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Use iMac as Email server?

ArtOfWarfare

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Original poster
Nov 26, 2007
9,705
6,291
I already have my iMac set up as a web server for a domain I own using MAMP. Now I'd like to make it the email server, as well.

How can I go about doing this? What mail applications would you recommend?
 
I think OS X already includes common email servers, accessible from the command line. The Server version may have GUI to control them.

On the other hand setting up a mail server at home may be useless as there's no guarantee mail will be delivered to recipients, whose server usually blacklist consumer IP ranges.
 
Cubytus said:
I think OS X already includes common email servers, accessible from the command line. The Server version may have GUI to control them.

On the other hand setting up a mail server at home may be useless as there's no guarantee mail will be delivered to recipients, whose server usually blacklist consumer IP ranges.
Click to expand...

I have to agree. Roling your own email server rarely turns out well for anyone involved.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
Thanks for that!

So the best way of doing this is getting OS X Server, then? I was hoping for something free, particularly since I'm not sure how well it's going to work out.
Click to expand...

You really need to verify that you can run a mail server at home, assuming that's where it's located. Most ISPs block outgoing mail and as an earlier post stated, many other mail servers won't accept or deliver mail from residential IP addresses.
There are many more disadvantages than advantages of running your own mail server. Since you're inexperienced with it, if you're going to run one, yes using the OS X server one is the way to go.

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mizzouxc said:
Don't listen to the nay sayers. The most important part is the reverse ptr record.
Click to expand...

You won't get that configured on a home internet connection unless you're paying for business level service.
 
chrfr said:
You really need to verify that you can run a mail server at home, assuming that's where it's located. Most ISPs block outgoing mail and as an earlier post stated, many other mail servers won't accept or deliver mail from residential IP addresses.
There are many more disadvantages than advantages of running your own mail server. Since you're inexperienced with it, if you're going to run one, yes using the OS X server one is the way to go.

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You won't get that configured on a home internet connection unless you're paying for business level service.
Click to expand...

I'm not paying for business. The mail server will be just for me and my fiancé, not anyone else, so it's not like I'm running a business. But we are talking about comcast... I'm a bit surprised that I've been able to host a website on my iMac. I'm planning on moving my entire support website onto my iMac, when I have the time to put it together.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
I could run my mail server off of a different port. What would be the implications of doing so?
Click to expand...

Mail servers communicate with each other over port 25. Changing that port means that you won't be able to send or receive any email.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
I'm not paying for business. The mail server will be just for me and my fiancé, not anyone else, so it's not like I'm running a business. But we are talking about comcast... I'm a bit surprised that I've been able to host a website on my iMac. I'm planning on moving my entire support website onto my iMac, when I have the time to put it together.
Click to expand...
Meaning you'll only use this email server while both of you are behind the same firewall?

Self-hosting. A naïve idea that upload bandwidth is sufficient to support visitors requiring pages from a home computer. Been there, done that, years ago when I ran a private FTP and had my own Shoutcast radio.
 
Cubytus said:
Self-hosting. A naïve idea that upload bandwidth is sufficient to support visitors requiring pages from a home computer. Been there, done that, years ago when I ran a private FTP and had my own Shoutcast radio.
Click to expand...

Currently my support page receives about 200 page loads a month. I'm almost certain that I can host that without problem.

The thing more likely to be problematic is that I'm planning on distributing my next app myself rather than through Apple's stores (I wanted to make it cross platform, so it's done in Java/Swing rather than Obj-C/Cocoa, which means Apple won't let me distribute it through the Mac App Store). I'm really not sure what kind of demand that's going to cause... on the one hand, each customer will be taxing my server more, on the other hand, I'll probably have fewer customers.
 
It's more a problem of simultaneous access. With a typical 1Mbps upload bandwidth, just two visitors can make it at most 512Kbps, the speed of a 1998 ADSL connection. Your pages have to be extremely light to display at an acceptable speed.
 
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