Microsoft Exchange alternative Email Solution

Best Microsoft Exchange free alternative is Zimbra collaboration https://zimbra.org/.
Microsoft Exchange server ranked as world best & most used email collaboration software. But every organization cannot use it because of its price. 

Zimbra installation can configure to get very equal features which you get from Microsoft Exchange server. But you have to have some resources to get this success. If you are a lazy admin this is not for you. go back & stay with Microsoft Exchange. This guide is for dynamic guys who likes to make a change.

There are many guides you can find on how to install & configure zimbra & other components. Here in this guide I mention most important components you can integrate with zimbra & get maximum of features. search google & follow guides to install each part of software or configuration method. If you wish, I also can help you, put a comment.


  • You should have enough resources to install zimbra server. I prefer vm based installation. It is a very less resource used vm. You may install it in a cloud server or on premises basis. Go to below link to see system requirements for current version (at this article written time) Zimbra system requirements 
  • Calculate hard drive space you require to store user email. If you plan to let user emails in the email server storage itself, then you require more space on server. Suppose per user allocated mailbox capacity is 10GB. you will require to have 1000GB storage space for 100 users. If you use POP3 method you are not required to have a huge disk space on email server.
  • I prefer CentOS to install Zimbra server.
  • Download & install the latest version of Zimbra from official site. If you have an Active directory, connect with zimbra. It will helpful you to make manageability easy. you are not required to maintain separate password to email & can use same active directory user password. (Ad user name & email address name should be same). If you prefer this way, do not select DNS server option in zimbra install setup & should point zimbra server to AD DNS. 
  • Spam filtering is the biggest hassle for an in house email server. Use a cloud spam filtering service. I use https://www.spamexperts.com/ . Its price is very low & can get much more features.


alternative to exchange server
free open source
cost effective spam filtering

this post is still underconstruction

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