iRedMail: Full-Featured Mail Server

Introduction

iRedMail is a powerful, open-source mail server solution that provides enterprise-level email hosting with support for multiple database backends, advanced security features, and comprehensive webmail integration. It’s designed for organizations that need flexibility, scalability, and professional-grade email infrastructure.

Why Choose iRedMail?

Multiple Backend Support: Unlike most mail servers, iRedMail supports multiple authentication backends: OpenLDAP, MySQL/MariaDB, or PostgreSQL. Choose the backend that fits your infrastructure.

Enterprise Features: Built-in support for domain delegation, mailbox quota management, mail filtering, content inspection, and comprehensive logging make iRedMail suitable for organizations of any size.

Professional Administration: iRedMail Admin Panel (iRedAdmin) provides intuitive web-based management for domains, users, aliases, and mail policies. The Pro version adds advanced features for multi-tenant environments.

Security First: Includes comprehensive security features like SPF, DKIM, DMARC, greylisting, SSL/TLS encryption, spam filtering (SpamAssassin or Rspamd), and ClamAV antivirus scanning.

Well-Documented: Extensive official documentation, active community forums, and professional support options make iRedMail accessible to both beginners and experts.

What You’ll Get

Full Mail Stack: Postfix (SMTP), Dovecot (IMAP/POP3), webmail (SOGo or Roundcube)
Spam/Virus Protection: SpamAssassin or Rspamd spam filtering, ClamAV antivirus
Security Features: DKIM signing, SPF/DMARC validation, greylisting, TLS encryption
Web Administration: iRedAdmin panel for domain and user management
Groupware: SOGo for calendars, contacts, and ActiveSync (mobile sync)
Database Choice: Pick OpenLDAP, MariaDB/MySQL, or PostgreSQL backend
Monitoring Tools: Built-in logging, statistics, and monitoring capabilities

Use Cases

Corporate Email: Full-featured email infrastructure for businesses with 10-1000+ users

Multi-Tenant Hosting: Host email for multiple organizations with domain delegation

LDAP Integration: Integrate with existing Active Directory or LDAP infrastructure

High-Security Environments: Organizations requiring strict email security and compliance

ISP/Hosting Provider: Email services for shared hosting or VPS customers

iRedMail vs. Alternatives

vs. Mail-in-a-Box:

iRedMail offers more backend choices (LDAP, MySQL, PostgreSQL)
More complex installation but greater flexibility
Better multi-domain and multi-tenant support

vs. Mailcow:

iRedMail is not containerized (installed directly on system)
Better LDAP integration and Active Directory compatibility
Mailcow offers easier updates and isolation

Prerequisites

Hardware Requirements

Minimum Configuration:

CPU: 2 cores
RAM: 2GB (4GB recommended)
Storage: 20GB free space minimum
Network: Static public IP address

Recommended Configuration:

CPU: 4+ cores (better spam/virus scanning performance)
RAM: 8GB (comfortable for 50+ users with spam/virus scanning)
Storage: 100GB+ SSD
Network: Gigabit connection with clean IP reputation

Production Configuration:

CPU: 8+ cores
RAM: 16GB+ (for high-volume mail and full-text search)
Storage: 500GB+ SSD or NVMe (fast I/O critical for mail performance)
Network: Dedicated server with clean IP block

Storage Planning:

System and iRedMail: 10GB
Per-user mailbox: 2-10GB average (depends on usage)
Spam/virus databases: 2-5GB
Logs: 5-10GB
Full-text search indexes: 1.5× mailbox size (if using Solr)

Software Requirements

Operating Systems (Fresh installation required):

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Server (recommended)
Debian 11 or 12
CentOS Stream 9
Rocky Linux 9
OpenBSD 7.3+

Important: iRedMail must be installed on a FRESH operating system installation. Do not install on existing servers with other services.

