# Install iRedMail on OpenBSD

[TOC]

!!! attention

    It's recommended to use the new __iRedMail Easy__ deployment and support
    platform to deploy and keep your mail server up to date, technical support
    is available through the ticket system.

    Read more: [iRedMail Easy - Meet our new deployment and support platform](./iredmail-easy.getting.start.html)

## System Requirements

!!! warning

    * iRedMail is designed to be deployed on a __FRESH__ server system, which
      means your server does __NOT__ have mail related components installed,
      e.g. MySQL, OpenLDAP, Postfix, Dovecot, Amavisd, etc. iRedMail will install
      and configure them for you automatically. Otherwise it may override your
      existing files/configurations although it will backup files before
      modifying, and it may not be working as expected.
    * Many ISPs block port 25 by default, it's used for communication between
      mail servers, it must be open, otherwise your server may be not able to
      receive or / and send emails. Please contact your ISP to make sure it's
      not blocked, or ask them to unblock.

          - Amazon AWS EC2. Request to [remove the throttle on port 25](https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/ec2-port-25-throttle/).
          - Google Cloud Platform.
          - Microsoft Azure.
          - Linode. Explained in the [blog post](https://www.linode.com/blog/linode/a-new-policy-to-help-fight-spam/),
            you can open a support ticket to request the Linode team to open it.
          - DigitalOcean. According to [a post in their community](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/questions/port-25-465-is-blocked-how-can-i-enable-it), __SEEMS__ impossible to unblock port 25, that means you can __NOT__ run mail server on DigitalOcean VPS.

To install iRedMail on OpenBSD, you need:

* A __FRESH__, working OpenBSD system. Supported releases are listed on
  [Download](https://www.iredmail.org/download.html) page.
* At least `2 GB` memory is required for a low traffic production mail server, but
  `4 GB` is strongly recommended to prevent ClamAV eating too much memory for big virus
  signature database.
* Required OpenBSD installation file sets are (replace `[XX]` by the real
  OpenBSD release number):

    * base[XX].tgz
    * etc[XX].tgz
    * comp[XX].tgz
    * man[XX].tgz
    * xbase[XX].tgz

* Make sure 3 UID/GID are not used by other user/group: 2000, 2001, 2002.

!!! note

    * All binary packages will be installed with command `pkg_add -i`.
    * Nginx is used as web server.
    * PF is enabled by default, with basic rules for ssh and mail services.
    * OpenSMTPd are disabled by default, replaced by Postfix.

## Preparations

### Set a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) hostname on your server

No matter your server is a testing machine or production server, it's strongly
recommended to set a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) hostname.

Enter command `hostname` to view the current hostname:

```shell
$ hostname
mx.example.com
```

On OpenBSD, hostname is set in two files: `/etc/myname` and `/etc/hosts`.

* `/etc/myname`: FQDN.

```
mx.example.com
```

* `/etc/hosts`: static table lookup for hostnames. __Warning__: Please list the
  FQDN hostname as first item.

```
# Part of file: /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1   mx.example.com mx localhost localhost.localdomain
```

Verify the FQDN hostname. If it wasn't changed after updating above two files,
please reboot server to make it work.

```
$ hostname
mx.example.com
```

### Choose a nearest mirror site for installing binary packages

iRedMail will install all required binary packages with command `pkg_add -i`
from mirror site defined in file `/etc/installurl` (FYI:
[installurl(5)](http://man.openbsd.org/installurl.5)), If no mirror defined,
iRedMail will use the [fastly CDN](https://fastly.cdn.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/)
for package installation.

It's recommended to install packages from a mirror site, to reduce server
load on OpenBSD primary servers. Also, installing package from a nearest
mirror site will speed up package installation. You can find mirror list
near you on OpenBSD web site:
[Getting OpenBSD](http://www.openbsd.org/ftp.html#http).

### Install required packages

iRedMail is wrote in Bash shell scripting language, so bash shell interpreter
is required, install it first:

```
pkg_add bash
```

### Download the latest release of iRedMail

* Visit [Download page](https://www.iredmail.org/download.html) to get the
  latest stable release of iRedMail.

