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Ask HN: Is it possible to run your own mail server for personal use?

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Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to run your own mail server for personal use?

#271

Post by MatthewWilkes »

Kequc wrote: post #195
simon_acca wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as you know Docker, this is pretty much what you are asking: https://github.com/tomav/docker-mailserver . I use it in combination with the rainloop webmail client: https://github.com/jprjr/docker-rainloop . Everything is configured with a single docker-compose, read about it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11748036

What is it if anything that happens if my internet cuts out at my home, should I instead use some sort of hosting provider for my mail server?

My ISP has a nice service, called tertiary MX. It's a MX server to add at the lowest priority that will accept emails into a queue that attempts to delivery to the primary MX every 15 minutes for a month.

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to run your own mail server for personal use?

#272

Post by MustardTiger »

X86BSD wrote: post #237
MustardTiger wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm genuinely curious here since opensmtpd has been by far the easiest to configure MTA I've ever seen. What problem(s) did you have? Virtual users through a relay host is literally one simple line: accept for domain "example.com" virtual relay via relay.example.com I don't see how anyone could conclude that is more difficult than postfix.

And have you tried it? Because when I tried it it did not work as documented.

Yes, it works as expected. Again, what problem(s) did you have? Vague "its hard" replaced with an even more vague "it didn't work" comes off as trolling rather than a legit problem.

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to run your own mail server for personal use?

#273

Post by crasm »

quonn wrote: post #185
loup-vaillant wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, so cost is the reason why the won't let the email through at all… All those people who mistakenly think email is free… (even gmail is not free: you pay for it by letting them spy on you and sending you targeted ads).

Most people in fact know this and assume they are being tracked everywhere and they also assume that the service providers (Google, Facebook) can read everything. The problem is not that alternatives are too expensive, but that there are no good alternatives. I would be glad to pay $5/month to Google to get an ad-free version.

There was a recent blog post about migrating from gmail to FastMail on here earlier this week.

In my personal experience, it's been excellent. I've but using it for about a year and a half now, receiving from custom domains and sending from their servers.

Their webapp is better than Google's and it's actually the main reason why I've stayed with them.

It's also cheaper than $5/mo.

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to run your own mail server for personal use?

#274

Post by bigp3t3 »

philtar wrote: post #257
robertely wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why you soft bounce. It tells the sender that you can't receive the email _at this time_.

Pretty sure you can't do anything when you're not connected to the internet.

That's why sending mta's should resend. Think sendmail does this every few hours or so

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to run your own mail server for personal use?

#275

Post by StavrosK »

bks wrote: post #133
mrb wrote: post #88

One little trick that I rarely see mentioned for working around the negative or neutral reputation your MTA's IP might have is that you can route your outgoing emails through another MTA that has a higher reputation. For example route them through smtp.gmail.com (or for other options see https://support.google.com/a/answer/176600?hl=en ). It does not mean you have to use Gmail. It does not mean you have to change you…

Sending email this way is typically known as smart hosting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_host . It's a pretty reliable way of sending out email if your IP has a less than perfect reputation. In this instance less than perfect could be something completely out of your hands. Are you an EC2 user, well there is a black list for those IP's. Are you on a residential connection or a dynamic IP... there is a black li…

I use MailGun for this, they have a very easy guide which checks that you've done everything right and they're free for a few thousand messages per month. It's been great for the few years I've been using them (though it's just for light personal use).

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to run your own mail server for personal use?

#276

Post by syshum »

lucb1e wrote: post #268
syshum wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some ISP turn over their Residential IP Blocks to Blacklist providers to add automatically to the blacklists. ISP state in their TOS you are not to run "servers" from your home connection, as such they simply blacklist all Residential IP;s from the start, because if you are running a email server on a Residential Connection it is either a Botnet, or you are violating the TOS of your plan.

> ISP state in their TOS you are not to run "servers" from your home connection I don't know what evil ISP that is but running your own server is 1) encouraged by my ISP since forever (XS4ALL, the Netherlands) and 2) these days it's illegal to tell people not to run servers because of net neutrality laws.

Comcast, ATT, you name it. Any of the Big US ISP's

Current Comcast AUP (http://www.xfinity.com/corporate/Customers/Policies/HighSpee...)

>>use or run dedicated, stand-alone equipment or servers from the Premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises local area network (“Premises LAN”), also commonly referred to as public services or servers. Examples of prohibited equipment and servers include, but are not limited to, email, web hosting, file sharing, and proxy services and servers;

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to run your own mail server for personal use?

#277

Post by bkuri »

bks wrote: post #133
mrb wrote: post #88

One little trick that I rarely see mentioned for working around the negative or neutral reputation your MTA's IP might have is that you can route your outgoing emails through another MTA that has a higher reputation. For example route them through smtp.gmail.com (or for other options see https://support.google.com/a/answer/176600?hl=en ). It does not mean you have to use Gmail. It does not mean you have to change you…

Sending email this way is typically known as smart hosting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_host . It's a pretty reliable way of sending out email if your IP has a less than perfect reputation. In this instance less than perfect could be something completely out of your hands. Are you an EC2 user, well there is a black list for those IP's. Are you on a residential connection or a dynamic IP... there is a black li…

I'd like to try this out. Not sure how to PM you, though…

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to run your own mail server for personal use?

#278

Post by HNSucksAss »

dasil003 wrote: post #233
mozumder wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "email server in a box" is called a Mac Mini with the Server package. It's such an easy-to-use email system. Been working great on a home static-IP address for me for a couple years now.

Maybe when (if?) Apple releases a new one. Right now the hardware on the Mac Mini is so pathetically underpowered for the price, and Apple has shown such blatant disdain for both the Mini and the Pro that it almost feels like they don't want customers for those product lines.

The Mini is sadly neglected and has always been overpriced. But hey, we're talking about a company that removed all the ports from one of its computers and is now about to peddle a music-centric phone with no headphone jack.

They may not want customers for ANY of their product lines, and hopefully they won't have any if they're going to keep degrading them with idiotic design decisions.

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to run your own mail server for personal use?

#279

Post by tqwhite »

reallyimran wrote: post #146
jwr wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Email is one of the bastions of the decentralised Internet and we should hang on to it. This. I hope someone will eventually create an "E-mail server in a box" package for Ubuntu LTS, so that more people can run their own E-mail. I'm not saying it has to be super-easy for everyone, just that it should avoid unnecessary chore work (like configuring postfix to always use TLS, or plugging postgrey into postfix).

There is something you can do to install that : https://mailinabox.email/

I've been using it for a year. Works great. One of the most thoughtfully designed and complete bits of software I've ever run into.

I'm especially delighted with it's self monitoring and the status change email messages it sends me.

That it includes webmail and gives me a nicely featured DNS server only makes it a touch more awesome.

I run it at Digital Ocean for ten bucks a month. I support family and friends. My email does not pass through google or microsoft servers and that makes me very happy.

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to run your own mail server for personal use?

#280

Post by tqwhite »

bbunix wrote: post #192
nickpsecurity wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That attempt at the problem looks pretty nice. Thanks for sharing it.

Mail in a box works great... replaced my old sendmail setup - using an external DNS is a bit funky, but a great package.. support multiple domains easily, pop3/imap and web client. Recommend.

It prefers to use its own DNS server because email DNS is tough. However, it provides the information to do it. While it probably took me a couple of hours to figure it out, I now have a DNS template at my registrar that makes it nearly automatic. That said, where I don't need the performance of a hosted DNS system, I let mailinabox take care of it.
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