set up mail server in linux?
 

ok i really dont know where else to ask this question, and this site has been such a help to me. I recently registered a domain name for my static IP address. i want to set up a mail.mysitesname.com or something like that. I am using PostNuke as my php server. I would like to be able to set the website up to send mail to new users to get their passwords after registration on the site. i dont know how to convert my linux server to handle e-mail. do i have to do this through the company i registered my domain with (www.registerfly.com)??

specs:
mandrake 10
apache 2
PostNuke 7.7

the webserver is fully operational

i know this might be a bit broad, but if somebody would just point me to a link or something to help me along ... I love to learn:study:. I would really appreciate it. any help whatsoever is appreciated. thanks.

you can setup a mail server using either sendmail, postfix or qmail OR other mail software like exim ... the list goes on.

You also require a MX (mail exchange entry) for your domain. this is a DNS record that points to your mailserver.

thanks for the help! i will look into those.

to make it easier you could go into your php.ini and set your smtp server as your isps... smtp.yourisp.com or whatever it may be, then you can send email through postnuke(and any php app) and not worry about setting up your own server

thanks luke... here is whats going on now... i set up postfix on the linux server, and my php already can send emails (like user verification). I did this without setting anything special in postnuke but I did install the php postfix plugin thing. what would be the advantage of setting up an SMTP server like the one you suggested smtp.mysite.com? and also, when you say your isp, does that mean my actual ISP or the domain name of my webserver/(mailerver)? because i have a DSL connection i have a static IP, so I have set up the sites on my DSL account. and if i did get a fully working SMTP, how would I make addresses and log in and out to check my mail?? could I do it through my PHP? i know i have a lot of questions here so here is the quick list:

advantage of stmp?
my real ISP or just my domain?
create email addresses?
all done within PHP?

ok,
smtp(simple mail transfer protocol) is basically just for sending email. the smtp part in the php.ini(generally find at /usr/local/lib/php.ini) tells the php mail(); function what server to use to send email. By default it is set to localhost(your machine) so if you didn't change anything then your smtp server must be working fine. If you used the smtp server given to you by your server it would just be easier then using your own smtp server, but either way you said you had it working. you will want to setup a MX entry in the name server you are using for your mail server. If you aren't using your own name server you might want to try this free one zoneedit.com. It is pretty simple to setup all your host info from there, you would just need to change the dns servers of your domain to point to theirs.
To setup email address' with postfix you could try using this program to make things easier for you; http://www.high5.net/postfixadmin/do...dmin-2.0.5.tgz
the requirements for this are:
- Postfix 2.0 or higher.
- Apache 1.3.27 or higher.
- PHP 4.1 or higher. (PHP 5.x or higher is not supported yet).
- MySQL 3.23.xx or higher. (MySQL 4.1.xx or higher is not supported yet).

I hope this helps
have fun

Luke H.

luke (or any other helpful person),

the postfix admin prog wont work for me as i have MySQL 4

ok i have a larger problem now.

i have postfix installed and running, although it says not to use localhost as my server. anyways, i have the php mailing people their registration passwords like it should until i installed Postnuke 7.5 gold. Now it has a mailer administration menu which should make it easier, but now I cant get mail working at all! I am setting up a mail domain name thing with mail.adamfalwell.com, but I dont know if that is my problem. the php.ini setting is localhost, is that my problem?? should i make this the smtp address that i set up as MX?

the administration menu for the php mailer has you pick a default mail transport from these:

PHP Mail() which is selected
Sendmail
SMTP
Qmail

it also asks for a sendmail path which is set at /usr/sbin/sendmail

STMP Server which is set to localhost <-- change??

enable smtp authentication check box (unchecked)
STMP user: (blank)
STMP password: (also blank)

it also allows you to test your mailer, which i do with no success.

my old postnuke sites runnin 7.3 i believe and it still successfully sends the no reply mails like passwords for registrations and reccomendations and stuff. but the new "7.5 Gold" postnuke site iset up with the fancy shmancy mailer administration module is dead as a door nail.

please help!!


***** EDIT *****

i tried testing my mail by sending it to a yahoo email account. it was recieved successfully. is it possible that my mailer might be viewed as spam by my other www.mail.com account?? how can this be fixed/? when i do get my MX address configured to my domain mail.mysites.com do i put that in where localhost is in php.ini? and also, i run multiple web sites each with their own MX address pointing to this machine... i am sure there are simple answers to this but i do not know them.

Basically, while having my own server handle a personal email account is nice and I would like to do it, I really just need my php server to send mail out such as registration information, contact us modules to my email (which thinks mail from my site is spam), and so forth. After it is properly set up and configured, I am sure I will be able to figure out how to create a webmail account and so forth. If you went through this lengthy post and want to help me I will be very appreciative.

ROUNDUP:
what address other than localhost for php.ini?
multiple web sites point to same mail server ok?
what to put in the php mailer configuration section?
how do i make sure that mail programs dont think i am sending SPAM?

bump...

>what address other than localhost for php.ini?

none really if it sends your mail leave it

>multiple web sites point to same mail server ok?
>what to put in the php mailer configuration section?


Outgoing doesn't really matter can be served by one smtp. Incoming you have to set your mailer up correctly. Ie vpopmail etc

> how do i make sure that mail programs dont think i am sending SPAM?

Don't send SPAM. :)

Sorry but that's it basically. Use no HTML send something real not processed. Don't use bulk in your header etc. If there would be a sure fire way all spammers would use it, so there isn't :p Trial and error.

You can use as the spammers spamassassin or so to assess your mails. :rolleyes: But if you are a spammer you will get the hammer! :mad:

i am not a spammer... but i want to be able to recieve emails from my own website is that too much to ask mr. sarcastic?

t'was a joke ;)

All I was trying to say is that there is no 100% way of making sure it is not detected as SPAM as it would obviously would defeat the very purpose of spam scanning as all spammers would use it instantly.

People you know and you yourself can whitelist you/yourself of course.
:)

http://impressive.net/people/gerald/...filtering.html

Note this only an example, your milage may differ.

There you said "mail programs", as in general mail programs;) .

You did not ask: "How can I make sure that mail I send to myself is not detected as spam?" :)

yeah don't worry i thought u were trying to make me out to be an idiot... it just is frustrating that my web email account wont accept mailings from my website, but it accepts them from other postnuke sites. I just dont want people to be like "why couldnt I get my password when i signed up?"

More Configuration
 

okay, I now have a fully functional outgoing mail server right out of my home mandrake linux server. PHP(mail) works like a charm. I edited my main.cf and other important files to reflect my domain. Now my question is, how do I recieve incoming mail? Is there a section where you can set username and passwords that are accessible from a POP3 email program or webmail? Can anyone let me know how to do this or point me in the right direction of a good tutorial? An earlier poster suggested a tool for postfix but I could not get it on my server because I am working with MySQL 4.

********EDIT********


after trying to figure this out on my own, I installed fetchmail, but it times out and or cannot find a mail server at the address I specified. I have a MX mail address pointing to my server but my server doesnt seem to want to accept emails. how do I get fetchmail to fetch my mail?? also, I couldnt get outlook or mozilla mail to connect to it as POP3. please help??

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