The Complete FOSS Private Digital Workplace Email and Collaboration Platform

Introducing Carbonio Community Edition

Carbonio Community Edition (Carbonio CE) is a free and open-source (FOSS) email and collaboration platform designed by Zextras.

It serves as a complete email solution, allowing organizations to maintain digital sovereignty through on-premises self-hosted servers, ensuring privacy and control over their communications.

As we arrive at the end of 2023, Carbonio Community Edition (Carbonio CE) has evolved through an iterative process driven by community feedback, continuously integrating new features and updates.

These enhancements have fortified its capabilities, making it poised and fully equipped for deployment as an excellent choice for your digital transformation.

Download Carbonio CE

Product Evolution

The journey of Carbonio Community Edition (Carbonio CE) over the past two years has been marked by a series of significant milestones, continual improvements, and strategic updates, all propelled by invaluable input and feedback from our vibrant community.

These gradual improvements have moved Carbonio CE towards its current state of completion fulfilling its original vision, i.e. providing users with a standalone, private platform for the digital workplace, free from third-party integrations.

Chats and Video Chats: Final Pieces of the Puzzle

With the recent addition of text messaging and video chats, Carbonio CE has now achieved a comprehensive set of functionalities, aligning precisely with the original vision of the software, making it a complete digital workplace solution.

These integrations represent the final pieces of the puzzle, enriching the platform's communication capabilities and solidifying its status as a complete and self-contained environment for organizations seeking privacy.

The Chats significantly enhances user value by centralizing communication tools within the platform.

This integration streamlines workflows, enabling users to effortlessly connect, collaborate, and hold discussions without needing to switch between multiple applications or compromise on security.

Carbonio CE Features

Don’t just get an email system anymore.

Built on top of Carbonio Mesh Technology, Carbonio CE is the ONLY email and collaboration platform that offers robust capabilities making it ideal for modern-day organizations and system admins alike.

Carbonio
Download Carbonio CE

Carbonio CE Features

Don’t just get an email system anymore.

Built on top of Carbonio Mesh Technology, Carbonio CE is the ONLY email and collaboration platform that offers robust capabilities making it ideal for modern-day organizations and system admins alike.

Carbonio
Download Carbonio CE

Looking for a Zimbra OSE alternative?

As of 2023, Zimbra OSE reached End-of-Life (EOL). With its ceasing support, current users are faced with the challenge of finding a suitable alternative - and that's exactly where Carbonio CE shines.

Carbonio CE, a light weight yet modern looking workstream collaboration system which offers robust community support and regular updates.

What sets Carbonio CE apart is its ability to capitalize on the familiarity that users have with their interface. It facilitates an easy transition for all, resulting in no need for extensive or exhausting training for administrators.

Here's what makes Carbonio CE the best alternative to Zimbra OSE

Consider these key points to understand why Carbonio CE stands out as the most compelling alternative to your current solution:

  • Structural Consistency:
    Having been developed using renowned open source components, Carbonio CE represents the perfect example of a modern FOSS based workstream collaboration, while crafting seamless learning curve for system administrators.
  • Command Line Interface (CLI):
    As the system's backbone, CLI allows administrators to perform tasks swiftly. Carbonio CE offers a comprehensive set of CLI commands enabling admins to efficiently configure and manage their servers.
  • Effortless Migration:
    One of the most significant advantages of transitioning from your current solution to Carbonio CE is the ease of migration. With detailed guides provided by Zextras, migration is a breeze. The intuitive nature of Carbonio CE ensures a streamlined transition process. This reduces not just time and effort but also significantly minimizes any risk involved in transitioning to a new system.
  • Patches and Updates:
    Carbonio CE keeps your system updated with regular patches and version updates. The dedicated forum community is always ready to assist with your queries and concerns.
  • User-friendly Admin Interface:
    Carbonio CE introduces an intuitive, modern graphical administrative console, the Admin Panel. Tailored to simplify repetitive administrative tasks, it significantly enhances the daily workflow, making life easier for system administrators.
  • Revamped Architecture:
    Carbonio CE introduces an enhanced architecture, integrating contemporary improvements surpassing the framework of common email platforms. This updated structure ensures heightened security measures and superior functionality for seamless email management.

Carbonio CE is carving an apex in email and domain management. It leverages the advantages of common email platforms, providing a modern and sleek email management solution.

Its architecture, updates, community support, and user experience all come together to deliver a robust, reliable, and familiar tool for administrators shifting away from Zimbra OSE.

With the end of support for Zimbra OSE, Carbonio CE provides a compelling alternative for you.

Download Carbonio CE

Installation Requirements

Hardware Requirements

The following table illustrates the requirements for each node within a Carbonio CE installation, which can vary based on the infrastructure's size, encompassing the services operational on each node and the quantity and capacity of individual mailboxes.

