Zimbra Administration

Comprehensive guide for Zimbra server administration covering user management, domain configuration, server settings, and common administrative tasks.

Core Concepts

Zimbra Architecture

Zimbra Collaboration Suite consists of several components:

•mailboxd - Java application server handling mail storage, IMAP, POP, CalDAV
•MTA - Postfix mail transfer agent for SMTP
•LDAP - OpenLDAP directory for configuration and authentication
•proxy - nginx reverse proxy for HTTP/HTTPS/IMAP/POP
•memcached - Session caching
•convertd - Document conversion service

Command-Line Tools

Primary administration tools (run as zimbra user):

Tool	Purpose
`zmprov`	Provisioning - users, domains, COS, server config
`zmcontrol`	Service management - start, stop, status
`zmmailbox`	Mailbox operations - folders, messages, search
`zmcertmgr`	Certificate management
`zmlocalconfig`	Local server configuration
`zmsoap`	SOAP API command-line interface

User Management

Create User Account

bash

# Basic account creation
zmprov ca user@domain.com password

# With display name
zmprov ca user@domain.com password displayName "John Doe"

# With COS assignment
zmprov ca user@domain.com password zimbraCOSid <cos-id>

# With multiple attributes
zmprov ca user@domain.com password \
  displayName "John Doe" \
  givenName "John" \
  sn "Doe" \
  zimbraMailQuota 1073741824

Modify User Attributes

bash

# Set single attribute
zmprov ma user@domain.com zimbraMailQuota 2147483648

# Set multiple attributes
zmprov ma user@domain.com \
  zimbraMailQuota 2147483648 \
  zimbraFeatureCalendarEnabled TRUE

# Add to multi-value attribute
zmprov ma user@domain.com +zimbraMailAlias alias@domain.com

# Remove from multi-value attribute
zmprov ma user@domain.com -zimbraMailAlias alias@domain.com

Query User Information

bash

# Get all attributes
zmprov ga user@domain.com

# Get specific attribute
zmprov ga user@domain.com zimbraMailQuota

# Search accounts
zmprov -l sa "(&(objectClass=zimbraAccount)(zimbraAccountStatus=active))"

# List all accounts in domain
zmprov -l gaa domain.com

Account Status Management

bash

# Lock account
zmprov ma user@domain.com zimbraAccountStatus locked

# Close account (no login, mail bounced)
zmprov ma user@domain.com zimbraAccountStatus closed

# Maintenance mode
zmprov ma user@domain.com zimbraAccountStatus maintenance

# Reactivate
zmprov ma user@domain.com zimbraAccountStatus active

# Delete account
zmprov da user@domain.com

Domain Management

Create Domain

bash

# Basic domain
zmprov cd domain.com

# With settings
zmprov cd domain.com \
  zimbraPublicServiceHostname mail.domain.com \
  zimbraPublicServiceProtocol https \
  zimbraPublicServicePort 443

Domain Settings

bash

# Get domain info
zmprov gd domain.com

# Modify domain
zmprov md domain.com zimbraMailDomainQuota 10737418240

# Set default COS for domain
zmprov md domain.com zimbraDomainDefaultCOSId <cos-id>

# Delete domain
zmprov dd domain.com

Class of Service (COS)

COS defines feature sets and quotas for groups of users.

bash

# List all COS
zmprov gac

# Create COS
zmprov cc "Standard Users" zimbraMailQuota 1073741824

# Get COS details
zmprov gc "Standard Users"

# Modify COS
zmprov mc "Standard Users" zimbraFeatureMailEnabled TRUE

# Assign COS to user
zmprov ma user@domain.com zimbraCOSid <cos-id>

# Delete COS
zmprov dc "Standard Users"

Server Management

Service Control

bash

# Check all services
zmcontrol status

# Start all services
zmcontrol start

# Stop all services
zmcontrol stop

# Restart specific service
zmcontrol restart mta
zmcontrol restart mailbox
zmcontrol restart ldap
zmcontrol restart proxy

# Full restart
zmcontrol restart

Server Configuration

bash

# Get server config
zmprov gs mail.domain.com

# Get specific setting
zmprov gs mail.domain.com zimbraSmtpHostname

# Modify server
zmprov ms mail.domain.com zimbraSmtpHostname localhost

# List all servers
zmprov gas

# Get global config
zmprov gacf

# Modify global config
zmprov mcf zimbraMailPurgeSleepInterval 1m

Common LDAP Attributes

Account Attributes

Attribute	Description
`zimbraAccountStatus`	active, locked, closed, maintenance
`zimbraMailQuota`	Quota in bytes (0 = unlimited)
`zimbraMailAlias`	Email aliases (multi-value)
`zimbraMailForwardingAddress`	Forward destination
`zimbraFeatureCalendarEnabled`	Calendar access
`zimbraFeatureContactsEnabled`	Contacts access
`zimbraCOSid`	Assigned Class of Service

Domain Attributes

Attribute	Description
`zimbraDomainStatus`	active, locked, closed, maintenance
`zimbraDomainDefaultCOSId`	Default COS for new accounts
`zimbraMailDomainQuota`	Domain aggregate quota
`zimbraPublicServiceHostname`	Public hostname
`zimbraVirtualHostname`	Virtual host mapping

Troubleshooting

Check Service Health

bash

# Service status
zmcontrol status

# Check mailbox
zmmailboxdctl status

# Check MTA
zmmtactl status

# View logs
tail -f /opt/zimbra/log/mailbox.log
tail -f /opt/zimbra/log/zimbra.log

LDAP Issues

bash

# Test LDAP connection
ldapsearch -x -H ldap://localhost:389 -D "uid=zimbra,cn=admins,cn=zimbra" \
  -w $(zmlocalconfig -s -m nokey zimbra_ldap_password) -b "" -s base

# Check LDAP replication (multi-server)
/opt/zimbra/libexec/zmreplchk

Verify Configuration

bash

# Describe attribute (verify it exists)
zmprov desc -a server | grep -i attributeName

# Dump all server attributes
zmprov gs $(hostname) > /tmp/server-config.txt

Version Differences

Zimbra 8.x vs 9.x/10.x

•8.x: Classic Web Client, traditional admin console
•9.x: Introduces Modern Web Client, GraphQL API
•10.x: Enhanced Modern Web Client, deprecated Classic for new deployments

Command Compatibility

Most zmprov commands work across versions. Version-specific commands:

bash

# Check Zimbra version
zmcontrol -v

# Zimbra 10.x specific
zmprov ms mail.domain.com zimbraModernWebClientEnabled TRUE

Additional Resources

Reference Files

For detailed attribute listings and advanced configurations:

•references/zmprov-commands.md - Complete zmprov command reference
•references/ldap-attributes.md - Full LDAP attribute documentation

Example Files

Working scripts in examples/:

•examples/bulk-create-users.sh - Bulk user provisioning from CSV
•examples/export-accounts.sh - Export all accounts with attributes