Operation

[hewittsS]

Hi,

I hope this is in the right place.

We are currently investigating replacing Exchange 2003, and have come across Zimbra over the weekend.

I was considering downloading the trial version of Network Edition Server as this is the route we would go down but for the trial period it would be run in a virtual enviroment (vmware player).

But my thought is will this hamper the expierence (give a false impression of lack of speed), so my question is would I be better have a first look at the trial of Zimbra Appliance or is look/feel/operation completly different.

Cheers
Mcihael

[phoenix]

Originally Posted by hewittsS

We are currently investigating replacing Exchange 2003, and have come across Zimbra over the weekend.

I was considering downloading the trial version of Network Edition Server as this is the route we would go down but for the trial period it would be run in a virtual enviroment (vmware player).

But my thought is will this hamper the expierence (give a false impression of lack of speed), so my question is would I be better have a first look at the trial of Zimbra Appliance or is look/feel/operation completly different.l

What's the specification of the machine that will run the server and how many users will be on this 'trial'? I'd suggest using the standard install in a VM using a supported distribution.

[hewittsS]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for getting back so quick,

Spec is
i5 3.1Ghz
16Gb RAM
1Tb Drive
VT technology.

I've not bought this yet, but my thought is either run with VMware during the trial or swap the Hard Drive, then after the trial it can be redeployed to high end user.

Trial will be probaly no more than 3-5 users, more does it work any problems.

[phoenix]

I would think with that hardware specification and number of users you'd find it pretty close to real life - it should also be OK with more users than that. The important thing with Zimbra is RAM and you've got plenty of that. If these users are new users with a different domain than your Exchange server then you'd only need to take note of the Split DNS requirements (including /etc/hosts & resolv.conf), if the users are from your current domain (using the same domain name) then you should also read the Split Domain article. Other than that, have a look around the forums/wiki for some advice on installing and configuring Zimbra and have fun.