Installing GFI MailEssentials

Introduction to installing GFI MailEssentials

This chapter shows you how to install and configure GFI MailEssentials. GFI MailEssentials can be installed in two ways:

Installation option 1: Installing GFI MailEssentials on the Microsoft Exchange Server 2000/2003/2007 machine

This is a very straightforward and easy deployment mode. Simply install GFI MailEssentials on the Microsoft Exchange Server 2000/2003/2007 machine. If you are installing on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, you need to have either Mailbox Server Role and Hub Transport Server Role installed or Hub Transport Server Role installed. GFI MailEssentials cannot be installed on a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 machine with only Mailbox Server Role installed. Go to the paragraph 'Installing GFI MailEssentials on the Microsoft Exchange Server 2000/2003/2007 machine’ for instructions on how to install this deployment option.

NOTE: If you are installing GFI MailEssentials on Microsoft Exchange Server 2000/2003 or Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 with both Mailbox Server Role and Hub Transport Role installed, you can configure GFI MailEssentials to direct email marked as spam directly to the user’s junk email folder. This makes it easy for users to periodically review spam email for false positives. If you install GFI MailEssentials in the DMZ, or in front of Microsoft Exchange Server 2000/2003, or on a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 machine that does not have the Mailbox Server Role installed, this feature will not be available.

Installation option 2: Installing GFI MailEssentials on a separate machine

If you are not running Microsoft Exchange Server 2000/2003/2007 or simply wish to separate the GFI MailEssentials installation from the Microsoft Exchange Server 2000/2003/2007 machine, you can install GFI MailEssentials on a separate machine.

NOTE: In a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 environment, the mail relay server in the DMZ can be a machine running Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 with the Edge Transport Server Role installed.

This also allows you to keep your corporate mail server behind the firewall. GFI MailEssentials will act as a smart host/mail relay server in the perimeter network (also known as DMZ, demilitarized zone, and screened subnet).

Additional advantages are:

•	You can perform maintenance on your mail server machine, whilst still receiving email from the Internet.

•	You use less resources on your mail server machine

•	The GFI MailEssentials machine can have a lower specification then the mail server machine and can process email faster

•	Additional fault tolerance – if anything happens with your mail server you can still receive email, which is queued on the GFI MailEssentials machine.

NOTE: This separate machine does not need to be dedicated to GFI MailEssentials; it can run other applications, such as GFI MailSecurity.

If you choose this option, you have to configure IIS before installing GFI MailEssentials.

NOTE: If installing on a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 machine with the Edge Transport Server Role, you do not need to install or configure the IIS SMTP service, since Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 has its own built in SMTP server.

Go to the paragraph 'Installing GFI MailEssentials on a separate machine' for instructions on how to do this.

IMPORTANT: Do not judge the spam detection rate of GFI MailEssentials until you have allowed the Bayesian filter to run for at least one week. GFI MailEssentials can achieve the highest detection rate compared to other anti-spam solutions because it adapts specifically to your emails. Be patient and wait at least a week before you evaluate it.