Sending Adminstrative Alerts

[technoteen]

Hello everyone,

i am testing zimbra to install it as a mail solution for my college. i have few questions:
1. How can i send administrative alerts to everyone:
can i send a single mail to all users through the administrative console?
2.can i put up a message somewhere on the webpages, so that is clearly visible to everyone?
3. we have to create domains for every department, so at the login page, can a drop down menu be placed, so that the user is not required to type his/her complete address.
4. can i create mailing lists to which only certain users can mail?
that is i create a list of all the students of a class and only the faculty is allowed to mail them
5. i have read abt the mass user addition script, but can i also add their details when using that script
6. currently we use qmail/courier-imap/vpopmail on RHEL 4, can i transfer existing mails and accounts?

hope to get my queries solved, the zimbra suite is an excellent application and i would like to implement it.

[dijichi2]

All of these questions are answered either on the main website, or here in the forums.

[technoteen]

i tried searching on the forum as well as website, but could not get conclusive answers, so thought asking them would be a better idea

[Klug]

1. You have to create a distribution list with everybody in

2. Not easily, you'll have to change the template/skin. You can develop a Zimlet showing a message too.

3. No drop down list possible (unless you develop what is needed). If you use the VirtualHost feature of Zimbra, using the correct URL to log in will allow your users not to type their full eMail address.

4. No with Zimbra, do a search in the forum, you'll find information on implementing mailman to handle the distribution lists (can be used for answer 1. too).

5. Yes

6. If you're not using the LDAP or mysql version of vpopmail, you're like me, ie stuck...

[technoteen]

thanks a lot for the answers...

Originally Posted by Klug

1. You have to create a distribution list with everybody in

i thought that was the closest, just that the list will be required to updated everytime before sending the alerts, i will do that

Originally Posted by Klug

2. Not easily, you'll have to change the template/skin. You can develop a Zimlet showing a message too.

hacking the skin will require to hack it everytime zimbra is updates, but it seems ok
i think such a feature should be available

Originally Posted by Klug

3. No drop down list possible (unless you develop what is needed). If you use the VirtualHost feature of Zimbra, using the correct URL to log in will allow your users not to type their full eMail address.

can a single virtualhost do for all different domain??
for ex. mail.localhost.com will work for dn1.localhost.com,dn2.localhost.com, etc..

Originally Posted by Klug

4. No with Zimbra, do a search in the forum, you'll find information on implementing mailman to handle the distribution lists (can be used for answer 1. too).

this is not that serious requirement, i will try mailman though

Originally Posted by Klug

5. Yes

thanks

Originally Posted by Klug

6. If you're not using the LDAP or mysql version of vpopmail, you're like me, ie stuck...

yes i am using vpasswd based system for vpop , guess i will have to convert it to mysql first and then transfer the accounts

[Klug]

Originally Posted by technoteen

can a single virtualhost do for all different domain?? for ex. mail.localhost.com will work for dn1.localhost.com,dn2.localhost.com, etc..

If you use single virtualhost, it's not virtualhosts anymore 8)
Check the Zimbra's virtualhost feature (in the admin UI and in the doc) to understand clearly how it works.

Originally Posted by technoteen

yes i am using vpasswd based system for vpop , guess i will have to convert it to mysql first and then transfer the accounts

Actually the main problem is about the passwords : if you don't know the users passwords in vpopmail, you can not read their mailbox (so impossible to imapsync them to Zimbra).
Unless you force a password change, then create their account in Zimbra with a forced password, imapsync the data and get Zimbra to ask for "password change on first use"...

mySQL (or LDAP) will help mainly on getting a "clean" (scriptable) users list and aliases list.

If you do it, please contribute to the wiki with an article on "vpopmail to Zimbra migration".

[technoteen]

Originally Posted by Klug

If you use single virtualhost, it's not virtualhosts anymore 8)
Check the Zimbra's virtualhost feature (in the admin UI and in the doc) to understand clearly how it works.

i tried on a test machine, it worked for two domains, so that means it will work

Originally Posted by Klug

Actually the main problem is about the passwords : if you don't know the users passwords in vpopmail, you can not read their mailbox (so impossible to imapsync them to Zimbra).
Unless you force a password change, then create their account in Zimbra with a forced password, imapsync the data and get Zimbra to ask for "password change on first use"...

mySQL (or LDAP) will help mainly on getting a "clean" (scriptable) users list and aliases list.

If you do it, please contribute to the wiki with an article on "vpopmail to Zimbra migration".

in our implementation the passwords are available in vpasswd file, so they are available for imapsync, that means i should be able to do it, surely i will try and add it to wiki

LDAP based accounts is one of the main reasons to move to zimbra

[Klug]

Originally Posted by technoteen

in our implementation the passwords are available in vpasswd file, so they are available for imapsync, that means i should be able to do it, surely i will try and add it to wiki

You have clear text passwords in your vpasswd files ?!

[technoteen]

Originally Posted by Klug

You have clear text passwords in your vpasswd files ?!

ya thats the way the old administrator had implemented it, that why it needs to be changed


EDIT:
if you have asked, i will also like to mention that i dont like the "view mail" button in the zimbra admin console as well, it should not be there, or if its there, the user password must be reseted automatically, basically, the user should come to know somehow that his mailbox has been accessed.

different people view privacy differently, i think even if the administrator has all rights, that he can see any mail he wants, but the user should come to know when his privacy is breached, the guy before me thought otherwise, we had a good discussion over the topic

[flums]

I agree on this last one. At least, you should have the possebility to let the user know this so you can deside this self.

Will this be posseble?