Required Information Before Installation

Domain Configuration:

Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for mail server: mail.yourdomain.com
Primary email domain: yourdomain.com
DNS control for creating MX, A, TXT records

Backend Selection: Choose one database backend:

OpenLDAP: Best for LDAP/Active Directory integration, complex organizational structures
MariaDB/MySQL: Popular choice, good balance of features and simplicity
PostgreSQL: Best performance and reliability, preferred for large deployments

Webmail Choice:

SOGo: Modern groupware with calendars, contacts, ActiveSync (recommended)
Roundcube: Simpler webmail interface, lighter resource usage

IP Requirements:

Clean IP address (not on spam blacklists)
Reverse DNS (PTR) record capability
Open ports: 25, 80, 110, 143, 443, 465, 587, 993, 995

Pre-Installation Checks

# Check OS version
cat /etc/os-release

# Verify hostname is FQDN
hostname -f
# Should return: mail.yourdomain.com

# Check available RAM
free -h
# Should show at least 2GB

# Check available disk space
df -h
# Should show at least 20GB free

# Verify server has public IP
curl -4 ifconfig.co
# Note this IP for DNS configuration

# Check if ports are available (should return empty)
sudo ss -tlnp | grep -E ':25|:80|:110|:143|:443|:465|:587|:993|:995'

All checks must pass before proceeding.

DNS Configuration

Configure DNS records before installation. iRedMail setup will verify these.

Required DNS Records

Replace yourdomain.com with your domain and YOUR-SERVER-IP with your server’s public IP.

A Record (Mail Server):

mail.yourdomain.com.    300    IN    A    YOUR-SERVER-IP

MX Record (Mail Exchanger):

yourdomain.com.    300    IN    MX    10    mail.yourdomain.com.

TXT Record (SPF - Sender Policy Framework):

yourdomain.com.    300    IN    TXT    "v=spf1 mx ~all"

TXT Record (DMARC - Domain Message Authentication):

_dmarc.yourdomain.com.    300    IN    TXT    "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:[email protected]"

Reverse DNS (PTR Record): Contact hosting provider to configure:

PTR record for YOUR-SERVER-IP → mail.yourdomain.com

Post-Installation DNS (DKIM)

DKIM public key is generated during installation. After setup, retrieve and publish:

DKIM TXT Record (location provided after installation):

dkim._domainkey.yourdomain.com.    300    IN    TXT    "v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=YOUR-PUBLIC-KEY-HERE"

The installer will show the DKIM public key location and content.

DNS Verification

# Verify A record
dig mail.yourdomain.com +short
# Should return: YOUR-SERVER-IP

# Verify MX record
dig yourdomain.com MX +short
# Should return: 10 mail.yourdomain.com.

# Verify SPF record
dig yourdomain.com TXT +short | grep spf
# Should return: "v=spf1 mx ~all"

# Verify reverse DNS
dig -x YOUR-SERVER-IP +short
# Should return: mail.yourdomain.com.

Installation

Step 1: Prepare the System

Update System and Set Hostname:

# Update package lists and upgrade
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Set hostname to mail server FQDN
sudo hostnamectl set-hostname mail.yourdomain.com

# Verify hostname
hostname -f
# Should output: mail.yourdomain.com

# Update /etc/hosts
echo "YOUR-SERVER-IP mail.yourdomain.com mail" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts

# Reboot to apply hostname changes
sudo reboot

After reboot, verify hostname again:

hostname -f
# Must show: mail.yourdomain.com

Step 2: Download iRedMail

# Download latest iRedMail
cd /tmp
wget https://github.com/iredmail/iRedMail/archive/refs/tags/1.6.8.tar.gz

# Extract archive
tar xzf 1.6.8.tar.gz
cd iRedMail-1.6.8/

# Check for newer version at: https://github.com/iredmail/iRedMail/releases

Step 3: Run Installation Script

# Start interactive installer
sudo bash iRedMail.sh

The installer presents a text-based interface with several configuration screens.

Step 4: Installation Wizard

Welcome Screen: Press Enter to continue.

