Koozali SME Server
| Company type | Community-driven project |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Linux distribution |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Joseph Morrison, Kim Morrison |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Linux distribution for server and gateway functionality |
Number of employees | 0 |
| Website | www |
Koozali SME Server—previously known as e-smith server and gateway—is a Linux distribution derived from Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It is engineered to function either solely as a server or as a combined server and gateway system. This distribution provides essential internet services such as HTTP, FTP, email server functionalities, and firewall protection, in addition to local network features including file servers, print servers, and anti-virus filtering. Its management is streamlined through a user-friendly web interface that simplifies the setup, administration, and upkeep of these services.
The project operates under a community-driven model and is maintained on a non-commercial basis.
History
Developed in 1999 by Joseph and Kim Morrison under the company e-smith inc., the software was originally branded as e-smith server and gateway. Following e-smith inc.’s acquisition by Mitel Networks in 2001, the product was renamed Mitel SME Server. In November 2003, Mitel discontinued its support to concentrate efforts on its commercial product, the Managed Application Server (6000 MAS).
Subsequently, volunteer contributors assumed responsibility for the project, rebranding it as SME Server and relocating it to contribs.org, a platform previously dedicated to third-party add-ons. Initially hosted by Resource Strategies, the project attracted commercial interest from Lycoris, which announced plans in September 2004 to provide commercial backing and further develop the platform. However, these initiatives ceased by December 2004, shortly before Lycoris was acquired by Mandriva in June 2005.
After returning to hosting with Resource Strategies toward the end of 2004, development transitioned to SourceForge in April 2005. Hosting responsibilities shifted to Ruffdogs in June 2005; Ruffdogs itself was acquired by Holonyx Inc. in March 2007.
To facilitate donations and establish formal community governance, SME Server Inc. was incorporated in Colorado in June 2005. By 2009, the community had become fully autonomous from corporate entities and managed its own funding independently.
Between 2009 and 2013, SME developer Shad Lords provided hosting on a dedicated server farm shared with ClearOS, fostering collaboration between both projects. In June 2013, the infrastructure was relocated to ClearOS's data center.
In 2013, the community formalized its structure by founding the Koozali Foundation as a non-profit organization representing the project. The following year, Koozali Foundation separated from ClearFoundation and began operating its own infrastructure using rented servers. The adoption of the Koozali name aimed to establish a distinct community identity amid widespread international use of the SME Server name.
Around 2014, NethServer emerged as a fork derived from SME Server. Prior French partial forks included SMERP and Free-EOS.
Principle of operation
SME Server is designed primarily for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual users, following the KISS principle to facilitate essential server management without requiring a dedicated IT team. It utilizes RHEL as its foundation due to its extended support lifecycle, which eases upkeep in SME settings. The distribution is distinguished by its straightforward installation process, rapid configuration, and robust security features. A user-friendly web-based management console enables administrators to create users, groups, file shares, and perform fundamental administrative functions. All configurations are maintained within a flat-file database, employing templates to produce the main service configuration files. This method guarantees system reliability—any manual modifications can be undone simply by rebooting and reapplying configurations.
Core Features
- HTTP server: apache httpd
- FTP server: ProFTPD
- SMTP server: Qpsmtpd combined with Qmail
- Spamfilter: integration of Qpsmtpd plugins alongside Spamassassin
- IMAP/POP3 server: Dovecot
- Antivirus solution: Clamav
- DNS cache/server: dnscache and tinydns components from Djbdns
- Firewall system: Iptables
- File sharing service: Samba
- DHCP server capabilities
- Backup management tools
- Webmail interface: Horde
Releases
| Version | Release Date | End of Support | RHEL Version | Base Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | December 31, 2006 | February 29, 2012 | 4.7 | CentOS 4.x |
| 8.0 | May 25, 2012 | March 31, 2017 | 5 | CentOS 5.x |
| 9.0 | May 12, 2014 | November 30, 2020 | 6 | CentOS 6.x |
| 10 | June 6, 2021 | June 30, 2024 | 7 | CentOS 7.x |
| 11 | Template:TBD | May 2029 | 8 | Rocky Linux 8.x |
See also
References