* Upload iRedMail to your mail server via ftp or scp or whatever method you
  can use, login to the server to install iRedMail. We assume you uploaded
  it to `/root/iRedMail-x.y.z.tar.gz` (replace x.y.z by the real version number).

* Uncompress iRedMail tarball:

```
# cd /root/
# tar zxf iRedMail-x.y.z.tar.gz
```

## Start iRedMail installer

It's now ready to start iRedMail installer, it will ask you several simple
questions, that's all required to setup a full-featured mail server.

```
# cd /root/iRedMail-x.y.z/
# bash iRedMail.sh
```

## Screenshots of installation

* Welcome and thanks for your use

![](./images/installation/welcome.png){: width="700px" }

* Specify location to store all mailboxes. Default is `/var/vmail/`.

![](./images/installation/mail_storage.png){: width="700px" }

* Choose backend used to store mail accounts. You can manage mail accounts
with iRedAdmin, our web-based iRedMail admin panel.

!!! note

    There's no big difference between available backends, so
    it's strongly recommended to choose the one you're familiar with for easier
    management and maintenance after installation.

![](./images/installation/backends_openbsd.png){: width="700px" }

* If you choose to store mail accounts in OpenLDAP, iRedMail installer will
  ask to set the LDAP suffix.

![](./images/installation/ldap_suffix.png){: width="700px" }

!!! note "To MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL users"

    If you choose to store mail accounts in MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL, iRedMail
    installer will generate a random, strong password for you. You can find it
    in file `iRedMail.tips`.

* Add your first mail domain name

![](./images/installation/first_domain.png){: width="700px" }

* Set password of admin account of your first mail domain.

__Note__: This account is an admin account and a mail user. That means you can
login to webmail and admin panel (iRedAdmin) with this account, login username
is full email address.

![](./images/installation/admin_pw.png){: width="700px" }

* Choose optional components

![](./images/installation/optional_components.png){: width="700px" }


After answered above questions, iRedMail installer will ask you to review and
confirm to start installation. It will install and configure required packages
automatically. Type `y` or `Y` and press `Enter` to start.

![](./images/installation/review.png){: width="700px" }

## Important things you __MUST__ know after installation

!!! warning

    The weakest part of a mail server is user's weak password. Spammers don't
    want to hack your server, they just want to send spam from your server.
    Please __ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS__ force users to use a strong password.

* Read file `/root/iRedMail-x.y.z/iRedMail.tips` first, it contains:

    * URLs, usernames and passwords of web-based applications
    * Location of mail service related software configuration files. You can
      also check this tutorial instead:
      [Locations of configuration and log files of major components](./file.locations.html).
    * Some other important and sensitive information

* [Setup DNS records for your mail server](./setup.dns.html)
* [How to configure your mail clients](./index.html#configure-mail-client-applications)
* [Locations of configuration and log files of major components](./file.locations.html)
* It's highly recommended to get a SSL cert to avoid annonying warning
  message in web browser or mail clients when accessing mailbox via
  HTTPS/IMAPS/POP3/SMTPS. [Let's Encrypt offers __FREE__ SSL certificate](https://letsencrypt.org).
  We have a document for you to
  [use a SSL certificate](./use.a.bought.ssl.certificate.html).
* If you need to bulk create mail users, check our document for
  [OpenLDAP](./ldap.bulk.create.mail.users.html) and
  [MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL](./sql.bulk.create.mail.users.html).
* If you're running a busy mail server, we have [some suggestions for better
  performance](./performance.tuning.html).

## Access webmail and other web applications

After installation successfully completed, you can access web-based programs
if you choose to install them. Replace `your_server` below by your real server
hostname or IP address.

* __Roundcube webmail__: <https://your_server/mail/>
* __SOGo Groupware__: <https://your_server/SOGo>
* __Web admin panel (iRedAdmin)__: <httpS://your_server/iredadmin/>

## Get technical support

* You are welcome to post issues, feedbacks, feature requests, suggestions in
  our [online support forum](https://forum.iredmail.org/), it's more
  responsive than you expected.
* We offer paid professional support service too, check our web site for more
  details: [Get Professional Support from iRedMail Team](https://www.iredmail.org/support.html).
