I was given the task to migrate our qmail server from a server running ubuntu 8.04 to a new server which will have CentOS 6.2 final installed on it. I am new to qmail and am just reading about trying to learn as much and as fast as I can. My question to any of you guys out there is the following:

What would be the best approach to go about doing this?

Thanks for your help.

What I would suggest is:

1. Install qmail in a test environment in order to become more familiar with it (qmail itself)
2. Research and understand the current qmail installation (on Ubuntu)
3. Based on the current qmail installation, migration options may present themselves; plan and deploy

It's been a couple years since I deployed or supported qmail. But I can point you to this excellent (free) online book:
http://www.lifewithqmail.org/lwq.html

Following the installation steps there (on a test host) really will get you up to speed more quickly. Your post-install configuration, likewise.

With the information you learn from that process, research qmail on the Ubuntu host.

• Where is the qmail installation? What users does it require?
• Is it using any scripts/cronjobs outside of the installation path?
• Where are the mailboxes?

Depending on the answers, it may be as simple as tar-ing up a few directories and scripts, and deploying to the new server. Or, it may be as complicated as installing qmail on the new server, and carefully migrating configuration settings, users, and ancillary programs piecemeal.

The best approach will be to create secondary mail server with qmail and centos 6.2 and then replace the older mail server once you are sure qmail in centos 6.2 is working as it should.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I really appreciate the great work you do.