Mail Storage Path:

Default: /var/vmail
Press Enter to accept (or specify custom path)

Web Server:

Select Nginx (recommended) or Apache
Use arrow keys and Space to select, Enter to continue

Backend for Storing Accounts:

Choose one of three backends:

OpenLDAP:
- Best for: LDAP/AD integration, organizational hierarchies
- Complexity: Medium-High
- Recommended for: Enterprises with existing LDAP
MySQL/MariaDB:
- Best for: Most common use cases
- Complexity: Low-Medium
- Recommended for: Small to medium deployments
PostgreSQL:
- Best for: Large deployments, best performance
- Complexity: Low-Medium
- Recommended for: Production environments

For this guide, we’ll select MariaDB (most popular choice).

MySQL Root Password: Enter strong password for MySQL root user.

First Mail Domain: Enter your primary domain: yourdomain.com

Domain Administrator Password:

Username will be: [email protected]
Enter strong password for admin account

Optional Components:

Select components to install (use Space to toggle, Enter to continue):

Roundcube: Webmail (recommended)
SOGo: Groupware with calendars/contacts (recommended if you need groupware)
netdata: System monitoring (optional)
iRedAdmin: Web admin panel (strongly recommended)
Fail2ban: Intrusion prevention (strongly recommended)

Recommended selection: Enable all except netdata (unless you want monitoring).

Review Configuration: Review summary screen, press Y to continue.

Installation Process: Installer downloads packages and configures services. This takes 10-30 minutes depending on server speed.

Step 5: Post-Installation Steps

After installation completes, the installer displays:

Important Information Screen:

Mail domain: yourdomain.com
Admin user: [email protected]
Admin password: (what you entered)
Web access URLs
DKIM public key location

Copy this information to a secure location!

DKIM Public Key Location:

/var/lib/dkim/yourdomain.com.txt

View DKIM public key:

sudo cat /var/lib/dkim/yourdomain.com.txt

Copy the key and create DNS TXT record (see DNS Configuration section).

Firewall Configuration: iRedMail configures firewall automatically.

Verify firewall rules:

sudo iptables -L -n
# Or for systems using firewalld:
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all

Reboot Server:

sudo reboot

Step 6: Access Web Interface

After reboot, access web interfaces:

iRedAdmin (Administration Panel):

https://mail.yourdomain.com/iredadmin

Webmail (Roundcube):

https://mail.yourdomain.com/mail

SOGo Groupware (if installed):

https://mail.yourdomain.com/SOGo

Login Credentials:

Username: [email protected]
Password: (password you set during installation)

Step 7: SSL Certificate Configuration

iRedMail uses self-signed SSL certificates by default. Replace with Let’s Encrypt certificates:

Install Certbot:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Obtain SSL Certificate:

# Stop nginx temporarily
sudo systemctl stop nginx

# Obtain certificate
sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d mail.yourdomain.com

# Restart nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx

Configure iRedMail to Use Let’s Encrypt Certificate:

# Edit Postfix configuration
sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cf

Update certificate paths:

smtpd_tls_cert_file = /etc/letsencrypt/live/mail.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem
smtpd_tls_key_file = /etc/letsencrypt/live/mail.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem

# Edit Dovecot configuration
sudo nano /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf

Update certificate paths:

ssl_cert = </etc/letsencrypt/live/mail.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem
ssl_key = </etc/letsencrypt/live/mail.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem

# Edit Nginx configuration
sudo nano /etc/nginx/templates/ssl.tmpl

Update certificate paths:

ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/mail.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/mail.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;

Restart Services:

sudo systemctl restart postfix dovecot nginx

Auto-Renewal:

# Test renewal
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

# Certbot automatically configures renewal cron job
# Verify:
sudo systemctl status certbot.timer

Create Renewal Hook to restart services after renewal:

sudo nano /etc/letsencrypt/renewal-hooks/deploy/iredmail-restart.sh

Add content:

#!/bin/bash
systemctl restart postfix dovecot nginx

Make executable:

sudo chmod +x /etc/letsencrypt/renewal-hooks/deploy/iredmail-restart.sh

Configuration

Add Email Domains

Add additional domains to host email for multiple organizations:

