sendmail or postfix with squirrel mail

illtbagu · 06-14-2003, 07:46 PM

sendmail or postfix im trying to decide on which one to use? i am basically dropping my isp mail service and going to run my own mail server from home. im doing this just because im trying to learn something new and what better way to learn than hands on. which one should i go with? is there anyone with some strong opinions on the subject? i have both sendmail and postfix installed i just need to make a choice. i kinda like the idea of postfix myself it sounds alot easier to configure thats always a A+ for me in the linux world.

one thing i don't like about sendmail is there website, i think postfix has them beat on that one

http://www.mailsoftware.cjb.net/
this link was given to me in a previous post here when i asked a similar question in the past.

i don't like the fact that either one of these are developing under the GPL licensing but at least postfix is freeware. i guess im just a GPL kinda person. if I'm not mistaken though send mail refers to itself as royalty free software.

i have my own site up and running on Apache so squirrel mail should be easy i thought. i installed a rpm file and went to squirrel mail website and started reading through the "how to". it seems that the rpm doesn't install squirrel mail in the directories that the squirrel mail website said to install it into. thats worrying me some. has anyone had any luck with the rpm files.

i have php.rpm file installed just like I'm suppose to and tried a basic test of it from a link i found at LQ but it doesn't seem to work. i just get a blank white screen no "hello world"
<html>
<head>
<title>PHP Test</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php echo "<p>Hello World</p>"; ?>
</body>
</html>

mcleodnine · 06-17-2003, 02:22 AM

Re: php problems - check the php documentation regarding the Apache httpd.conf directives; specifically the AddType php stuff.

Also check that your apache is setup with php support either built-in or as a loadable module. 'httpd -l' for starters.

Postfix is (IMO) easier to manage than sendmail, but that's merely a reflection of my (in)experience.

You may also want to make sure that your terms of service and acceptable use policy allows you to use http/mail servers with your connection and that you have properly configured DNS + MX records.

illtbagu · 06-17-2003, 08:17 PM

thats what i have been hearing. i talked to a guy i know who administers some unix servers for a living and has been using unix and unix like systems for along time. his opinion is that postfix is not only easier to configure but was more secure right off the bat without needing to make allot of config changes like you would need to do with sendmail.

thanks for your opinion on the matter looks like sendmail it is

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MasterC · 06-17-2003, 08:39 PM

Do you mean Postfix?

Might I suggest also taking a peek at Qmail.

Cool

illtbagu · 06-17-2003, 11:44 PM

ahaaa i see MasterC so your a sendmail kinda guy is that what your trying to say

or your a Qmail kinda guy im hoping

now im really confused on my choices because masterc you are one of the sharper linux people in LQ got nothing but respect

. so off to http://www.lifewithqmail.org/ i go

dooodaaaadoooodaaaa

yeah i have looked at Qmail but i wanted to use squirrel mail for some compulsive reason its a interesting package (very neat and efficient) and i wanted to make a kinda comparison to exchange server's OWA i just got up and running at work. squirrelmail's website said it only supported sendmail and postfix.

does anyone know if i can use spamassassin and squirrelmail with Qmail?

peace out MasterC "may the penguin be with you"
thanks

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mcleodnine · 06-17-2003, 11:49 PM

squirrelmail only needs a properly configured IMAP server to read mail and pretty much any MTA for outgoing mail. In the case of qmail you just need one that plays nice with maildir or configure qmail to use the same /var/spool/mail as postfix/sendmail.

Dunno about spamassasin + qmail, but doesn't it just use procmail?

illtbagu · 06-18-2003, 12:11 AM

> Dunno about spamassasin + qmail, but doesn't it just use procmail?

i got allot more reading to do

thanks mcleodnine

this was taken from synaptic package description for spamassasin

SpamAssassin provides you with a way to reduce if not completely eliminate Unsolicited Commercial Email (SPAM) from your incoming email. It can be invoked by a MDA such as sendmail or postfix, or can be called from a procmail script, .forward file, etc. It uses a genetic-algorithm evolved scoring system to identify messages which look spammy, then adds headers to the message so they can be filtered by the user's mail reading software. This distribution includes the spamd/spamc components which create a server that considerably speeds processing of mail. To enable spamassassin, if you are receiving mail locally, simply add this line to your ~/.procmailrc: INCLUDERC=/etc/mail/spamassassin/spamassassin-default.rc To filter spam for all users, add that line to /etc/procmailrc (creating if necessary).

MasterC · 06-18-2003, 02:21 AM

Thanks illtbagu

I'm far from one of the sharper LQ'ers on mailer programs, but I've given a few a run for their money. Currently am giving Qmail a go on my server and it seems to truly be a fine written program. It does take a bit more of a learning curve than does, say Postfix, which works out of the box, but seems to have a lower overhead (needs less resources to run, and is claimed to be more secure).

For first time mail users it's a toss up between Postfix and Qmail IMHO. I'd say steer clear of Sendmail due to it's complexity. Nothing against the app, excellent, just seems much more geared towards larger corporations. For a personal/home user or small business Postfix works great, as does Qmail. I used Postfix for a long time (still do actually for incoming mail until I can get a few things squared away to work on Qmail a bit more) and it has been great. Easy to understand documentation, easy to follow instructions, clear and easy to interpret error messages, yet works like a commercial product.

If you have absolutely no mail server experience, you can pick either one and be fine Qmail or Postfix. But if you've worked with Sendmail before, I'd have to suggest going with Postfix as it will be more familiar and easier to setup.

LifeWithQmail is one of the best documentations around IMHO. Very descriptive, walks the new user through EVERYTHING, holding your hand, describing things very well and in a human readable format (in other words, you don't have to be Linus to understand them

). And just like MC9 said:
Postfix, Sendmail and Qmail all should work fine with SpamAssassin and/or Squirrelmail. In your description above it basically tells you it uses procmail (or Sendmail/Postfix or Qmail) so you don't have to worry about which mail server (MDA) you are using. And again, as MC9 said (he's a real guru you see

) Squirrelmail depends on IMAP, and doesn't care which MDA (mail server) you use really.

Good Luck, and have fun!

Cool

illtbagu · 06-19-2003, 01:16 AM

cant wait to get started this weekend should be fun!!!! i always like new things to learn.

thanks for all the help guys,
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