Setting up SquirrelMail on Fedora Core 4

Here are the instructions for Installing Squirrelmail on Fedora Core 4.0:

Squirrelmail provides Web-based access to IMAP email servers, but lacks advanced features. The Horde Project provides Webmail using IMP, one of Horde's many applications. Additionally, Horde's application suite contains tools for calendaring, contact management and groupware. For information on Horde's various applications, see the Horde User's FAQ.

Horde's Framework and IMP are not difficult to install, but might be complex for users new to Linux. Horde's complexity rises from its requirements and vast array of functionality. This article outlines requirements for IMP's basic functionality and directs users to IMP installation resources. Any IMP installation will require further reading. A complete list of reference URLs is provided at the end of this article.

Horde's IMP for Webmail IMP is the Horde application which provides webmail access to any IMAP or POP3 mailbox. To install IMP with Horde.org's recommended features, you will require:

• A working webserver with PHP support
• A MySQL database server
• PHP capability for IMAP and POP
• File upload support turned on in PHP
• Certain PEAR modules for PHP
• An accessible IMAP or POP3 server
• The Horde Application Framework

Database, Webserver and PHP

If you are compiling Apache and PHP installations, you can download MySQL. You should download the stable RPM releases for Server, Client Programs, Libraries and Headers and Dynamic Client Libraries. Fedora Core 4.0 can use the Linux generic downloads found on MySQL.com. Be sure to download the correct RPMs for your system's architecture. If you are unsure about your system's architecture, use uname -i.

Apache is a commonly used Web server on Linux systems. You will need Apache with PHP support to run IMP. The most configurable solution is to compile Apache and PHP. For new Linux users, the process of compiling Apache and PHP warrants additional reading. Visit Apache and PHP for the necessary software bundles and instructions. If you compile PHP, be sure to compile it with IMAP, Gettext, XML and DOMXML support. See the Horde and IMP Installation Guides listed at the end of this article for details on other recommended PHP features such as GD and Mcrypt.

Here are some resources if you are new to compiling Apache and PHP: "Compiling and Installing Apache 1.3" and "Installing PHP Shared Module for Apache 1.3".

The easiest, but less malleable solution, is to use Fedora's pre-built RPMS for Apache and PHP. If you choose this route, you will need to use Fedora's MySQL package. Currently, Fedora Core 4.0 provides RPMS for MySQL 4.0, Apache 2.0 and PHP 5.0. To install these packages, use Fedora's YUM repositories. If you need assistance with YUM, read Fedora's YUM documentation

Example: root# yum install httpd php php-pear php-imap php-gd php-mysql mysql

PHP and PEAR Configuration

IMP requires upload capability turned on in PHP. This is done with the following line in PHP's php.ini:

file_uploads = On

Other options, such as the temporary location for uploaded files (upload_tmp_dir) and file upload maximum size (upload_max_filesize), should also be set. See the IMP installation guide or PHP.net's documentation, PHP Core php.ini directives for details.

The required PEAR modules are: Log, Mail and Mail_Mime. Other modules, such as DB, are recommended. With PHP installed, you can install PEAR modules from the Linux command line.

Example: root# pear install Log Mail Mail_Mime DB Date File HTTP_Request Net_URL

PEAR module recommendations and instructions are provided in the Horde and IMP installation guides listed at the end of this article.

IMAP Mail Server

If you do not have an accessible IMAP or POP3 server, you will need to install and configure one for Horde. For performance and functionality, Horde.org recommends using IMAP instead of POP3. The IMP documentation lists these verified IMAP servers:

• UW-IMAP
• Courier-IMAP
• Cyrus
• Dovecot

Fedora Core 4.0 provides RPMs for Cyrus IMAP, UW-IMAP and Dovecot IMAP servers. Use yum to install Fedora supplied IMAP servers. If you are curious about the Maildir mail storage format, visit the following websites for information on Courier IMAP, including installing Courier IMAP, and Maildir.

Installing an IMAP server is a unique subject and will require instruction outside the scope of this article. Visit your IMAP server's website for details on installation and configuration.

Installing Horde and IMP

Once you have taken care of the basic prerequisites, you should decide what version of IMP you wish to run. Preferably, you should run the latest stable release of IMP and be aware of the Horde Framework version requirement. For example, the current stable release, IMP 4.0, requires the 3.x Horde Framework. IMP and Horde installation tarballs can be downloaded here .

First, install Horde. You will need to:

• Be sure the proper PEAR packages are installed
• Extract the tarball into Apache's Document Root for your website
• Configure Horde
• Create database tables in MySQL
• Test and finalize your configuration

For quick installation instrictions, click here. Visit this link for in-depth configuration instructions.

When you configure Horde, it is not recommended that you use the MySQL root user. Create a horde user in MySQL and provide the horde user with all necessary privileges to the Horde database. For help with this, you can read up on the MySQL GRANT syntax. After Horde is ready, install and configure IMP. You will need to:

• Extract the IMP tarball into the horde folder in
• Apache's Document Root for your website
• Configure IMP
• Instructions for this process are found in the IMP Installation Guide.