Via iRedAdmin Web Interface:

Log into https://mail.yourdomain.com/iredadmin
Navigate to Domains > Add
Enter domain details:
- Domain name: newdomain.com
- Description: Company or organization name
- Default quota per user: 2048 MB (or desired quota)
- Max number of users: 100 (or desired limit)
Click Add

Via Command Line (for MariaDB backend):

# Connect to MySQL
sudo mysql

# Add domain
USE vmail;
INSERT INTO domain (domain, description, maxquota, transport)
VALUES ('newdomain.com', 'New Domain Inc', 2048, 'dovecot');

# Exit MySQL
EXIT;

Configure DNS: Add MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC records for new domain.

Create Mailboxes

Via iRedAdmin Web Interface:

Navigate to Users > Add User
Select domain from dropdown
Enter user details:
- Email: [email protected]
- Password: Generate strong password
- Display name: John Doe
- Quota: 2048 MB (or custom)
- Employee ID: Optional
Click Add

Via Command Line (for MariaDB backend):

# Generate password hash
doveadm pw -s SSHA512 -p 'password'
# Copy the generated hash

# Connect to MySQL
sudo mysql vmail

# Add mailbox
INSERT INTO mailbox (username, password, name, storagebasedirectory,
                     storagenode, maildir, quota, domain)
VALUES ('[email protected]', 'HASHED-PASSWORD', 'John Doe',
        '/var/vmail', 'vmail1', 'yourdomain.com/user/', 2048, 'yourdomain.com');

EXIT;

Create Email Aliases

Via iRedAdmin:

Navigate to Aliases > Add Alias
Enter alias details:
- Email: [email protected]
- Destination: [email protected]
- Or multiple destinations (comma-separated)
Click Add

Common Alias Examples:

[email protected] → [email protected]
[email protected] → [email protected]
[email protected] → [email protected],[email protected]

Catch-All Alias: Forward all unmatched emails to one mailbox:

Alias: @yourdomain.com
Destination: [email protected]

Configure Spam Filter

iRedMail uses SpamAssassin or Rspamd (depending on installation choice).

SpamAssassin Configuration:

# Edit SpamAssassin local rules
sudo nano /etc/spamassassin/local.cf

Adjust settings:

# Spam threshold (lower = stricter, default 5.0)
required_score 5.0

# Whitelist trusted senders
whitelist_from *@trusted-domain.com
whitelist_from [email protected]

# Blacklist known spammers
blacklist_from *@spam-domain.com

# Enable Bayes learning (improves accuracy over time)
use_bayes 1
bayes_auto_learn 1

Restart SpamAssassin:

sudo systemctl restart amavis

Rspamd Configuration (if using Rspamd):

# Edit local configuration
sudo nano /etc/rspamd/local.d/actions.conf

Adjust thresholds:

actions {
    reject = 15;      # Reject emails with score >= 15
    add_header = 6;   # Add spam header if score >= 6
    greylist = 4;     # Greylist if score >= 4
}

Restart Rspamd:

sudo systemctl restart rspamd

Configure Mail Quotas

Set Default Quota for Domain:

Navigate to Domains in iRedAdmin
Click domain name
Click Edit
Set Default quota per user: 2048 MB
Click Update

Set Individual User Quota:

Navigate to Users
Click username
Click Edit
Set Mailbox quota: 5120 MB (or desired quota)
Click Update

Unlimited Quota: Set quota to 0 for unlimited storage.

View Quota Usage:

# Check user quota usage
sudo doveadm quota get -u [email protected]

Configure Greylisting

Greylisting temporarily rejects email from unknown senders, reducing spam.

