Zimbra Virtual Appliance

Zimbra Virtual Appliance is your go-to solution if you're looking for a straightforward way to check out Zimbra without the hassle of configuration. It comes with a complete installation of Zimbra, which is a popular alternative to Exchange. This setup follows Zimbra’s official guide and runs on an Ubuntu 8.04 Server. The only extras included are Joe, a simple text editor, and VMware Tools.

Why Not Use It in Production?

Just a heads-up: we really don’t recommend using this appliance in production environments. It’s designed as an easy-to-use option for users and admins who want to explore Zimbra without getting bogged down in technical setups.

Compatibility with VMware

This virtual appliance was created with VMware Server 2 but should work just fine on most recent VMware applications like VMware Fusion, Player, and Workstation.

Features of Zimbra

Zimbra is open-source server software that covers email and collaboration needs—think email, group calendars, contacts, instant messaging, file storage, and web document management. Plus, you can use it on various platforms like Linux and Mac OS X. Zimbra even syncs with smartphones like iPhones and BlackBerrys along with desktop clients such as Outlook and Thunderbird! It also offers archiving features to help with compliance.

Network Settings

This appliance comes pre-configured with some static network settings:

• IP Address: 10.0.0.23


• Subnet: 255.255.255.0


• DNS: 10.0.0.10


• Gateway: 10.0.0.1

Accessing Webmail and Admin Console

If you want to log into the webmail interface, just type this into your browser: http://10.0.0.23/. For the administration console, use: https://10.0.0.23:7071/.

User Accounts Created for You

The appliance has two user accounts set up—a regular user account and an admin account:

• Administrator User:


• Email: admin@mail.example.com
  Password: zpassword


• Regular User:


• Email: zuser@mail.example.com
  Password: zpassword

The system also has one system user named ‘zadmin’ without any password set up—so remember to use ‘sudo’ when you need higher permissions!

Tweaking Network Settings?

If you need to update your network settings, be aware that it involves changing several files:

lists:‌ /etc/network/interfaces (for netmask or gateway changes)

lists:‌ /etc/bind/named.conf.options (update DNS server address)

lists:‌ /etc/hosts (update IP address)

lists:‌ /etc/resolv.conf (edit nameserver details)