System Requirements
Hardware
The following table gives you an overview of the recommended hardware for different number of users or email volume per day. The specific system requirements strongly depend on the number of users or amount and type of email that an organization sends and receives.
Important: Please also carefully read the Performance and Scalability Guidelines to understand the impact of network, storage and other hardware components as well as configuration options and usage scenarios on overall performance.
up to 25 users or 1000 emails/day
| Operating System | Supported Microsoft Windows Desktop or Server operating system |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo or compatible CPU @ 2GHz |
| Main Memory | 4 GB |
| Hard Disk | 150 MB disk space required for installation. |
| Storage Configuration | SATA2 (7.200 RPM) |
up to 75 users or 2,500 emails/day
| Operating System | Supported Microsoft Windows Server operating system |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Quad or compatible CPU @ 2.4GHz |
| Main Memory | 4 GB |
| Hard Disk | 150 MB disk space required for installation. |
| Storage Configuration | RAID 10 (SATA2/7.200 RPM) |
up to 250 users or 7,000 emails/day
| Operating System | Supported Microsoft Windows Server operating system |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Xeon Quad Core or compatible CPU @ 2.4GHz |
| Main Memory | 4 GB |
| Hard Disk | 150 MB disk space required for installation. A minimum of two separate disks is recommended: Disk 1) Operating system, program files and temporary files. |
| Storage Configuration | Hardware RAID 10 (SATA2/7.200 RPM) |
up to 500 users or 14,000 emails/day
| Operating System | Supported Microsoft Windows Server operating system |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Xeon Quad Core or compatible CPU @ 2.4GHz |
| Main Memory | 6 GB |
| Hard Disk | 150 MB disk space required for installation. A minimum of two separate disks is recommended: Disk 1) Operating system, program files and temporary files. |
| Storage Configuration | Hardware RAID 10 (SAS/10.000 RPM or faster) |
Software
Operating System
MailStore Server, MailStore Client and MailStore Outlook Add-in require the following operating systems for installation and execution. Both, 32-bit and 64-bit versions are supported.
- Microsoft Windows Vista SP2
- Microsoft Windows 7 SP1
- Microsoft Windows 8
- Microsoft Windows 8.1
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 (Foundation, Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (Foundation, Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)
- Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008 SP2
- Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2011 SP1
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (Foundation, Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (Foundation, Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
Important notice for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 users:
As Microsoft does not provide .NET Framework 4.5.1 for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, the last MailStore version that can be installed on these platforms is version 8. Contrary to the official Update and Support Service terms, you are eligible to continue using MailStore Server 8 on the above platforms until the end of extended support (July 14, 2015) for Windows Server 2003.
In a mixed environment, Microsoft Outlook users are able to use MailStore Outlook Add-in 8.1.3 to connect to MailStore Server 9.
Other Software
The following other software is required:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 or higher
- Microsoft .NET Framework Version 4.5.1
- Optional: IFilter driver on the MailStore Server computer for filetypes to be indexed
Outlook Versions
MailStore Outlook Add-in is compatible with the following versions of Microsoft Outlook. Both, 32-bit and 64-bit versions are supported.
- Microsoft Outlook 2003
- Microsoft Outlook 2007
- Microsoft Outlook 2010 (Click-to-Run is not supported)
- Microsoft Outlook 2013
- Microsoft Outlook 2013 as component for Office 365 (Click-to-Run)
Web Browsers
The following web browsers are officially supported by MailStore Web Access:
- Apple Safari 3 or higher
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 or higher
- Mozilla Firefox 3 or higher
- Opera 9 or higher
Mobile Devices
Stock web browsers and email clients on the following platforms should work with MailStore Mobile Web Access and the integrated IMAP server:
- Apple iOS 3.2 or higher
- Android 2.3 or higher
- Windows Phone 7.5 or higher
- Blackberry 7 or higher
Other 3rd party web browsers on those or other mobile platforms may also work, but are not officially supported.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dedicated machine
Q: Can I install MailStore Server on the same computer where Microsoft Exchange or any other email server is installed or do I have to install it on a dedicated machine?
A: Primarily this depends on the size of your setup, the archiving strategy and the kind of usage. Please refer to the Performance and Scalability Guidelines for further details. Whenever possible MailStore Server should be installed on a dedicated machine.
Database server
Q: Most email archiving products on the market seem to require Microsoft SQL Server or a similar product installed. Does MailStore Server also require an external database server?
A: MailStore Server comes with an embedded database and does not depend on any other external database server.
Web server
Q: Do I need an additional web server like Microsoft IIS or Apache to offer MailStore Web Access to my clients?
A: No. MailStore Server runs its own HTTP server on the corresponding TCP ports. Therefore you do not need an additional web server to use MailStore Web Access.
Anti-Virus Software
F: What needs to be considered while using anti-virus software with MailStore?
A: When using file based virus scanners, it is recommended to exclude all archive directories (master database and archive stores) from scanning. If the virus scanner also scans network connections, especially SMTP, POP3 and IMAP as well as HTTP/HTTPS connections, you must fully uninstall the product and reboot the machine in case any occurring archiving problems such as timeouts.
Virtualization
Q: Is it possible to run MailStore Server on virtual machines like VMWare guests or similar?
A: Yes it is possible, as long as the underlying operating system supports it, there is no problem running MailStore Server inside a virtualized environment.
Terminal Server environments
Q: Is it possible to run MailStore in a terminal server environment?
A: Yes, this is absolutely possible.
Network Attached Storage
Q: Do I have to store the archive on the local hard disk, or can I also store it (or parts of it) on network attached storage, e.g. a network share?
A: Since version 4.0, MailStore supports the storage on NAS (Network Attached Storage) systems. To use MailStore with storage on a NAS, different options are available. Those are described in the article Using Network Attached Storage (NAS). Please also take notice of the information regarding storage in the Performance and Scalability Guidelines.
Note: A storage system attached via FibreChannel or iSCSI is called Storage Area Network-storage (SAN). SAN-storage is used like a local disk, so that no further configuration is needed to run MailStore Server on it.
