This document guides you through the installation of the Postfix mail transportation agent (MTA), the Cyrus IMAP server. The goal is a fully functional high-performance mailsystem with user-administration with Web-cyradm, a webinterface. Data like virtualusers, aliases etc. are stored in a mysql database.

Cyrus IMAP
The Cyrus IMAP is developed and maintained by Carnegie Mellon University. Unlike the WU-IMAPd Cyrus is using its own method to store the users mail. The data is stored in a database, this makes Cyrus so performant. Especially with lots of users and/or lot of big emails, there is nothing such fast as the Cyrus IMAP-server. Another very important feature is, you don’t need a local Un*x user for each account. All users are authenticated by the IMAP-Server. This makes it a great solution for really huge base of users.

User administration is done by special IMAP-commands. This allows you to eighter use the commandline interface, or use one of the available Webinterfaces. This Method is much more secure than a Webinterface to /etc/passwd! Since CMU changed the license policy for Cyrus, this software is going to be used by much more users

Web-cyradm is the Webinterface that allows you to perform the administrative tasks to your mailsystem This Screenshot shows the domain-administration part of Web-cyradm.

Web-cyradm is written in PHP, which is often installed on webservers. Time to set up Web-cyradm takes just a few minutes. At the time being, Web-cyradm does not support different roles for its users. So you cannot use it as a frontend for your Powerusers (Domainadmins) or endusers. This Part of Web-cyradm is being developed, and should be ready for distribution in a few weeks (approx. end of may 2002.)

Download pdf Postfix Cyrus Web cyradm HOWTO