For Greylisting with Postgrey (if installed):

# Edit Postgrey settings
sudo nano /etc/default/postgrey

Modify delay:

POSTGREY_OPTS="--delay=300 --max-age=35"
# Delay: 300 seconds (5 minutes)
# Max age: 35 days

Restart Postgrey:

sudo systemctl restart postgrey

Whitelist Domains (bypass greylisting):

sudo nano /etc/postgrey/whitelist_clients.local

Add domains:

gmail.com
outlook.com
yahoo.com
trusted-domain.com

DKIM, SPF, and DMARC Verification

Verify DKIM Signing:

# Check DKIM keys
sudo amavisd-new showkeys

# Or view directly
sudo cat /var/lib/dkim/yourdomain.com.txt

Test DKIM Record:

dig dkim._domainkey.yourdomain.com TXT +short
# Should return DKIM public key

Test Email Authentication: Send test email to mail-tester.com and verify SPF, DKIM, DMARC all pass.

Email Client Configuration

Automatic Configuration

iRedMail supports autodiscover/autoconfig protocols.

Configure Autodiscover DNS (optional but recommended):

# CNAME records
autodiscover.yourdomain.com.    300    IN    CNAME    mail.yourdomain.com.
autoconfig.yourdomain.com.      300    IN    CNAME    mail.yourdomain.com.

Email clients will automatically detect settings when entering email and password.

Manual Configuration

IMAP (Recommended for Receiving):

Server: mail.yourdomain.com
Port: 993
Security: SSL/TLS
Username: Full email address ([email protected])
Password: Mailbox password

POP3 (Alternative):

Server: mail.yourdomain.com
Port: 995
Security: SSL/TLS
Username: Full email address
Password: Mailbox password

SMTP (Sending):

Server: mail.yourdomain.com
Port: 587 (recommended) or 465
Security: STARTTLS (port 587) or SSL/TLS (port 465)
Authentication: Required
Username: Full email address
Password: Mailbox password

Webmail Access

Roundcube Webmail:

https://mail.yourdomain.com/mail

SOGo Groupware (if installed):

https://mail.yourdomain.com/SOGo

SOGo provides:

Webmail interface
Calendar with event management
Contacts with CardDAV
ActiveSync for mobile devices
Task management

Mobile Device Setup

iOS (iPhone/iPad):

Settings > Mail > Accounts > Add Account
Select “Other”
Enter email and password
iOS auto-configures if autodiscover is set up

Android:

Open mail app
Add account > Other
Enter email and password
Android auto-configures if autoconfig is set up

ActiveSync (for SOGo):

Server: mail.yourdomain.com
Domain: Leave blank
Username: Full email address
Password: Mailbox password
Use SSL: Yes

Security Hardening

Firewall Configuration

iRedMail configures firewall during installation. Verify configuration:

UFW (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo ufw status verbose

Ensure these ports are open:

22/tcp (SSH)
25/tcp (SMTP)
80/tcp (HTTP)
110/tcp (POP3)
143/tcp (IMAP)
443/tcp (HTTPS)
465/tcp (SMTPS)
587/tcp (Submission)
993/tcp (IMAPS)
995/tcp (POP3S)

Block Unnecessary Ports: All other ports should be denied.

Fail2Ban Configuration

iRedMail includes Fail2Ban for brute-force protection.

Check Banned IPs:

# View all jails
sudo fail2ban-client status

# View specific jail
sudo fail2ban-client status postfix-pregreet
sudo fail2ban-client status dovecot

Unban IP:

sudo fail2ban-client set postfix-pregreet unbanip IP-ADDRESS
sudo fail2ban-client set dovecot unbanip IP-ADDRESS

Whitelist Trusted IPs:

sudo nano /etc/fail2ban/jail.local

Add to [DEFAULT] section:

[DEFAULT]
ignoreip = 127.0.0.1/8 ::1 YOUR-HOME-IP YOUR-OFFICE-IP

Restart Fail2Ban:

sudo systemctl restart fail2ban

TLS/SSL Configuration

Enforce Strong TLS:

# Edit Postfix TLS settings
sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cf

Ensure these settings:

# TLS protocols
smtpd_tls_protocols = !SSLv2, !SSLv3, !TLSv1, !TLSv1.1
smtpd_tls_mandatory_protocols = !SSLv2, !SSLv3, !TLSv1, !TLSv1.1

# Strong ciphers only
smtpd_tls_ciphers = high
smtpd_tls_mandatory_ciphers = high

Restart Postfix:

sudo systemctl restart postfix

Regular Security Updates

Update iRedMail:

iRedMail doesn’t have a built-in update command. Instead, update individual components:

# Update system packages
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Update spam filters
sudo sa-update    # SpamAssassin
sudo freshclam    # ClamAV virus definitions

Subscribe to Security Announcements: Join iRedMail mailing list for security updates.

