[Dovecot] dovecot as exchange server?
Hi,
This might be a stupid question, since my knowledge about Exchange is really poor...
Since I've got iPhone, I have noticed that IMAP mailbox support is quite crippled in this device - in comparison to Exchange mailboxes... As I assume that it would be easier to convince Bill Gates to install linux than to convince Steve Jobs to change anything in his "perfect phone", I started searching for something that could serve emails similarly to Exchange. Since gmail provides Exchange access, and they definitely don't run a single huge MS Exchange server, I assume that it is somehow possible to implement Exchange protocols - or am I wrong?
So, finally - if it is possible to use Exchange protocol, would there be any plans for implementing it in dovecot?
Best regards,
Jacek Osiecki joshua@ceti.pl GG:3828944
On 15.9.2010, at 12.31, Jacek Osiecki wrote:
So, finally - if it is possible to use Exchange protocol, would there be any plans for implementing it in dovecot?
http://www.openchange.org/ has (or had) some plans making their server work with Dovecot. (Their server isn't usable yet though.)
On Wed, 15 Sep 2010, Timo Sirainen wrote:
On 15.9.2010, at 12.31, Jacek Osiecki wrote:
So, finally - if it is possible to use Exchange protocol, would there be any plans for implementing it in dovecot? http://www.openchange.org/ has (or had) some plans making their server work with Dovecot. (Their server isn't usable yet though.)
Thanks, I'll have a glance. BTW, someone knows whether MS Exchange can act as a proxy for IMAP mail server? I have an evil plan of launching Windows Server + Exchange on vmware on the same server ;)
Best regards,
Jacek Osiecki joshua@ceti.pl
Hi Jacek,
Thanks, I'll have a glance. BTW, someone knows whether MS Exchange can act as a proxy for IMAP mail server? I have an evil plan of launching Windows Server + Exchange on vmware on the same server ;)
The short answer is: NO
Exchange Servers can be installed with the frontend role, acting as a kind of proxy server, but just for other exchange machines serving the mailbox role. Additionally they talk MAPI between each other.
regards, Marcus
-- pedo mellon a minno
On 2010-09-15 7:31 AM, Jacek Osiecki joshua@hybrid.pl wrote:
Since I've got iPhone, I have noticed that IMAP mailbox support is quite crippled in this device - in comparison to Exchange mailboxes...
I'm curious what you mean. I've found the iPhone IMAP client is actually pretty nice, so you must be talking about NON-IMAP Exchange functionality? Maybe shared Contacts/Calendars?
--
Best regards,
Charles
On Wed, 15 Sep 2010, Charles Marcus wrote:
Since I've got iPhone, I have noticed that IMAP mailbox support is quite crippled in this device - in comparison to Exchange mailboxes... I'm curious what you mean. I've found the iPhone IMAP client is actually
On 2010-09-15 7:31 AM, Jacek Osiecki joshua@hybrid.pl wrote: pretty nice, so you must be talking about NON-IMAP Exchange functionality? Maybe shared Contacts/Calendars?
No, something completely else ;) With IMAP, iPhone allows you to get only 200 latest messages from each folder - and it even does not download emails from other folders... If I want to have FULL mirror of my IMAP mailbox on iPhone - it is impossible. With Exchange server, you can choose "no limits" for emails.
Best regards,
Jacek Osiecki joshua@ceti.pl
Am 15.09.2010 13:31, schrieb Jacek Osiecki:
Hi,
This might be a stupid question, since my knowledge about Exchange is really poor...
Since I've got iPhone, I have noticed that IMAP mailbox support is quite crippled in this device - in comparison to Exchange mailboxes... As I assume that it would be easier to convince Bill Gates to install linux than to convince Steve Jobs to change anything in his "perfect phone", I started searching for something that could serve emails similarly to Exchange. Since gmail provides Exchange access, and they definitely don't run a single huge MS Exchange server, I assume that it is somehow possible to implement Exchange protocols - or am I wrong?
So, finally - if it is possible to use Exchange protocol, would there be any plans for implementing it in dovecot?
Best regards,
there is no exchange protocol, there ist something like mapi which you use in a windows network beetween outlook and exchange ( and much more stuff exchange uses ...)
i guess what you want is a solution like outlook/exchange
there are a few solutions on linux out there based on open source like kolab etc, which combine to exchange function level, this has not a real a relation to dovecot which is a imap/pop3 server
but you can goal nearly same groupware functions like outlook/exchange if you combine dovecot with i.e postfix/sql, webmail horde on apache, and funambol plugins for outlook and/or thunderbird ( with acl plugin, and lightning ) cross os multidomain solution, also should work with android funambol syncml and k9 client and/or z-push ( in horde from version 4 ) for active sync, at last with spamassassin and clamav antivir this is high performance groupware mailserver solution in opensource
-- Best Regards
MfG Robert Schetterer
Germany/Munich/Bavaria
On Wed, 15 Sep 2010, Robert Schetterer wrote:
Am 15.09.2010 13:31, schrieb Jacek Osiecki:
[...]
So, finally - if it is possible to use Exchange protocol, would there be any plans for implementing it in dovecot?
there is no exchange protocol, there ist something like mapi which you use in a windows network beetween outlook and exchange ( and much more stuff exchange uses ...)
... however, somehow gmail provides Exchange interface :) and I'm pretty sure they are not keeping their mails on Exchange servers...
i guess what you want is a solution like outlook/exchange
No, the only thing I need is to simulate an Exchange server, so iPhone would be able to retrieve all emails instead of "last 200 from INBOX" :)
However, thanks for explaining!
Best regards,
Jacek Osiecki joshua@ceti.pl GG:3828944 I don't want something I need. I want something I want.
Quoting Jacek Osiecki joshua@hybrid.pl:
No, the only thing I need is to simulate an Exchange server, so
iPhone would be able to retrieve all emails instead of "last 200
from INBOX" :)
Basically he is complaining that when you select "other" as the e-mail server type, it only allows you to BY DEFAULT see the 50/100/150/200 most recent messages in a folder. He noticed that when you select "Exchange" instead of "other" this limit isn't there (it is then actually controlled by exchange, and not the iphone).
This is simply an "iphone" feature...
Surely he can try the other options (gmail, exchange, etc) and see if he can get any to work with his server, but that is not something I am interested in.
Now, as a possible work around, if the user doesn't have too much mail. Scroll to the bottom of the 200 messages, and you will see at the end it says "Load More Messages... N messages total, M unread" where N and M are your message counts. Assuming those numbers are small, you can just keep activating that until you have them all. This would be fine if you have a hundreds of messages, or maybe a thousand or so. You wouldn't really want to do this if you have several thousand though.
If that doesn't meet your needs, contact Apple, as this is purely an Apple/iPhone UI issue, and not a mail server issue...
-- Eric Rostetter The Department of Physics The University of Texas at Austin
Go Longhorns!
participants (6)
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Charles Marcus
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Eric Rostetter
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Jacek Osiecki
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Marcus Franke
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Robert Schetterer
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Timo Sirainen