Sendmail and DNS
 

do I need to have a DNS server setup to successfully install sendmail on my local are network...and I know this has been said before but can i be pointed to some resource where i can find simple instructions on setting up sendmail on my intranet.

Depending on what distro you are using, you might want to checkout http://www.qmailrocks.org/ . It is for setting up a qmail server, but there are step by step instructions for doing it.

No, you do not need you own DNS server to run an email server. Just make sure that you have a valid DNS server listed in your /etc/resolv.conf file.