How to use Diskstation as a mail server

I previously mentioned that Synology had released new software for its family of network-attached storage (NAS) appliances with, among other enhancements, a local SMTP mail server.

I also said I’d be trying out the mail server and reporting back.

Mail on storage
Synology Diskstations come in a variety of formats, from single-disk models, such as the DS-106j, selling for just under £100 ex Vat, all the way up to the DS-508 that adds Raid protection across five disks.

The hard disks required don’t come with the appliances, but with 1TB Sata disks now available for around £80 that’s not a major issue and you can choose how much storage you need.

You can also plug in external USB devices (both disks and Flash memory keys) and share them on your network. Backups can be taken to external drives too and you can share USB printers from a Diskstation appliance, like on a server.

Another reason I like the Synology product is the software which, unlike that used on most small Nas devices, is quick and responsive with a lot more to offer beyond basic file sharing, such as the ability to stream music from iTunes and other software around your network, share photos and videos and set up and run your own web server, complete with PHP and a MySQL database.

Most of these options are enhanced in the new software release, plus you can now host your own email server with support for POP3 and Imap mailboxes together with webmail, albeit via a fairly rudimentary web client.

I’ve got mail
Before I could configure my Synology appliance to act as a mail server I had to do two things.

Download and install the latest 2.1 version of the Diskstation software (in beta at the time of writing, but scheduled for release in March 2009), then log on to the appliance and do the same for the add-on Mail Station package.

Both proved pretty easy and the whole process took around 10 minutes once I’d downloaded the necessary files to the PC I was using.

As with similar appliances, management is via a web interface which is easy to navigate.

It’s also very responsive, which is unusual for a device of this type, most of which have low-powered processors.

This doesn’t normally affect the file-sharing performance as the processor has little involvement, but it can make the management interface very slow.

When configuring the Synology Mail Station, the usual constraints apply.

If it’s just going to be used on the Lan then no major changes to the network setup are needed.

However, in order to receive messages from other servers over the internet, your public DNS settings must include an MX record pointing to the Synology host.

In most cases you’ll need to configure your internet router and firewall to pass SMTP traffic (port 25) to the mail server. Likewise you’ll need to let POP3 and Imap traffic through to access messages remotely.

The Mail Station server I tested can only handle a single mail domain. But it’s easy to configure through the web interface.

You can set the SMTP authorisation and access protocols with a choice of encrypted or ordinary POP3 and Imap options.

You can also enable the Webmail client here, with a link to access it, and that’s about all you need.

Another requirement is to enable the optional User Home service whereby all NAS users are automatically given their own home directory where the mailbox folder will be created.

I configured a local email server and was quickly able to send and receive messages using both Outlook and the webmail client.

It appeared to work fine, but it is very basic and not the kind of product I’d be happy to use in a small business with, for example, no facility to scan messages for viruses or filter out spam.

Neither can you set up out-of-office responders or append disclaimers to outgoing mail.

Similarly, the lack of any facility to collect mail from a POP3 mailbox could be an issue for home users.

Fortunately you don’t need a PC or server to host the mail server, just a Synology appliance.

Foldershare becomes Sync
I want to talk about what’s been happening to Foldershare, Microsoft’s peer-to-peer file synchronisation service which I covered in PCW June 2008 (www.pcw.co.uk/2219686). Since then, the product has been refreshed and given a new name – Windows Live Sync.

It’s also a fully released service and existing users should all have been advised of the changes and invited to update by now.

But if you’re new to the service it’s worth listing what it has to offer and what’s new in the Live Sync version.