Exchange-Compatible Webmail Alternatives?

itwerx asks: "A client of mine is wedded to Exchange 2000 for their email server but would like to move away from Outlook Web Access (OWA) for security reasons. There are several possibilities but I'm wondering what experience the Slashdot community has had with these (or other) options."

Comments

imp

[bob@dB.org]

from http://www.horde.org/imp/

IMP is the Internet Messaging Program. It is written in PHP and provides webmail access to IMAP and POP3 accounts.

Re:imp

[walt-sjc]

I've been using IMP for quite some time, and many large ISP's also use it. It's actually quite mature, and easy for end-users to learn. A post further down claims that installation is difficult, but I have not found that to be the case - in fact it only took about 20 minutes.

Note that IMP (email) is only one module of Horde. Adding the modules together and it trumps what MS WebMail offers by quite a bit.

Re:imp

[Mark Round]

I'll second the suggestion for IMP - it rules.
One other thing, though - as PHP doesn't support persistent IMAP connections, you'll find that it can be quite slow in some cases. The Horde project has recently released a Imap Proxy, which speeds things up a fair amount, and reduces load on the servers. It works very nicely, and is extremely simple to set up.

Oh, and I have heard of people having bad experiences using a PHP accelerator with Horde, although I've had it running with no problems here. YMMV, etc....

SquirrelMail - Webmail for nuts

[geirt]

We have used SquirrelMail for som time now, and our users are very happy. Stay with open standards (IMAP/SMTP/LDAP), and you can replace components in a system (eg. Exchange) without changing everything.

From http://www.squirrelmail.org/:

What is SquirrelMail?

SquirrelMail is a standards-based webmail package written in PHP4. It includes built-in pure PHP support for the IMAP and SMTP protocols, and all pages render in pure HTML 4.0 (with no Javascript) for maximum compatibility across browsers. It has very few requirements and is very easy to configure and install. SquirrelMail has a all the functionality you would want from an email client, including strong MIME support, address books, and folder manipulation.

Make it custom

[mnmn]

I was looking around for a webmail, and all I could find was IMP and squirrelmail. Believe me theyre both not quite mature, although I saw IMP running for years at Plattsburgh State. Installation of either is a ROYAL pain and not standardized, so you have to design your server, OS and other settings for the webmail system. for eg, for Squirrelmail you have to use courier imap and either courier mta or qmail. For IMP, you need certain versions of PHP with certain compile flags plus install HORDE. Last year this was complicated dont know now..

I made my own webmail for the site Hazara.org and Changezi.info in PHP4. Took maybe a weeks worth part time work and I got it a perfect fit (except for downloading attachments). I tried to make a custom C-compiled CGI-based webmail system for qmail using XML, but had a tough time looking up docs for the c-client libs to be able to read Maildirs directly. Gave up on it after trying to use the IMAP method, still on the lookout for c-client docs now.

Please post any free solutions you come up with.

Just about anything will work

[Anonymous Coward]

Most web-based mail front-ends use IMAP or POP to access the users' mailboxes. The hardest part will probably getting authentication to work properly. You'll need to pass the credentials back to the IMAP/POP virtual servers, but that should be easy to do, especially with some kind of forms-based logon.

Re:could avoid webmail and use VPN instead.

[larien]

Simple counterpoint; can you use that in a cybercafe? No, but you'll have a web browser which can work on a web-based solution.

It depends on what you're aiming at, to be honest; VPN is more secure, but you have to have the necessary software installed on the client.