mailCow has emerged as a valuable asset in my arsenal of server management tools, offering me a complete and reliable solution for managing email on my domains.
Deployed on Ubuntu as a VM within my Proxmox environment, mailCow provided an excellent platform to better understand the complexities of DNS, mail protocols, and network configurations.

Utilities and Benefits: mailCow has proven to be an essential tool for managing my domains' emails for free and reliably. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, I can easily manage my email communications without the need for expensive third-party solutions.

Proxmox Integration: A particularly beneficial aspect of mailCow is its seamless integration with my Proxmox environment. Notification and alert emails automatically sent by Proxmox are easily managed and received through mailCow, allowing me to always stay up to date on critical events or potential issues with my servers.

Implementation: Implementing mailCow was relatively easy, thanks to the clear documentation provided on the official website. Carefully following the installation and configuration guide on Ubuntu, I set up a dedicated VM on Proxmox and performed all the necessary steps to ensure a correct and safe installation.

1. System Preparation: Before proceeding with the installation, I made sure that I met all the system prerequisites listed in the mailCow guide. This included installing Ubuntu 22 as a VM on Proxmox, checking and configuring the firewall and ports, and ensuring that the system date and time were properly synced.
2. DNS Configuration: To ensure that mailCow works properly, I have carefully configured the DNS records for my domains on CloudFlare, following the instructions provided in the mailCow guide.
3. Installation and Configuration: Using the command curl available on the official mailCow website, I downloaded and installed the necessary software. Afterwards, I enabled and installed Docker and Docker Compose and completed the configuration process via the file docker-compose.yml provided.

Conclusions: Implementing mailCow has given me a deeper understanding of email management mechanisms and associated network protocols. Its ease of use and reliability have made mailCow an indispensable asset in my arsenal of server management tools, improving my overall system administration experience.

Written with ChatGPT-4o