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I'm planning to introduce computers within my Dad's company. At present, the company does not use any computers. I have created a web application, but I have not created a mail server because I have no idea where to start. I need help from someone with experience. Recommendations of books or online tutorials would also be helpful.

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Note that you don't need to have a physical mail server at the company - e.g. there are inexpensive solutions like google.com/apps/intl/en/business/gmail.html ; also, some web hosting companies provide mail hosting for free with their other services. – Piskvor May 24 '11 at 17:19
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Dear god - if they've gotten along this far without computers, why do they need them now? Speaking as an IT person, computers are the devil and you're better off without them. :-) – mfinni May 24 '11 at 17:48
Also - this is not a good forum for absolute beginners to ask this sort of question. Please read the FAQ. – mfinni May 24 '11 at 17:49
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When setting up a mail server you have to be very careful about the security options as it is possible for an incorrectly configured mail server to be used to relay spam, which can end up with the server being blacklisted. For my domain email I use a web/email provider and pay <£15 a year for it, so having someone else do the hard work for you doesn't have to be expensive. – Phil May 24 '11 at 17:50

migrated from stackoverflow.com May 24 '11 at 17:45

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If you don't know what you're doing, do Google Apps - 5 dollars per user per month.

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+1. If you don't know what you're doing please DO NOT take someone's production infrastructure as your learning project. Outsource it to someone who is good at it, and set up your own box in a lab to learn about how email works. – voretaq7♦ May 24 '11 at 18:01
Agreed. I remember setting up my first mail server back in 1996-97. At that time the default setup was as an open relay because the volume of spam was minimal. At this point I'm sure that's not the case. Still, I'd hate to have to be learning how to set up a mail server now. It was nice to have set one up back when spam was not the primary concern. We still use a mail server internally for web applications etc but I'd never ever want to use one to support a group of users. We just now moved over to Google Mail; never been happier. – Jordan Reiter Jun 7 '11 at 17:03

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