Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions
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In summary pick the packages at the core and webapp locations above and then carry on with the admin manual as below.
Note that the community edition is obviously evolving that is why you should pick the latest tarball, extract it, and from there you get the packges rpm or deb to install.
3.2.1.1. RPM based distributions
Use the following command to install the KC packages on RPM based distributions:
rpm -Uvh <package files you want to install>
Replace <package file> with the packages found in the tarball. Start with libvmime, libical and kopano-server-packages (in this order) then install the other packages. The package manager might find unresolved dependencies, try to install packages for these dependencies as normal would be done for that distribution (yum -i on Red Hat, zypper -i on SLES).
Note
Using distribution specific packaging tools it may be easier to resolve package dependencies for rpm based distributions. For SLES you should use “zypper in <package>” and for RHEL based system “yum localinstall <package>”.
3.2.1.2. DEB based distributionsOn DEB based distributions (most commonly Debian and Ubuntu) use:
dpkg -i <package files you want to install>
To install the correct dependencies for KC apt-get or an equivalent tool can be used.
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@mcostan said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
Replace <package file> with the packages found in the tarball. Start with libvmime, libical and kopano-server-packages (in this order) then install the other packages.
libical doesn't exist, that was the first issue. It's not in the tarball or in the OS.
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As I said ignore the manual for the packages. Take the packages out of the community edition and just install them.
Remember that the community edition is evolving weekly or so, so it is obvious packages will change.
That however doesn't matter.
Personally every two weeks or so, I go to the community site, download the tarball, uncompress the packages, and simply install them.
it has been working for months and if a package changes, I do not even notice it, I just install the latest one.
The primary configuration files, that is server.cfg, dagent.cfg etc. do not change as far as I have seen, perhaps never. Or if they do, they are optional settings which I have never changed.
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@mcostan said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
As I said ignore the manual for the packages. Take the packages out of the community edition and just install them.
I had to run a script like 50 times to go through all of the packages to get them to install... so many failed dependencies. By the end, several would never install.
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What OS are you using? I tried on CentOS 7 and the tarball simply wans't complete or installable.
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I am running on Debian, I haven't tested Ubuntu but I suppose it must be pretty much the same.
I never had issues installing the packages on Debian.
If you do need to stick with Centos 7 and you still have issues I would recommend you to post your issues to the Kopano forums and I am sure someone will reply.
That said, I am very happy running with Debian and I never had any issues.
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To test I would just install a standard Debian / or Ubuntu distribution on a Virtual Machine (I use VirtualBox) and install them there.
I normally just run dpkg -i * (for all the kopano packages) and that's about it.
afterwards I run
apt-get -f install
and that takes care of all the dependencies. I haven't seen a failed one whatsoever.
Z-push instead (activesync link) comes straigth from the repositories once you link the repository so that's even easier.
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If you have a domain name you want to test with, I can add it to our system and you can test Kopano live on our installation.
After that you can replicate it on yours if you like.
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@mcostan said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
If you have a domain name you want to test with, I can add it to our system and you can test Kopano live on our installation.
After that you can replicate it on yours if you like.
Thanks. Already have Ubuntu 16.10 spun up in Paris to test out
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Not sure how different 16.04 is from 16.10, I am running on 16.04 so I have no idea whether Kopano 16.04 installs on 16.10
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It does build properlly on Ubuntu 16.04
The documentation could be a lot better.
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@Romo said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
@mcostan said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
Not sure how different 16.04 is from 16.10, I am running on 16.04 so I have no idea whether Kopano 16.04 installs on 16.10
Just tried an install on Ubuntu 16.10 and it doesn't work
16.10 has libicu57 and the packages as you see in the screenshot won't install because of unmet dependencies. =(That's a big negative. Packages missing on CentOS 7. Things not up to date on Ubuntu. Seems like a support issue somewhere. What platform are they testing on if nothing is current?
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@Romo said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
It does build properlly on Ubuntu 16.04
The documentation could be a lot better.
The log in screen is schnazzy. Email web interface looks decent.
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I got another error while trying to create users which confused me alot.
Documentation says:
Seems reasonable I am using a 64bit OS so I'll do what they say.
So I made the change, but I kept getting errors, this is what the log showed.
Checked the path to see what could be wrong, the folder doesn't exist. So I reverted the user plugin path to /usr/lib/kopano and I could create users finally.
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You aren't installing confidence in me
For a ten year old product, it feels like they are new to this. These are things I expect from new projects just finding their feet. But from someone that's been running a production product for a decade, these kinds of issues feel like the wheels might be coming off. -
@scottalanmiller said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
@Romo said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
It does build properlly on Ubuntu 16.04
The documentation could be a lot better.
The log in screen is schnazzy. Email web interface looks decent.
The interface looks really good and responds quite fast.
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@Romo said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
@scottalanmiller said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
@Romo said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
It does build properlly on Ubuntu 16.04
The documentation could be a lot better.
The log in screen is schnazzy. Email web interface looks decent.
The interface looks really good and responds quite fast.
Yes, Zimbra has become much more dated over the years. Barely changed in the last seven or eight years.
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@scottalanmiller said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
@Romo said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
@scottalanmiller said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
@Romo said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
It does build properlly on Ubuntu 16.04
The documentation could be a lot better.
The log in screen is schnazzy. Email web interface looks decent.
The interface looks really good and responds quite fast.
Yes, Zimbra has become much more dated over the years. Barely changed in the last seven or eight years.
Zimbra 8 has improved UI from 7. However, it is without a toll on UI speed (in admin console).
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Just to be clear. I install Kopano on my PRODUCTION systems regularly on Debian and I have ZERO missing packages nor errors.
I just install them, run the dependencies and it just works.
you also have to remember that what's available for the community at their download site is the main development branch not the official releases which are reserved for customers. That said I never had any issues and I do run mainbranch in production
I use it for work the entire day and every single email I send or receive, including cloud, videoconferencing and so on, is via Kopano.
I did say that I am not sure whether Ubuntu 16.10 does work, the packages are for Ubuntu 16.04
I am pretty sure packages do work otherwise it would be all over the place on the kopano forums website.
If you have issues with the packages I would recommend you talking directly to the developers in the kopano forums:
Or otherwise send an e-mail to [email protected]
All I can speak is from my own experience. I am not trying to convince you to use Kopano or otherwise as I do not have any shares in the company nor I am one of their developers.
I can only speak from my own experience and despite me digging around everywhere else (including Zimbra) I have not found a product which gives me the same features in the community.
I have also been successful in building the webapp and plugins code from scratch myself again with little difficulty.
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@vhinzsanchez said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
@scottalanmiller said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
@Romo said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
@scottalanmiller said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
@Romo said in Finding the Best Open Source Email Solutions:
It does build properlly on Ubuntu 16.04
The documentation could be a lot better.
The log in screen is schnazzy. Email web interface looks decent.
The interface looks really good and responds quite fast.
Yes, Zimbra has become much more dated over the years. Barely changed in the last seven or eight years.
Zimbra 8 has improved UI from 7. However, it is without a toll on UI speed (in admin console).
I'm testing the latest, looks a good ten years old.
