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Mail Server Suggestion Needed

brad-brad- Member Posts: 1,218
in Off-Topic
Let me start by saying I dont know anything about Exchange 2007...and im going to have to learn the hard way, and fast.

We run about 100 user operation here and are going to start using our own email (currently hosted outside). In addition, a new application is going to use an exchange account to send out about 20k confirmation emails a month.

Our current servers are all an HP Proliant flavor of some kind.
Given all that, what would you guys guess I might need in terms of RAM/Storage? What kind of hardware are you guys running?

BTW, we'll probably put this on a W2k3 r2 x32 OS.
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    dynamikdynamik Banned Posts: 12,312 ■■■■■■■■■□
    First and foremost, you're going to need x64; there are no supported 32-bit versions of Exchange 2007.

    I'll try to track down some resource guidelines in a few.

    Edit: This provides a fairly comprehensive look at resources: http://www.msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-server-2007/planning-architecture/exchange-2007-sizing-****-sheet.html
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    blargoeblargoe Member Posts: 4,174 ■■■■■■■■■□
    Linux... Sendmail... FREE!!!

    icon_wink.gif
    IT guy since 12/00

    Recent: 11/2019 - RHCSA (RHEL 7); 2/2019 - Updated VCP to 6.5 (just a few days before VMware discontinued the re-cert policy...)
    Working on: RHCE/Ansible
    Future: Probably continued Red Hat Immersion, Possibly VCAP Design, or maybe a completely different path. Depends on job demands...
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    NightShade03NightShade03 Member Posts: 1,383 ■■■■■■■□□□
    I'd recommend postfix, I personally think its better, easier, and also free. Plus if you are using it on Ubuntu/Debian they have pre-installed virutal applicanes where all you need to do is configure it (if you want to go that way).
    Modular Learning - Learn Something New

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    brad-brad- Member Posts: 1,218
    Thx Dynamik.

    Ok so x64...sorry u guys, this is going to be a windows only solution icon_sad.gif
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    NightShade03NightShade03 Member Posts: 1,383 ■■■■■■■□□□
    No problem....if you are doing exchange keep this link close by as they have some awesome tutorials and troubleshooting guides:

    You Had Me At EHLO...
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    brad-brad- Member Posts: 1,218
    bookmarked both links.

    Still curious if any of you guys suggest any hardware specs, or could post what you kind of rig you run it on now.
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    NightShade03NightShade03 Member Posts: 1,383 ■■■■■■■□□□
    Well our exchange server is run virtually, but the virtual machine has a 4GB of RAM and is hooked into our iSCSI SAN.
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    dynamikdynamik Banned Posts: 12,312 ■■■■■■■■■□
    Are you going to have all the roles on a single machine?

    Maybe a pair of quad-cores, 8gb of ram, raid-1 system, raid-1 logs, raid-10 exchange data. A lot is going to depend on how heavy your users are and what else you have configured.
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    TherhinoTherhino Member Posts: 122
    zimbra FTW...
    trust me research it...very thick and robust program
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    Forsaken_GAForsaken_GA Member Posts: 4,024
    If you don't have the technical expertise in house to manage a mail server, get your company to use Google Apps. It saves *alot* of hassle. You have no idea how much I wish we could outsource our mail to Google, because keeping a mail cluster properly maintained is a full time job.

    If you need collaboration, you're probably going Exchange. If all you want are POP/IMAP mailboxes and SMTP, go have a chat with your controller about the cost difference between server grade hardware with some form of Unix running dovecot and postfix, versus the cost of server grade hardware (and a beefier box to boot) and the purchase of Exchange. You may get them to reconsider that Windows only solution.

    For 100 users, you could implement a unix solution on a core2duo with 1 gig of RAM and it'd run like a champ.
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    seuss_ssuesseuss_ssues Member Posts: 629
    brad- wrote: »
    In addition, a new application is going to use an exchange account to send out about 20k confirmation emails a month.


    I would definately have a third party company host your mass mailings. It will save you alot of headaches down the road.
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    brad-brad- Member Posts: 1,218
    dynamik wrote: »
    Are you going to have all the roles on a single machine?

    Maybe a pair of quad-cores, 8gb of ram, raid-1 system, raid-1 logs, raid-10 exchange data. A lot is going to depend on how heavy your users are and what else you have configured.
    Yes - all on one machine.

    That sounds just about right. By the way you broke up the HD space - im guessing Exchange is like SQL in that you need to separate the logs from the files for performance.

    I might drop the coin on trainsignal or cbtnuggets - just to get up to speed quickly. Anyone have a preference on those?
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    brad-brad- Member Posts: 1,218
    seuss_ssues wrote: »
    I would definately have a third party company host your mass mailings. It will save you alot of headaches down the road.

    That would probably cost us extra $, and $ is something we have none of...at all.
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    seuss_ssuesseuss_ssues Member Posts: 629
    brad- wrote: »
    That would probably cost us extra $, and $ is something we have none of...at all.

    And not doing it will probably get your domain on a blacklist or two. Be sure to read the can-spam act and follow its rules religiously.
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    seuss_ssuesseuss_ssues Member Posts: 629
    The other two areas that i would strongly urge you to explore would be data retention and spam filtering.

    Unfortunately all of this stuff does cost money, alot of money. But it is much better to do it right the first time. Rather than having to explain to the boss why its not working and then asking for more money.
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    dynamikdynamik Banned Posts: 12,312 ■■■■■■■■■□
    brad- wrote: »
    By the way you broke up the HD space - im guessing Exchange is like SQL in that you need to separate the logs from the files for performance.

    Yep.
    brad- wrote: »
    I might drop the coin on trainsignal or cbtnuggets - just to get up to speed quickly. Anyone have a preference on those?

    The nuggets for 70-236 were good. Check out the Mastering Exchange Server 2007 and How to **** at Configuring Exchange 2007 books as well.
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    brad-brad- Member Posts: 1,218
    seuss_ssues wrote: »
    And not doing it will probably get your domain on a blacklist or two. Be sure to read the can-spam act and follow its rules religiously.

    Will do. I would guess though that sending a confirmation email after they purchase something would be acceptable.
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    seuss_ssuesseuss_ssues Member Posts: 629
    brad- wrote: »
    Will do. I would guess though that sending a confirmation email after they purchase something would be acceptable.

    When you mentioned 20k emails a month i was assuming they were mass advertising. Not confirmation emails for purchases....but still look over all the rules and regulations.
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