, given the box will work, is to load some
kind of linux: which kind is a question in itself: who's
around to provide support? My guess is RedHat will
be the best choice, but the deciding point is the
availability of more than one person comfortable
with the distribution (RedHat or Debian or....). That
could be a few minutes or lots more, depending on
talking with you--be sure there's more than one
person, by default go with RedHat--it's set up for
enterprise requirements and there are certainly
knowledgeable people in your neighborhood.
    The third task is to install the chosen linux, figure
two hours.
    The fourth task is to configure and test network
access, figure 15 minutes to two hours, more if
there has to be domain name, IP setup, etc.
    The fifth task is to choose and install and test the
mail server, figure four hours.
    The sixth task (some might disagree and put this
earlier) is to set up a maintenance plan: when the
queue sticks, who's gonna fix it, what's the urgency,
what's the access, is there someone on site who
can be trained to detect problems and maybe fix
the easy, common ones. I'd figure a couple of hours
for this.
    Minimum eight hours, almost certainly spread
over two (or more) days. Might go as high as twice
that, depending on conversations, requirements,
network setup, trips to the store..., might be spread
over several days if there's a wait for IP addresses
or some third-party service.
    One of the benefits is that of having a linux box
and support available. There's lots of software
available, much at low purchase price, and most
highly customizable. Adding new capability is
easy once you have support in place--a small
company can have the benefits of a high-end
IT infrastructure at low cost by going with linux.
jim


On Apr 13, 2006, at 8:40 AM, Mike Kingsella wrote:

Jim,

I work for a new company and am lobbying for a Linux IMAP mail server 
versus a Windows exchange server.  The company already has a spare 
computer which I believe will easily support a mail server; however we 
do not have any in-house expertise on setting up the system. 

I’m curious if you know of anyone in San Francisco who has the ability 
to set up a Linux email server.  I would like to find out how much 
someone would charge/how long the project would take.

Thanks in advance for your help,

Mike R. Kingsella
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