Backup Configuration

Manual Backup Script:

iRedMail includes backup scripts:

# Backup all mailboxes and settings
sudo bash /var/vmail/backup/backup_mysql.sh

# Backup location
ls -lh /var/vmail/backup/mysql/

Automated Backups with Cron:

# Edit root crontab
sudo crontab -e

Add daily backup at 2 AM:

0 2 * * * bash /var/vmail/backup/backup_mysql.sh

Backup to Remote Location:

# Install rsync
sudo apt install rsync -y

# Create backup script
sudo nano /usr/local/bin/iredmail-remote-backup.sh

Add content:

#!/bin/bash
# Run iRedMail backup
bash /var/vmail/backup/backup_mysql.sh

# Sync to remote server
rsync -avz /var/vmail/backup/ user@backup-server:/backups/iredmail/

# Or sync to S3
# s3cmd sync /var/vmail/backup/ s3://your-bucket/iredmail-backups/

Make executable and schedule:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/iredmail-remote-backup.sh
sudo crontab -e

Add:

0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/iredmail-remote-backup.sh >> /var/log/iredmail-backup.log 2>&1

Restore from Backup:

# Restore MySQL/MariaDB backup
sudo bash /var/vmail/backup/restore_mysql.sh /var/vmail/backup/mysql/BACKUP-FILE.sql.bz2

Troubleshooting

Cannot Send or Receive Email

Check Service Status:

sudo systemctl status postfix
sudo systemctl status dovecot
sudo systemctl status amavis
sudo systemctl status nginx

# Restart services if needed
sudo systemctl restart postfix dovecot amavis nginx

Check Mail Logs:

# View mail log
sudo tail -f /var/log/mail.log

# Search for errors
sudo grep -i error /var/log/mail.log | tail -20

# View specific user's mail activity
sudo grep [email protected] /var/log/mail.log | tail -20

Check Mail Queue:

# View queued messages
sudo postqueue -p

# View detailed queue info
sudo postcat -q QUEUE-ID

Check DNS:

dig yourdomain.com MX +short
dig mail.yourdomain.com +short
dig -x YOUR-SERVER-IP +short

Emails Going to Spam

Test Email Authentication:

Send test email to mail-tester.com and check score.

Common Issues:

Missing DKIM: Check DKIM DNS record
SPF Fail: Verify SPF TXT record
No Reverse DNS: Contact hosting provider
IP Blacklisted: Check at MXToolbox

View Email Headers of delivered email to see authentication results.

High Memory Usage

Check Resource Usage:

# View memory usage
free -h

# Top memory consumers
ps aux --sort=-%mem | head -10

Common Memory Consumers:

ClamAV (500MB-1GB)
SpamAssassin/Rspamd (200-500MB)
MySQL/MariaDB (200-500MB)
SOGo (if installed, 200-400MB)

Reduce Memory Usage:

Disable ClamAV if not critical:

sudo systemctl stop clamav-daemon
sudo systemctl disable clamav-daemon

# Comment out ClamAV in Amavis
sudo nano /etc/amavis/conf.d/15-content_filter_mode
# Comment: @bypass_virus_checks_maps = (1);
sudo systemctl restart amavis

Database Connection Errors

MySQL/MariaDB Connection Issues:

# Check MySQL status
sudo systemctl status mysql

# Restart MySQL
sudo systemctl restart mysql

# Check MySQL logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/mysql/error.log

Reset MySQL Root Password (if lost):

sudo mysql
ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new-password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

