Email server on moneta

Feasibility study for self-hosting SMTP/IMAP on the lab box (moneta, Dell PowerEdge R720xd) behind Verizon FiOS at 96.241.219.199. Probed 2026-09-12. Scope: personal / small household & @gliffy.tv — not a commercial ESP.

YesCompute & storage fit

HybridBest practical path

NoFull public MX alone

~2–8 GBRAM for a mail stack

Verdict

Hardware can run a mail stack easily. Deliverability and ISP posture cannot. Running a full internet-facing MTA (inbound MX + direct outbound port 25) on this residential FiOS IP is a poor idea: the PTR is a Verizon pool name, there is no custom reverse DNS, and residential ranges are treated as spam-prone by major receivers. Prefer a hybrid: keep mailbox storage (IMAP) and webmail on moneta if you want, and send/receive through a relay or hosted MX (SES, Mailgun, Migadu, Fastmail, a $5 VPS, or Cloudflare Email Routing inbound).

1. Hardware snapshot (moneta)

Resource	Measured	Mail relevance
Chassis	Dell PowerEdge R720xd · Ubuntu 22.04	Server-class, fine for always-on mail
CPU	2× Xeon E5-2670 v2 · 40 threads @ 2.5 GHz	Overkill; mail is I/O + idle RAM, not CPU
RAM	126 GiB total · ~71 GiB available	Mailcow-class stack wants ~6–10 GiB; easy
Disk	Root 914 G (83% used) · `/data` 44 T (59%)	Put maildirs on `/data`; avoid filling root
Swap	8 GiB · fully used	Host is memory-pressure prone; don’t starve mail of RAM limits
Workload today	~78 Docker containers · load ~3–5	Busy homelab; mail is light if capped
Existing mail	None (no Postfix/Dovecot/Mailcow/Stalwart)	Greenfield; no migration conflict

2. Network & DNS reality

This is where feasibility flips from “easy Docker compose” to “will Gmail accept your mail?”

Check	Result (2026-09-12)	Implication
Outbound TCP/25	Succeeds to Gmail / Google MX / other MXes	FiOS is not currently blocking outbound 25 on this line
Outbound TCP/587	Succeeds (submission)	Relay / smart-host path always available
Inbound TCP/25	Nothing listening; public `:25` refused	Need MTA + router forward; ISP inbound block still possible
PTR / rDNS	`pool-96-241-219-199.washdc.fios.verizon.net.`	Screams residential. No `mail.gliffy.tv` PTR
`gliffy.tv` MX / SPF / DMARC	Empty (no MX, no TXT, no DMARC)	Domain not mail-ready yet — easy to fix in Route 53
Public IP	`96.241.219.199` (FiOS washdc pool)	Shared reputation class with consumer CPE
DNS for zone	AWS Route 53 nameservers	You control MX/SPF/DKIM/DMARC once you choose a design

PTR is the hard stop for “direct send”

Even with outbound 25 open, major receivers score *.fios.verizon.net reverse DNS poorly. Verizon residential almost never lets you set a matching PTR for a custom hostname. Without aligned PTR + A + HELO, expect spam folders, soft rejects, or hard blocks at Outlook/Gmail after volume or first complaints. Port 25 open ≠ deliverable.

3. What “running an email server” actually means

Role	Needs	On moneta alone?
IMAP / storage	Disk + TLS + auth	Yes — best use of this box
Webmail (Roundcube / SnappyMail)	HTTP reverse proxy via Caddy	Yes
Submission (clients → you on 587)	Auth + TLS; then relay outbound	Yes (LAN / VPN preferred)
Inbound MX (world → you on 25)	Stable IP, open inbound 25, clean lists	Risky on FiOS residential
Outbound MTA (you → world on 25)	PTR, SPF, DKIM, warm IP, not PBL	Poor on this PTR
Outbound via smart host	SES / Mailgun / Migadu SMTP	Yes — recommended