For instance, if a 10GB quota is planned for each of the 20 users, this table indicates an approximate total disk space requirement of 250GB to accommodate the specified quotas.

CPU: Intel/AMD 64-bit 4 cores min./8+ cores vCPU

RAM: 16 GB min., 32+ GB recommended

Disk space (operating system and Carbonio CE): 50 GB

Software Requirements

Carbonio CE is optimized for 64-bit CPUs and is compatible with Ubuntu 20.04 & Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Server Edition or RHEL 8 installations, ensuring seamless integration for node deployment.

Virtualization Platforms

VMware vSphere 6.x - VMware vSphere 7.x

XenServer - KVM

Virtualbox & VMware Workstation are intended solely for testing purposes.


Availability & Access

You can access all official repositories and supported platforms such as Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.

The documentation website also provides comprehensive installation guides, ensuring smooth deployment for both new and experienced admins.


Effortless Migration

We have also provided migration guides from Zimbra, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365, enabling a smooth transition for users from these platforms to Carbonio CE.

These guides offer step-by-step instructions to facilitate hassle-free migrations, ensuring continuity and ease of use.

Support & Community

We invite our users to engage in community forums or discussion boards where they can seek advice, collaborate, and share insights with fellow users and experts.

Our dedicated technical and development team remains actively engaged, committed to personally assisting every user, addressing their queries, and ensuring a supportive environment for seamless utilization of the platform.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We've got A's for your Q's

What are the supported OS for Carbonio CE?

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (64 Bit)

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (64 Bit)
RHEL8 (64 Bit)


Zextras is planning to add RHEL9 by the end of Q2 of 2024

What deployment environment is recommended for Carbonio CE?

Bare metal or Type -1 hypervisor is strongly recommended to deploy a dedicated email solution like Carbonio CE.

Any hard disk or partition related recommendations?

Use separate partition for operating system (/) and Carbonio CE system (/opt). If possible, use hardware raid
to prevent data loss from hard disk failure.

What if I do not upgrade my Carbonio CE version with each release?

Only the three previous consecutive versions are supported for upgrade. So if you missed any one or two release upgrade then you should upgrade yuor system asap to avoid system failure and security threat. But if you install from an older version, you may need to execute further tasks to ensure proper functioning of Carbonio CE which can be tricky, complex and extremely challenging.

How can I get help if I face any issue during installation, upgradation or administration of Carbonio CE?

You can post any of your queries in the Zextras Forum to get fastest and verified solution from experts inside as well as outside of the organization.

How can I get to download Carbonio CE and all future updates?

Fill out this form (Open Source E-mail and Collaboration | Carbonio CE | Zextras) and you will get all the instructions to download and install Carbonio CE. And from then you will be able to receive all future updates, release notes of Carbonio CE.

What should I keep in mind if I am installing it for the first time?

Keep note of PostgreSQL DB password while setting it as you will need it during every future upgradation or even troubleshooting process.


Keep note of Consul cluster password, as it is also going to be needed during all future upgradation or troubleshooting process.

How can I learn more about Carbonio CE from both technical and conceptual perspective?

You will find all relevant information regarding Carbonio CE in the official documentation page: Welcome to Carbonio CE Documentation! — Zextras Carbonio CE Documentation.

You can also find many supplementary, use case, technical and business article and blogs here: Blog - Zextras Community

Can I trust Carbonio CE and Zextras with support?

Absolutely! Carbonio CE being open-source, is driven and supported by our ever-growing community with 10K+ members. Our technical team is also available to help you out once you share your concern in our forum.

With a global presence and a long-term reputation to deliver world-class solutions, you can entrust Zextras as your guardian of corporate communication and digital sovereignty.

Does Carbonio CE supports 3rd party email client APP/Software?

Carbonio CE has dedicated mobile APP for both android and IOS. It also supports renowned 3rd party email client app/software like; Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird.

How can I migrate to Carbonio CE?

You can follow these migration articles to migrate from your existing platform to Carbonio CE.
Migration - Zextras Community

Does Carbonio CE comply with digital sovereignty and GDPR?

Yes. Carbonio CE is fully compliant with digital sovereignty and GDPR.

Future Roadmap

Moving forward, the trend of evolution and refinement in Carbonio CE will persist, driven by continuous community feedback, ensuring ongoing enhancements.

Regular updates will remain integral, not just for the platform's growth but also to fortify security measures even more.

This commitment to evolution aligns with our vision of making Carbonio CE the foremost open-source digital workplace solution.

In line with Zextras' mission, we aim to empower organizations with a robust, user-driven platform that evolves in tandem with the community's needs, ensuring it remains the pinnacle of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) digital workplace solutions.

Download Carbonio CE!