SSL Certificate Issues

Certificate Not Valid:

# Check certificate expiration
sudo certbot certificates

# Force renewal
sudo certbot renew --force-renewal

# Restart services
sudo systemctl restart postfix dovecot nginx

Disk Space Full

Check Disk Usage:

df -h

# Find large directories
sudo du -sh /var/* | sort -h | tail -10

Clean Up Space:

# Delete old logs
sudo find /var/log -name "*.log" -mtime +30 -delete
sudo find /var/log -name "*.gz" -mtime +30 -delete

# Clean old mail logs
sudo find /var/log -name "mail.log.*" -mtime +7 -delete

# Clean package cache
sudo apt clean

# Remove old backups (keep latest 7)
cd /var/vmail/backup/mysql/
ls -t | tail -n +8 | xargs sudo rm -f

Password Reset

Reset User Password:

# Generate new password hash
doveadm pw -s SSHA512 -p 'newpassword'

# Update in database
sudo mysql vmail
UPDATE mailbox SET password='NEW-HASHED-PASSWORD' WHERE username='[email protected]';
EXIT;

Or via iRedAdmin: Navigate to Users > Edit User > Change password.

Advanced Configuration

LDAP Integration

Connect to Existing Active Directory:

# Edit LDAP configuration
sudo nano /etc/postfix/ldap/

Configure LDAP parameters:

LDAP server URI
Base DN
Bind DN and password
Search filters

See iRedMail documentation for detailed LDAP integration: https://docs.iredmail.org/

Mail Forwarding and BCC

Configure Domain-Level BCC (copy all email):

sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cf

Add:

always_bcc = [email protected]

Restart Postfix:

sudo systemctl restart postfix

Per-User Forwarding: Users configure forwarding via webmail or iRedAdmin.

Sieve Filters

Users can create server-side email filters using Sieve:

Enable Sieve Management:

iRedMail includes ManageSieve protocol on port 4190.

Configure Filters via Webmail:

Log into Roundcube webmail
Navigate to Settings > Filters
Create filter rules

Example Sieve Filter (via command line):

# Create Sieve script
sudo nano /var/vmail/sieve/yourdomain.com/user/dovecot.sieve

Add filter:

require ["fileinto", "reject"];

# Move spam to Spam folder
if header :contains "X-Spam-Flag" "YES" {
    fileinto "Spam";
    stop;
}

# Move newsletters to folder
if header :contains "From" "[email protected]" {
    fileinto "Newsletters";
    stop;
}

Compile and reload:

sudo sievec /var/vmail/sieve/yourdomain.com/user/dovecot.sieve
sudo doveadm reload

API Access

iRedAdmin Pro API (requires Pro license):

iRedAdmin Pro includes RESTful API for automation.

Example API Calls:

# Add mailbox via API
curl -X POST https://mail.yourdomain.com/iredadmin/api/user   -u "[email protected]:password"   -d "domain=yourdomain.com"   -d "username=newuser"   -d "password=SecurePass123"   -d "quota=2048"

See iRedAdmin Pro documentation for full API reference.

Multi-Tenant Setup

Domain Delegation: Allow domain admins to manage their own domains:

Navigate to iRedAdmin > Admins > Add Admin
Create domain admin account:
- Email: [email protected]
- Managed domains: clientdomain.com
- Privileges: Domain admin (not global admin)
Domain admin can now manage users/aliases for their domain only

Monitoring and Maintenance

View Logs

Mail Logs:

# Real-time mail log
sudo tail -f /var/log/mail.log

# Search for specific user
sudo grep [email protected] /var/log/mail.log | tail -20

# Search for errors
sudo grep -i error /var/log/mail.log | tail -20

Service Logs:

# Postfix
sudo tail -f /var/log/mail.log | grep postfix

# Dovecot
sudo tail -f /var/log/mail.log | grep dovecot

# Amavis (spam/virus filtering)
sudo tail -f /var/log/mail.log | grep amavis

Mail Queue Management

View Queue:

sudo postqueue -p

Flush Queue (attempt immediate delivery):

sudo postqueue -f

Delete Specific Message:

