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Chapter 18. Webmail
If you wish, you can configure your SME Server V5 with ServiceLink so that users can access their e-mail via a web interface. Once
webmail is enabled, users will be able to access their e-mail from the local network or anywhere in the world via the Internet using
any standard web browser (provided it supports Javascript and tables, which almost all browsers do).
For added security, the server supports the use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connections. When your users connect using SSL, all
communication between their browser and your web server is securely encrypted to prevent eavesdropping.
Note: The specific program we use for webmail is the Internet Messaging Program (IMP). If you would like more information about
IMP, you can visit the project web site at: http://www.horde.org/imp/
If you intend to enable webmail, you should consider whether your users will use webmail exclusively or will use webmail part of
the time (for example, when travelling) and a regular e-mail client the rest of the time. If they plan to use webmail and another client,
they should make sure that the other client uses the IMAP protocol. If they use POP3, their e-mail messages will be pulled down
from the server into their local e-mail client and will therefore not be visible when the user logs into webmail. If IMAP is enabled on
the local client, the messages will remain on the server and will be visible both from the local client and via webmail. (For more
information on IMAP and POP3, read the earlier section in Chapter 7.)
A second issue is that using webmail will affect the performance of your server. With many modern servers, the impact may not be
noticeable. However, if you are using a low-end system as your server, you may see a noticeable decrease in the performance of your
system. We recommend that you evaluate your server hardware if you plan to use webmail. (Note that webmail can always be
disabled later if you find that your system is not performing well.)
18.1. Enabling Webmail On Your System
Because the use of webmail can be resource-intensive, the server ships with webmail disabled by default. To enable the use of
webmail, perform the following steps:
1. Connect to the server manager and login as the admin user.
2. Click on Other e-mail settings and scroll down to the section where you have the option to Enable/Disable Webmail. You now
have two options:
• Enabled (secure HTTPS access only) - Allows users to connect only through a secure SSL connection. This is strongly
recommended because a regular HTTP connection transmits your mail account password across the network (or Internet) in
plain, unencrypted text.
• Enabled (HTTP or HTTPS) - Allows your users to connect through a secure or an insecure web connection.
After you perform these steps, your users should be able to connect and use webmail.
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