
This way, spam, and viruses are filtered before these emails are received on the mail server, thus reducing unnecessary email traffic. In this scenario, MailEssentials is usually hosted in the DMZ and relays inbound emails to the mail server.

Installing MailEssentials on a mail gateway/relay server is commonly used for larger organizations or those that wish to keep MailEssentials and Exchange (or any other mail server being used) separate for any reason, like patching, high availability, and so on. With Exchange 2013 and above, it can be installed on the Edge Transport role or Mailbox role servers. In Exchange 2010 environments, MailEssentials can be installed on the servers with the Edge Server Role, Hub Transport Role or Hub Transport and Mailbox Roles. However, it can be installed on its own servers or it can be installed directly in the same servers as Exchange.

Ideally, it should be installed and configured in a way that makes it the email gateway for the organization, both for inbound and outbound emails. GFI MailEssentials can be deployed in a variety of ways. Microsoft SQL Server/Express is suggested for the reporting engine database for installs with more than 100 mailboxes.ASP.NET & Windows Authentication role services when installing on Windows Server 2008 R2 onwards.Microsoft Messaging Queuing Service (MSMQ).Microsoft IIS SMTP service or Microsoft Exchange Server 2010/2013/2016/2019.Any version of Microsoft Windows Server (64-bit) from 2008 R2 onwards.Disk space: 10GB dedicated to MailEssentials.Memory (RAM): 2GB dedicated to MailEssentials.In terms of hardware, the requirements depend on a range of factors, such as email volume and the number of antivirus engines enabled, but as a minimum: It shouldn’t come as a surprise that MailEssentials can be installed in a VMware or Hyper-V virtual environment, which is exactly what I did for this review. However, being such a powerful and complete product means that I can only cover its main features briefly in this review. And here we are! In this product review, I take an in-depth look at GFI MailEssentials v21.5 (build 20190321).


Having reviewed its GFI Archiver in the past and been pleasantly surprised by it, I was eager to have a look at MailEssentials. One of these solutions is GFI MailEssentials, which provides anti-spam and email security for on-premises mail servers. It offers a wide range of IT solutions, including network performance, patch management, auditing, security scanning, and more. GFI Software is an American developer of IT software founded in 1992.