4. Stack options if you proceed

Stack	Footprint	Fit on moneta	Notes
Stalwart Mail Server	~0.5–2 GB RAM	Excellent	Modern all-in-one; JMAP/IMAP/SMTP; good Docker story
docker-mailserver	~1–3 GB	Excellent	Postfix+Dovecot; well documented; easy relay
Mailcow	~6–10 GB + many containers	OK if capped	Heavier; nicer UI; compete with existing 78 containers
Maddy / Haraka + Dovecot	Small	Excellent	More DIY; fine for a nerd lab
Hosted MX only (Migadu / Fastmail / Cloudflare Routing)	Zero on moneta	N/A	Least ops; skip self-host entirely for @gliffy.tv

5. Recommended architectures

A — Don’t self-host MX (simplest)

Point gliffy.tv MX at Migadu / Fastmail / Google Workspace. Use moneta only for apps that send via that provider’s SMTP on 587. Feasibility: high. Ops: low.

B — Hybrid (best if you want “my server”)

Inbound: Cloudflare Email Routing or a cheap VPS MX → forward/LMTP to moneta, or store on provider and IMAP sync.
On moneta: Stalwart or docker-mailserver for mailboxes on /data/mail.
Outbound: smart host (Amazon SES / Mailgun / Postmark) with DKIM in Route 53.
Caddy: mail.gliffy.tv for webmail; keep 25/587 off the public internet if you can (WireGuard).

Feasibility: high. Deliverability: good.

C — Full MX on moneta (not recommended)

Open inbound 25/465/587/993 on the FiOS gateway to moneta.
Set MX → mail.gliffy.tv A → 96.241.219.199.
SPF/DKIM/DMARC in Route 53; hope PTR issues don’t kill you.

Feasibility: technically runnable. Success as primary email: low. Expect spam classification, intermittent rejects, and pain when the residential IP reputation wobbles. Only sensible as a lab experiment, not for mail you care about.

D — VPS edge + moneta storage

$5–10/mo VPS with proper PTR hosts Postfix (MX + outbound). Moneta holds Dovecot maildirs over WireGuard, or syncs via IMAP. Best of both: clean IP reputation + fat local disk.

Feasibility: high. Cost: small. Ops: medium.

6. Resource budget if you install here

Item	Suggestion
Compose project	`/dock/mail` (match other stacks)
Maildir / DB volume	`/data/mail` (not root LV — root is 83% full)
RAM limit	Hard-cap 4–8 GiB; host swap is already exhausted
DNS (Route 53)	MX, SPF, DKIM TXT, DMARC (`p=none` first), optional MTA-STS
Caddy	`mail.gliffy.tv` → webmail only; don’t publish raw SMTP on 443
Backups	Daily maildir + DB snapshot to `/data2` or offsite
Auth	Prefer SSO later via Authentik; start with strong app passwords

7. Scorecard

Question	Answer
Can the hardware run Postfix/Dovecot/Stalwart?	Yes — CPU/RAM/disk are ample
Can apps on the LAN send via a local submission port?	Yes
Can you relay outbound through SES/Mailgun today?	Yes (587 works)
Should `@gliffy.tv` primary MX live only on this FiOS IP?	No — PTR / residential reputation
Should you send bulk or important mail direct from this IP?	No
Is a lab / hobby mail experiment fine?	Yes — treat as throwaway addresses

Bottom line

Feasible as storage + submission + relay client. Not feasible as a clean, standalone internet mail endpoint on this Verizon FiOS residential path without accepting deliverability pain. If you want self-hosted mail that actually works for humans, choose architecture B or D. If you just need @gliffy.tv inboxes, architecture A wins on time.

Probe notes: hostname moneta · WAN 96.241.219.199 · PTR pool-96-241-219-199.washdc.fios.verizon.net. · outbound 25/587 open · no local listeners on 25/465/587/993 · ~78 containers · swap full · Route 53 for gliffy.tv · no MX/SPF/DMARC yet.