I deleted the mail server from my VPS and got 1.2 GB of RAM back

Описание и применение

Перенос почтового сервера с VPS на smtpfa.st сократил потребление памяти на 1,2 ГБ, улучшил видимость доставки и позволил реализовать рассылку новостей.

Задача

The VPS hosted a self‑managed mail server that consumed 1.14 GiB of RAM, provided no visibility into email delivery, and risked IP blocklisting when sending newsletters.

Результат

Migrating from a self‑hosted mail server to smtpfa.st reduced RAM usage by 1.2 GB, eliminated ClamAV updates, provided real‑time email delivery visibility, and enabled a newsletter system with proper opt‑in handling.

Рабочий процесс

• 1. Add smtpfa.st SMTP settings to Django
• 2. Add DNS records in Cloudflare and verify
• 3. Create TransactionalEmailBackend to set X‑SMTPfast‑Category and tracking headers
• 4. Sync user email preferences nightly to smtpfa.st contacts
• 5. Build email templates with React Email, upload as hosted templates
• 6. Create broadcasts via REST API, schedule per time zone
• 7. Handle webhooks for bounces, complaints, unsubscribes with HMAC verification
• 8. Clean old email list and set bounce suppression rule
• 9. Report issues to smtpfa.st and track fixes
• 10. Backup mailboxes, stop/delete containers, close ports, update SPF and MX
• 11. Verify RAM usage drop and monitor email delivery

Доказательства

docker stats showed the mailserver using 1.14 GiB

Источник

Used RAM went from 5,537 MB to 4,322 MB

Источник

smtpfa.st has an SMTP relay so for Django it's only settings

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