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Where to host emails ? setup a VPS or go fully hosted ?
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Where to host emails ? setup a VPS or go fully hosted ?

brgsbrgs Member
edited June 2015 in General

Hello everyone,

I need a solution to host my emails. I don't know if I should go the VPS way or just fully hosted. I'm knowledgable enough for setting up a mail server, but I'm not sure if this is the right way to go.

Ideally, If I'm hosting it myself, I would be looking for a reliable VPS provider that will offer good IP reputation as well as good continuity. I want a reputable provider that will still be in business in a long time (upcoming years).

On the other side, the cheapest and most reliable hosted email service I saw was RackSpace email hosting, but there is a minimum 5 mailbox commitment - I only need a single mailbox. Maybe I should go through a reseller ? Do they offer single mailbox for the same price ? What if that reseller go out of business, do I still keep my mailbox ?

I saw many good reviews of MXRoute, but I don't know if they are mature enough in term of years being in business. If I do move, I don't want to have to move again shortly.

In short, want something reliable and long lasting for my emails. Thanks for your input !

Oh, and I forgot, I only need IMAP, no need for exchange, etc.

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Comments

  • Go for a VPS, if you're comfortable getting your hands dirty, so to speak. It won't be a 100% seamless experience (as in, you might have to do some troubleshooting here and there), but it'll be cheaper than a hosted email provider.

    Before ordering, just make sure you ask your provider if they have clean IPs available

  • Jar is pretty reliable, you should be safe with MXroute. You could also use a buyShared account and configure emails in cPanel

    Thanked by 1jar
  • sleddogsleddog Member
    edited June 2015

    If you trust yourself to do it right, then do it. There are many well-established, lowend VPS providers that you can trust for reliability and integrity (and a non-blacklisted IP).

    Document every step in the setup process, and store backups of configs off-site, so in the worse-case scenario you can rebuild quickly and painlessly.

    Daily in the wee hours, rsync your maildir off-site so you have that also in worse-case.

    Setting up a secondary MX is easy, and you can do that too. It's not mandatory but it does mean that all incoming mail is still in your control when your mailserver goes offline.

    If the spam/virus detection isn't perfect, then complain to your mail provider :)

  • for with mxroute and @Jar :)

    Thanked by 1jar
  • I would just setup a zimbra mail server on a vps its easier and cheaper lol(well mainly because I already have the infrastructure for it lol and well its better to have control over it to fix issues without having to wait for moose season to end lol <--- that was a goodhosting joke if you didn't know I was making fun of his long moose vacation so far lol)

  • timnboys said: moose season to end lol

    Moose season jokes by people who don't know when moose season is are pretty lame... :)

  • jarjar Patron Provider, Top Host, Veteran

    Would be thrilled to be your host at MXroute! We'll never be as big as Google, it just isn't the goal. Doing business with me should be like doing business with your neighbor. A friendly face always there when you need it.

  • My recommendation is 1) Jar, and 2) Host your own. I've been hosting my mail with BuyVM for a few years now with all clean IPs. postfix+dovecot+spamassassin+nginx+php+hastymail2. Come to think of it, you can also get email from BuyShared.

    Thanked by 1jar
  • @sleddog said:

    With Goodhosting, every season is moose season!

  • BochiBochi Member
    edited June 2015

    Pretty happy with MXRoute, so +1 for Jar! :)
    For more critical things of other people I am using Namecheaps Private Email Hosting (DANGER, Affiliate: Namecheap Private Email Hosting), it starts at < 9€ / year and gets even cheaper the longer you admit to them.

    Regarding hosting your own: Did this for a while and I would not do it again for anything that I want to rely on...

    Thanked by 1jar
  • brgsbrgs Member

    @Jar said:
    Would be thrilled to be your host at MXroute! We'll never be as big as Google, it just isn't the goal. Doing business with me should be like doing business with your neighbor. A friendly face always there when you need it.

    @Jar: Do you support DKIM for custom domains ?
    Also, what are you using for spam control ? I kind of like the web panel of Dspam.

    Thanks !

  • hostnoob said: With Goodhosting, every season is moose season!

    In that case he's probably in prison for poaching, which explains why service is down. Be patient, it may only be 6 months.

  • jarjar Patron Provider, Top Host, Veteran

    @brgs said:
    Do you support DKIM for custom domains ? Also, what are you using for spam control ? I kind of like the web panel of Dspam.

