Zimbra 9 has just been released. But the binary only available for Zimbra NE. When I see the release note, Zimbra announces “There are no Open Source repositories specific to Zimbra 9.”.
When I access the Zimbra forum, I found Jorgedlcruz posting about Zimbra 9 FOSS made by beezim.fr. You can find the post here: https://forums.zimbra.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=68097. I interest and want to try to install it. When this article was written, Zimbra 9 FOSS available for RHEL7/CentOS7 and Ubuntu 18.04
Here is how I install Zimbra 9 FOSS (unofficial) on CentOS 7
# Install screen and wget
yum install wget screen -y
# Download script automatic configuration
This script will automatically configure /etc/hosts, hostname, create local DNS using BIND and install dependencies that required by Zimbra
screen -S install-zimbra wget -c https://raw.githubusercontent.com/imanudin11/script/master/persiapan-zimbra-centos7.sh chmod +x persiapan-zimbra-centos7.sh ./persiapan-zimbra-centos7.sh
Screen commands are used for background processes. When the SSH connection is lost, I can reconnect to the server and check the progress by running the screen -x.
When the script is run, you will be asked about the hostname, domain, and IP address. Below is the information I used
[INFO] : Configuring /etc/hosts Hostname. Example mail : mail Domain name. Example imanudin.net : imanudin.net IP Address : 192.168.11.12
# Download Zimbra binary
cd /opt/ wget -c https://s3.beezim.fr/beebot/upload/09830127-c2f1-43cb-b3fa-c35fc514e539/zcs-9.0.0_GA_1.RHEL7_64.20200411070311.tgz
# Extract and Install Zimbra
tar -zxvf zcs-9.0.0_GA_1.RHEL7_64.20200411070311.tgz cd zcs-9.0.0_GA_1.RHEL7_64.20200411070311 ./install.sh
type Y if asked license agreement and repository package
Do you agree with the terms of the software license agreement? [N] Y Use Zimbra's package repository [Y] Y
Select the packages to install. I do not install zimbra-imapd and zimbra-dnscache
Install zimbra-ldap [Y] Y Install zimbra-logger [Y] Y Install zimbra-mta [Y] Y Install zimbra-dnscache [Y] N Install zimbra-snmp [Y] Y Install zimbra-store [Y] Y Install zimbra-apache [Y] Y Install zimbra-spell [Y] Y Install zimbra-memcached [Y] Y Install zimbra-proxy [Y] Y Install zimbra-drive [Y] Y Install zimbra-imapd (BETA - for evaluation only) [N] N Install zimbra-chat [Y] Y
Type Y if asked The system will be modified. Continue?
if get a message like follows, enter or type Yes and change the domain name
DNS ERROR resolving MX for mail.imanudin.net It is suggested that the domain name have an MX record configured in DNS Change domain name? [Yes] Yes Create domain: [mail.imanudin.net] imanudin.net
if you do not change the domain name on the above section, your domain name will become mail.imanudin.net, and the email account will become user@mail.imanudin.net.
Type 6 then press the enter key to change the password of the admin account. Type 4 then press the enter key. Insert the password you want
Main menu 1) Common Configuration: 2) zimbra-ldap: Enabled 3) zimbra-logger: Enabled 4) zimbra-mta: Enabled 5) zimbra-snmp: Enabled 6) zimbra-store: Enabled +Create Admin User: yes +Admin user to create: admin@imanudin.net ******* +Admin Password UNSET +Anti-virus quarantine user: virus-quarantine.a5rtucqhim@imanudin.net ..... ..... Address unconfigured (**) items (? - help) 6 Store configuration 1) Status: Enabled 2) Create Admin User: yes 3) Admin user to create: admin@imanudin.net ** 4) Admin Password UNSET 5) Anti-virus quarantine user: virus-quarantine.a5rtucqhim@imanudin.net .... .... Select, or 'r' for previous menu [r] 4 Password for admin@imanudin.net (min 6 characters): [_47SUjFEQ] VeryS3cret
After inserting the password, Select, or ‘r’ for previous menu. If all has been configured, apply configuration and wait until Zimbra is finished installing.
*** CONFIGURATION COMPLETE - press 'a' to apply Select from menu, or press 'a' to apply config (? - help) a Save configuration data to a file? [Yes] Yes Save config in file: [/opt/zimbra/config.5731] Saving config in /opt/zimbra/config.5731...done. The system will be modified - continue? [No] Yes Operations logged to /tmp/zmsetup.20200501-161152.log
Type Yes if asked Notify Zimbra of your installation? then press the enter key when seeing Configuration complete – press return to exit,
Check Zimbra status and version with these commands
su - zimbra -c "zmcontrol status" su - zimbra -c "zmcontrol -v"
[root@mail zcs-9.0.0_GA_1.RHEL7_64.20200411070311]# su - zimbra -c "zmcontrol -v" Release 9.0.0_GA_1.RHEL7_64_20200411070311 RHEL7_64 FOSS edition, Patch 9.0.0_P1.
Below are some screenshots of webmail


Why not using a modern web app after login? as mention on Zimbra Wiki “A Zimbra Network Edition license is required to use the Modern Web App.”. So, you should buy Zimbra NE to get more Benefits 🙂
Congratulations, you had been finished install Zimbra 9 on CentOS 7. After install, you can improve anti-spam with some method below. This method is still relevant for Zimbra 9 🙂
- https://imanudin.net/2014/09/08/how-to-install-policyd-on-zimbra-8-5/
- https://imanudin.net/2014/09/09/zimbra-tips-how-to-configure-rate-limit-sending-message-on-policyd/
- https://imanudin.net/2014/09/11/improving-anti-spam-reject-unlisted-domain-on-zimbra-8-5/
- https://imanudin.net/2014/09/12/zimbra-tips-how-to-protect-policyd-webui/
- https://imanudin.net/2014/09/29/how-to-restrict-users-sending-to-certain-usersdomains-with-policyd/
- https://imanudin.net/2014/09/30/script-automatic-configure-cbpolicyd-on-zimbra-8-5/
- https://imanudin.net/2014/09/07/how-to-improvement-sender-must-loginenforcing-a-match-between-from-address-and-sasl-username-on-zimbra-8-5/
Good luck 🙂
Can this be used in a production environment? Are there going to be updates?
Hi Yusuf Abdullahi,
Yes. It can. But I recommend you to keep used Zimbra 8.8.15 until 2023. Because that version still has an update from Zimbra (if you are using FOSS version).
does CBPolicyd works for this version..?
Hello Nagendra,
Yes, it does
Hello sir,
I am currently using zimbra 8.8.x. I am planning to upgrade to the latest version. Will you make a tutorial for that sir? Besides, do you advise migrating the production VM to the latest release?
Thank you!
Hello Ganesh,
i will try to make the video. Yes, i recommend you to upgrade to the latest version. Because Zimbra only supporting 8.8.15 and 9 versions right now
hi, is zimbra 9 FOSS version support backup and restore feature?
Hi M Sajjad,
No. Backup and restore only available on Zimbra NE