Installing, configuring, and administering an e-mail and groupware server can be quite a tough job. Scalix is a remarkable open source server of this kind; it is based on HP OpenMail. Scalix can be used by beginners, but in terms of administration, it requires solid know-how. This book targets Linux administrators that intend to work with Scalix e-mail servers.
Markus Feilner, the author of the book, is a Linux author, IT journalist, trainer, and consultant from Regensburg, Germany. He is currently employed as an editor for German Linux Magazine, where he is writing the Linux Technical Review column, as well as other articles on various topics, such as groupware, virtualization, etc. His first book is called OpenVPN: Building and Integrating Virtual Private Networks. He has extensive Linux knowledge and regularly gives speeches and lectures at conferences.
Scalix comes in different editions: Enterprise, Small Business, Appliance, Xandros, Community, and Raw. Community and Raw Editions are freeware, and Raw is also open source. Their products are built on the outstanding success of OpenMail, which was developed by Hewlett-Packard and is still one of the most powerful solutions.
This is a technical book published by PacktPub. Their orange and black style is unique in the market. By skimming through the book you can see that this is a serious and robust technical manual. It is literally jam-packed with knowledge heavily focused on Scalix and Linux. No one should expect to read this book once and be done with it.
The listed cover price of the book is US$39.99, UKŁ24.99, and EU€30.99. However, do yourself a favor and try to look for certain discounts that are available from specific bookstores. For example, at the time of writing this review, there’s a 10% discount if you order a copy right from PACKT Publishing. This means you can get it at Ł22.49, $35.99, and €27.89. Amazon also offers this ten percent discount.
The purpose of this review is to present the main qualities of the book. The content of each chapter is summed up as briefly as possible. After these distillations, we will conclude with a few key points regarding the book. In the end, you can expect to read my subjective opinion and whether I’d recommend this book or not.