Zimbra Collaboration Suite Open Source Edition On CentOS

This tutorial shows how to set up Zimbra Collaboration Suite - Open Source Edition on CentOS. This tutorial covers installation of CentOS, dependencies for ZCS and setup of Split DNS when working behind a firewall. This tutorial is based on the way I set this server up and is only a suggestion. It carries no guarantees and it is highly suggested that you do this on a test server first to verify functionality. If you don't have a test server available you should download VMWare Server 1.0 and perform this tutorial on a test virtual server.

1 Requirements
To install this system you will need the following:

CentOS 5 DVD or CD ISO images which are available at http://isoredirect.centos.org/centos/5/isos/i386/ High-speed Internet connection A full coffee pot or alternative source of caffeine

2 Preliminary Note
In this tutorial I use the hostname mail.geekdept.com with the IP address of 192.168.0.45 and a gateway of192.168.0.1. These settings should be replaced with the appropriate hostname and IP address for your setting.

3 Installion of CentOS 5
Insert your CentOS install CD into your system and boot from it. Hit Enter to start the installation.

You are first asked if you would like to test the CD Media. You can choose skip.

After this the installer starts. Click on Next.

Next you are asked for language.

In my case I chose English and it then ask for which English. I'm in the US so I choose US English.

A box pops up warning you about initializing the drive.

No changes need to be made on the next screen.

Again you are warned of the iminent doom of your disk.

Network Devices gives you the opportunity to enter IP address information for your network. Keep in mind that you cannot run an email server using DHCP. Use the edit button and enter information appropriate for your network. Don't forget to enter your gateway and nameservers as well.

Next you are asked for your time zone.

Enter a password for the root account.

Now it is time to choose the packages to install. Uncheck all boxes in the upper pane and check the box for the CentOS Extra Packages in the lower pane. Click the radio button for Customize Now and click Next

A box will pop up verifying your IP address information. The next screen allows you to choose packages for your installation. You want the following packages: Applications Editors Text-based Internet Development Development Libraries Development Tools Legacy Software Development Base System Base Legacy Software Support

Once you have selected the pacakages click Next and it will search for dependencies.

It is now ready to begin the installation. Click Next to begin.

The installation should only take a few minutes because we are installing the bare minimum.

Click on Reboot once the installation is finished. Be sure to remove your installation CD as well.

Once the system reboots you are presented with the firstboot screen. This feature is very helpful because it allows you to make changes to the firewall. Using the keyboard choose Firewall click tab to move to the Run Tool button and hit enter.

For Security Level choose disabled and choose disabled for SELinux as well. Choose OK.

Now you are back at the main firstboot screen. You can tab to the Exit button. Please note that we have now disabled all security on this box. If this computer is not behind a firewall it could be compromised quite easily. The last step is to shutoff some services that will interfere with ZCS.

chkconfig sendmail off chkconfig ip6tables off chkconfig iptables off We need one package before we can continue:

yum install libtool-ltdl

This completes the base installation of CentOS. On the next page we will setup Split DNS which is essential for ZCS. Go ahead and reboot, and fill up that coffee cup.

4 Installation Of Split DNS

This part of installation is working off of the assumption that you are behind a firewall. If you are not behind a firewall (not recommended) you can skip this part of the installation. I need to give credit where it is due. The chroot portion of this tutorial is adapted from Sebastien Wains. His CentOS Bind Chroot tutorial can be found at http://www.wains.be/index.php/2007/12/13/centos-5-chroot-dns-with-bind/. The Split DNS tutorial is adapted from the Zimbra Wiki and can be found at http://wiki.zimbra.com/index.php?title=Split_dns. yum install bind bind-chroot bind-libs bind-utils

REMINDER: Be sure to use the ip address and hostname/FQDN that is appropriate for your installation. Create the /var/named/chroot/etc/named.conf file:

vim /var/named/chroot/etc/named.conf

options { directory "/var/named"; dump-file "/var/named/data/cache_dump.db"; statistics-file "/var/named/data/named_stats.txt"; forwarders { 192.168.0.10 ; }; }; include "/etc/rndc.key"; // We are the master server for mail.geekdept.com zone "mail.geekdept.com" { type master; file "db.mail.geekdept.com"; };
The ip address for forwarders should be the ip address of your dns server. Now you need to create your /var/named/chroot/var/named/db.mail.geekdept.com file

vim /var/named/chroot/var/named/db.mail.geekdept.com

; ; Addresses and other host information. ; @ IN SOA mail.geekdept.com. hostmaster.mail.geekdept.com. ( 10118 ; Serial 43200 ; Refresh 3600 ; Retry 3600000 ; Expire 2592000 ) ; Minimum ; Define the nameservers and the mail servers IN NS 192.168.0.45 IN A 192.168.0.45 IN MX 10 mail.geekdept.com.
Change your resolv.conf to use your mail server's IP address as it's primary DNS.

vim /etc/resolv.conf

search geekdept.com nameserver 192.168.0.45

Start named on your server

/etc/init.d/named start

Enable autostart for named.

chkconfig named on

To verify that it is working do the following:

nslookup mail.geekdept.com

It should return something similar to this:

Server: 192.168.0.45 Address: 192.168.0.45#53 Name: mail.geekdept.com Address: 192.168.0.45

Notice that the ip address returned is the same as the local machine. That means success. Now we can move on to installing ZCS.

