(ARCH) Single server

ELSE: some examples of SMTP architectures

Edited by Nicolas HAHN < hahnn@x-itools.com > / < hahnn@erios.org >

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• A single server for all
  • Context
  • Drawings
    • Basic
    • Detailed
  • Comments
  • Pros & Cons

A single server for all

Context

This is the simplest SMTP architecture you can have. You have a single SMTP server that you are using for your own needs. This architecture is widely used by geeks or engineers that host their own SMTP Virtual Machine or physical server in their ISP's datacenter, or even behind their ADSL line.

Then they may want to install the ELSE on the same server in order to get an easy way to check their Postfix logs, search for email status, get some statistics...

Drawings

Basic

Detailed

Comments

In this architecture, all products are installed and running on a single server. This server is acting as MUA, MTA and ELSE.

That means an IMAP daemon is installed on it, allowing the users to handle their mailbox via IMAP4/POP3 protocols using Mozilla Thunderbird for instance. This daemon could be a Dovecot or Cyrus-IMAP one (which I prefer personally).

Then the IMAP daemon and the Postfix SMTP daemons discuss together. Postfix, as the MTA, is in charge of the reception/emission of emails via SMTP protocol from/to internet.

The Rsyslog daemon is the syslog engine installed on this Linux server, in charge of collecting and sending all the logs from Postfix daemon to the ELSE system.

The ELSE system mainly consists in the SNMP daemon, PostgreSQL database daemon and the Apache web server serving the ELSE ExtJS based web content.

Users can then use their Chrome or Firefox web browser to use the ELSE WUI (Web User Interface) in order to search their emails, generate reports and statistics and so on.

In addition to all of that on the same server, you might also have other Open Source products like:

• Horde / IMP for Webmail
• AmavisD-new, Spamassassin, ClamAV for anti-virus and anti-spam scanning
• Postgrey or GreyLSE for Greylisting
• Cacti, Nagios, Nagvis for monitoring

This solution is completely based on Open Source products.

Pros & Cons

Clearly, this kind of architecture is of course definitively not recommended.

It's just OK for extremely basic needs with extremely small mail flows.

It's just OK to play with Postfix and the ELSE, for Home use only.

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Top: [SMTP architecture examples] | Previous: [(ARCH) Introduction] | Next: [(ARCH) Very basic architecture]