    DKIM is fully supported. The method of obtaining keys works fine but needs streamlined to look more professional, part of my current to-do list.

    I use SpamAssassin, which many people have had bad experiences with, but I use a custom sauce with it. It won't be anything like how you may have experienced with SA in the past.

    The control over SA from the user side is little, but the service is fully managed so I can set up custom solutions for you to help you train the filter with ease if it doesn't work incredibly well with my global settings.

    Thanked by 1Lm85H4gFkh3wk3
  • I am with yandex more then 1 year. 100% uptime so far , no spam, and so great... But sure you could pay but why if there is a free alternative.... And you know or not know the biggest companies sure could give you better deals and quality (except OVH haha :D )

  • Hi Jar,

    I'm thinking of migrating an email account to mxroute. Is there a way of transferring all existing mail from old provider (I mostly use pop3 and never delete mails from server so I've got a few gigs of stored messages) ?

    Thanked by 1jar
  • BochiBochi Member

    @alaningus: Not Jar, but maybe my answer is helping you any further... ;)
    MXRoute supports IMAP, so you could simply push you existing mails to the server using (for example) Thunderbird.

    Thanked by 1alaningus
  • jarjar Patron Provider, Top Host, Veteran

    @alaningus said:
    Hi Jar,

    I'm thinking of migrating an email account to mxroute. Is there a way of transferring all existing mail from old provider (I mostly use pop3 and never delete mails from server so I've got a few gigs of stored messages) ?

    I don't have a web interface for it or anything, but if you're willing to SSH I have a imapsync server set up where I will create an account for you and delete when you are done. I can explain how to use it as well.

    Thanked by 1alaningus
  • sinsin Member
    edited June 2015

    I have been using Fastmail which has been great for me and they have a free trial you can do...I'm on their $40/year plan but they have lower plans available too.

  • Bochi said: Regarding hosting your own: Did this for a while and I would not do it again for anything that I want to rely on

    Why?

  • @Bochi said:

    If I understand correctly, that means I'd have to have everything downloaded to my local client before I could push it back to mxroute server using IMAP. I could do this but I'd much rather go existing server => new server.

  • @Jar said:
    I don't have a web interface for it or anything...

    I should have said, my existing mail is with a provider rather than my own setup. Would this method still work?

  • jarjar Patron Provider, Top Host, Veteran

    @alaningus said:
    I should have said, my existing mail is with a provider rather than my own setup. Would this method still work?

    Should work fine, as long as they offer IMAP :)

  • BochiBochi Member

    @sleddog said:
    Why?

    At first: I used none of the "pre-built" solutions, so this might have been my mistake...
    I had bad luck with my IP (blacklisted by former owner) and dealing with those spamlists ist a huge PITA.
    To keep everything up and running I had to invest one or another minute every now and then and if you see the prices for a reliable VPS to host the whole thing, it doesn't save you anything - especially in comparison to all the big hosts that specialised in mail hosting.

    @alaningus said:
    If I understand correctly, that means I'd have to have everything downloaded to my local client before I could push it back to mxroute server using IMAP. I could do this but I'd much rather go existing server => new server.

    Thats correct! I assumed you did this already as you said you are using POP3 and keep the copy on the server...
    But then I would suggest you to use imapsync or something like this, you could even run this on a VPS to benefit from it transfer speeds.

  • @Jar said:
    Should work fine, as long as they offer IMAP :)

    Excellent!

  • nexusrainnexusrain Member
    edited June 2015

    I'm running my own mail server as well, set it up "from scratch", so without an install script. But if you want smth more comfortable, try iRedMail or mailinabox.email
    Got a shared hosting account with SpaceWeb ( @ZweiTiger ) which costs 4€/y and you can setup unlimited domains and unlimited email addresses. Uptime has been very good so far.

  • @Bochi said:

    Yeah, I download everything using pop3 but then I delete a lot locally. I keep everything on the server in case I regret deleting something!

  • I'd go for a VPS with a decent provider if I were you. Choose carefully.

  • MAILGUN FTW!!!

  • tommytommy Member

    adiadiadi said: MAILGUN FTW

    Mailgun for mail hosting -_-" , you use the wrong services :D

  • qpsqps Member, Host Rep

    sin said: I have been using Fastmail which has been great for me and they have a free trial you can do...I'm on their $40/year plan but they have lower plans available too.

    I have personally used Fastmail in the past and it is good stuff. They've made lots of improvements since I used it last. Web interface is dramatically better.

    Thanked by 1sin
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