5 Installation Of Zimbra Collaboration Suite

You will need to download ZCS from the Zimbra website.

cd /tmp wget http://files.zimbra.com/downloads/5.0.2_GA/zcs5.0.2_GA_1975.RHEL5.20080130221917.tgz

Next untar, change into the directory of the installer and run the installer.

tar xvzf zcs-5.0.2_GA_1975.RHEL5.20080130221917.tgz cd zcs-5.0.2_GA_1975.RHEL5.20080130221917 ./install.sh

The output should look something like: Checking for existing installation... zimbra-ldap...NOT FOUND zimbra-logger...NOT FOUND zimbra-mta...NOT FOUND zimbra-snmp...NOT FOUND zimbra-store...NOT FOUND zimbra-apache...NOT FOUND zimbra-spell...NOT FOUND zimbra-proxy...NOT FOUND zimbra-archiving...NOT FOUND zimbra-cluster...NOT FOUND zimbra-core...NOT FOUND Read through the license agreement and hit enter. The output should be similar to: Checking for prerequisites... NPTL...FOUND sudo...FOUND sudo-1.6.7p12-10 libidn...FOUND libidn-0.6.5-1.1 fetchmail...FOUND fetchmail-6.3.6-1.1 gmp...FOUND gmp-4.1.4-10 compat-libstdc++-296...FOUND compat-libstdc++-296-2.96-138 compat-libstdc++-33...FOUND compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3-61 libtool-ltdl...FOUND libtool-ltdl-1.5.22-6.1 /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6...FOUND Prerequisite check complete. Checking for standard system perl... perl-5.8.8...FOUND start system perl-5.8.8 Checking for installable packages Found zimbra-core Found zimbra-ldap Found zimbra-logger Found Found Found Found zimbra-mta zimbra-snmp zimbra-store zimbra-apache

Found zimbra-spell Found zimbra-proxy Next you need to select the packages to install. The defaults are listed in teh brackets so you can just press enter for every question. Install zimbra-ldap [Y] Install zimbra-logger [Y]

Install zimbra-mta [Y] Install zimbra-snmp [Y] Install zimbra-store [Y] Install zimbra-apache [Y] Install zimbra-spell [Y] Install zimbra-proxy [N] You will see a warning like this: You appear to be installing packages on a platform different than the platform for which they were built This platform is CentOS5 Packages found: zimbra-core-5.0.2_GA_1975.RHEL5-20080130221917.i386.rpm This may or may not work Install anyway? [N] Y The system will be modified. Continue? [N] Y The installation takes a little bit so if you are running low on coffee or need a potty break now is the time to take it. :) Once the install is finished you are presented with the Main Menu. It looks like this:

Notice the asterisks next to the Admin Password. You need to set the Admin Password before you complete the install. To do this enter 3 at the prompt and hit enter. The menu changes to:

Now you choose 4. You will be prompted to change the password. After you change the password hit r which will take you back to the previous menu. Enter a at the prompt to save the configuration. The installation will complete and you will be all set to access the administrative web interface.

6 ZCS Admin Web Interface

Just like Falko I'm just going to give a brief screenshot tour and leave it up to you to get more information from the Zimbra Admin Guide and the Zimbra Wiki.

6.1 Administration Login You can access the admin web interface by going to https://you.domain.com:7071. Note: The web interface is accessed via ssl. Make sure you put https otherwise you won't be able to access the site.

The web interface is fairly easy to navigate.

The best place to start is with domains. Right now you most likely have a domain like mail.geekdept.com. You are going to want people to send email to geekdept.com. So click on domains.

After you have added your domain you are probably going to want to add an email account. Click on accounts and add your first account.

There are a ton of features you can add. By default the Instant Messenger feature is turned off but I think it is a really cool feature. It works really well.

6.2 User Login Now that you have an email account setup you can access the user interface. Point your browser tohttp://your.domain.com.

Log in with your full email address and the password that you set for it.

Send some test emails to another email account to verify that it is working properly. You are all set! As long as you have setup your external mx records properly you should be good to go. Spend some time on the Zimbra Wiki and Forums and when you master it help others out.

7 Links
Zimbra: http://www.zimbra.com CentOS: http://www.centos.com Zimbra Documentation: http://www.zimbra.com/community/documentation.html Zimbra Wiki: http://wiki.zimbra.com