Story Author: Indiana University Knowledge Base
Publish Date: May 2005
Source Publication:
http://kb.iu.edu
What is Cyrus Mail?
Cyrus mail is the name for IU's new email system, which replaces the current Shakespeare and Jewel systems. Access through IU Webmail will be the same on the new system as on the old; if you use a desktop client to access your IMAP mail, you will need to change one setting. Users are currently being moved to the new system.
About the new system
On the Shakespeare and Jewel systems, there are six front-end machines (Iago, Kate, Lear, Ariel, Jade, and Pearl), each associated with an IMAP server that stores mail. Users have accounts on one of the paired systems (e.g., a Iago account that accesses mail on the IMAP server imap1.indiana.edu). The IMAP servers are being replaced with new hardware and a different architecture which includes a SAN (Storage Area Network), rather than direct attached storage (disks). The mail stores will no longer be directly mapped to specific servers. Instead, the whole IMAP environment will be accessible through a single hostname, imap.iu.edu. Cyrus mail will offer greatly improved reliability over the old systems. The default quota on the new system is 100MB.
The Cyrus mail system will not include a central Pine client like the one available via telnet or SSH to the Shakespeare or Jewel systems. You will be able to access your Cyrus mail via IU Webmail or a desktop client.
The software running on this new IMAP environment is open-source software from Carnegie Mellon called Cyrus. IU has been using Cyrus IMAP software for several years, including the current IMAP environment. For more information, visit the Cyrus Project home page at
About the move to the new system
Since April 1st, UITS has been moving mailboxes from the old hardware to the new. When UITS begins moving your mail to the new system, you will receive a "Welcome to Cyrus mail" message that will contain important information about the new mail system. While your mailbox is being moved (which should take less than an hour), it will be read-only, and you will not be able to move or delete messages or mark messages as read.
If you use Webmail, you should be able to continue to access your mail as usual after your mailbox is moved. If you use desktop mail software, you will need to change one setting in your software after your mailbox has been moved. The welcome message will contain a link to instructions for changing your software.
Your mail will automatically be moved to the new hardware; however, if you have saved or exported attachments to a file on the Shakespeare or Jewel servers, you will need to move any files that you want to keep by May 31.
If you use a desktop client like Outlook for your department e-mail account you will need to make this change. For help, contact the help desk at Ext. 4357. For more information about the Cyrus migration, log onto the Knowledge Base: http://kb.iu.edu