On-premises email server solutions - any recommendations?

[Patrick M. Hausen]

Hello everyone,

we are currently in our first evaluation steps for WHMCS. Installation done - pretty smooth, thanks. We connected our main domain registrar and were able to order and modify domains with a fake customer entry for testing. Great.

Now, our main products for which we are seeking a commercial solution like WHMCS are

• management of customers - check
• ordering, cancelling, billing - check
• management of domains - check
• management of DNS for these domains - which backends are supported here?
• provisioning and management of email domains, accounts etc - I found only Zimbra via third party module so far?

We are specifically looking for on-premises email services run by us in our data centres. Similar for DNS. Also we are specifically not looking into web hosting at the moment, since we have our own in-house developed private cloud solution for that. Problem is it's lacking a frontend for DNS and email 😉

I'm a bit reluctant to jump into Plesk or cPanel right away for these reasons. These products expect the web space to be under their control, too, if I am not mistaken. Setting up a fleet of Linux based servers running e.g. Plesk would be a huge burden, especially with all our infrastructure already in place. I'd love to hear about people who have stripped WHMCS and some backend provider to the minimum offering only selected services to customers. 100% open source for the backend preferred. Virtualmin, anyone?

Oh, and all our own infrastructure is FreeBSD based. We just installed our WHMCS instance in our FreeBSD based "cloud".

Kind regards, any hints welcome,
Patrick

[Apsentraing]

Hi Patrick,

It's perfect to hear that you've effectively introduced WHMCS and are investigating its abilities for your business needs. In view of your necessities, we should address a portion of the focuses you've referenced:

 

The executives of DNS for spaces: WHMCS has support for different space recorder modules, yet the help for overseeing DNS can change contingent upon the particular enlistment center module you are utilizing. Some area enlistment center modules might offer essential DNS the board highlights, while others probably won't give broad DNS control. On the off chance that you require further developed DNS the executives capacities, you could have to investigate outsider modules or custom combinations with your favored DNS server.

Provisioning and the executives of email spaces and records: As you referenced, Zimbra is a notable outsider module that incorporates with WHMCS for email provisioning and the board. In the event that you are searching for on-premises email administrations, utilizing an outsider module like Zimbra may be a reasonable choice. Be that as it may, it's fundamental to completely test and approve the joining to guarantee it meets your particular necessities.

Stripping WHMCS and backend supplier to offer chosen administrations: WHMCS is exceptionally adjustable, and you can without a doubt fit it to offer just the administrations you really want. It's feasible to handicap or conceal highlights you would rather not use, for example, web facilitating, and center exclusively around area enrollment, charging, and different administrations you want. Be that as it may, accomplishing a completely stripped-down rendition could require some custom turn of events and design.

Open-source choices and FreeBSD similarity: WHMCS itself isn't open-source, yet there are open-source options accessible for dealing with specific parts of your prerequisites. Virtualmin is one such choice for web facilitating control board and DNS the executives. It upholds FreeBSD and could suit your requirements for overseeing web facilitating and DNS on your framework. In any case, mix with WHMCS or other charging and client the board perspectives would require custom turn of events.

 

In summary, to achieve a solution that fits your specific needs for on-premises email services, DNS management, and FreeBSD compatibility, you may need to combine various tools and customizations. It's essential to thoroughly test any integrations or third-party modules to ensure they meet your business requirements.

If you require further assistance or have more specific questions about WHMCS or other related tools, feel free to ask. Best of luck with your evaluation and implementation process!