# Get message ID from postqueue -p
sudo postsuper -d MESSAGE-ID

Delete All Queued Mail:

sudo postsuper -d ALL

Performance Monitoring

Check Resource Usage:

# CPU and memory
htop

# Disk I/O
iostat -x 1

# Network connections
sudo ss -tunap | grep -E ':25|:587|:993'

Database Performance:

# MySQL slow queries
sudo tail -f /var/log/mysql/mysql-slow.log

# Optimize database tables
sudo mysqlcheck -u root -p --optimize --all-databases

Statistics

Mail Statistics (if using iRedAPD):

# View top senders
sudo grep 'from=' /var/log/mail.log | awk '{print $7}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20

# View top recipients
sudo grep 'to=' /var/log/mail.log | awk '{print $7}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20

# Count sent messages today
sudo grep "$(date +%b %d)" /var/log/mail.log | grep 'status=sent' | wc -l

# Count received messages today
sudo grep "$(date +%b %d)" /var/log/mail.log | grep 'to=' | wc -l

Next Steps

Recommended Enhancements

Set Up Monitoring: Integrate with Grafana or similar for performance monitoring
Configure Advanced Spam Rules: Train SpamAssassin or Rspamd with user feedback
Implement Mail Archiving: Set up long-term email archival for compliance
Add Secondary MX: Configure backup mail server for redundancy
Automate Backups: Schedule encrypted backups to remote location

Mailcow Email Server: Containerized alternative
Mail-in-a-Box: Simpler email solution
Backups with Restic: Advanced backup strategies
Grafana Monitoring: Server monitoring and alerting

Conclusion

You now have a fully functional iRedMail server with:

Complete email infrastructure (SMTP, IMAP, POP3)
Webmail and groupware (Roundcube/SOGo)
Spam filtering and virus scanning
DKIM, SPF, and DMARC authentication
Web-based administration
Backup automation
Security hardening

Key Success Metrics:

Email deliverability to major providers without spam classification
All DNS records properly configured
SSL/TLS certificates valid and auto-renewing
Spam filter catching 90%+ of spam
Automated backups completing successfully
Users able to send/receive on all devices

iRedMail provides enterprise-grade email hosting with flexibility for various deployment scenarios. With proper configuration and maintenance, your mail server will provide reliable email service for years.

Community Resources:

Welcome to professional-grade self-hosted email!

Introduction

Why Choose iRedMail?

What You’ll Get

Use Cases

iRedMail vs. Alternatives

Prerequisites

Hardware Requirements

Software Requirements

Required Information Before Installation

Pre-Installation Checks

DNS Configuration

Required DNS Records

Post-Installation DNS (DKIM)

DNS Verification

Installation

Step 1: Prepare the System

Step 2: Download iRedMail

Step 3: Run Installation Script

Step 4: Installation Wizard

Step 5: Post-Installation Steps

Step 6: Access Web Interface

Step 7: SSL Certificate Configuration

Configuration

Add Email Domains

Create Mailboxes

Create Email Aliases

Configure Spam Filter

Configure Mail Quotas

Configure Greylisting

DKIM, SPF, and DMARC Verification

Email Client Configuration

Automatic Configuration

Manual Configuration

Webmail Access

Mobile Device Setup

Security Hardening

Firewall Configuration

Fail2Ban Configuration

TLS/SSL Configuration

Regular Security Updates

Backup Configuration

Troubleshooting

Cannot Send or Receive Email

Emails Going to Spam

High Memory Usage

Database Connection Errors

SSL Certificate Issues

Disk Space Full

Password Reset

Advanced Configuration

LDAP Integration

Mail Forwarding and BCC

Sieve Filters

API Access

Multi-Tenant Setup

Monitoring and Maintenance

View Logs

Mail Queue Management

Performance Monitoring

Statistics

Next Steps

Recommended Enhancements

Related Guides

Conclusion