How did YOU setup your Mail server
 

Hello,

I am currently using Slackware 9.1 and i have everyting setup except a working mail server. I am using Bellsouth.net DSL service right now and I think I may be able to setup a smarthost for it. I'm not sure, kinda why I am posting here. Anyway. I need some help.

I have setup a lot of programs (Apache/MySql/php and phpmyadmin/ proftpd) based off the stuff I found on this site, but I cannot find anything here about setting up a mail server. I see a lot of "I used qmail, or I use postfix" which is find and dandy, but a newbie like me needs a lot of help doing this.

SO if ANYONE has an easy howto or setup guide I would be much appreciated. I am looking for step by step, and also the program used, ports etc.

Thanks guys, this forum has been a true GODSEND for me and I know someone has something I am loking for.

Oh yeah, my default slack install installed sendmail and has it runing at startup. HELP!!!

tharris
THE NEWBIE

Sendmail is a good mail program.

I think you are making the same mistake of sendmail and imap or pop3. Sendmail or Postfix or qmail is used to and receive mail at your system, while imap or pop3 is used to read and send mail from a mail client.

So, what you need to look for is documentation on Postfix and an imap server (try imapd runs under /etc/inet.d or /etc/xinet.d).

Postfix source and HOW-TO can be found at www.postfix.net, and usually comes with all distro's, just not activated.
Sendmail source and HOW-TO can be found at www.sendmail.org.
Imap source and HOW-TO can be found at www.imap.org

if you are just setting up a small mail server for home use this site has a great software that is easy to setup and has a web based configure prog. and I am pretty sure they still give out a free licences for 5 to 10 acct for personal use not for business. it is a pretty slick peice of software you can get the abilty to check mail via pop or webmail

http://www.netwinsite.com/surgemail/

To do a basic setup is really quite easy:

if you wanna receive mail ubiquitously as your email address go to dyndns.org and create a free dns entry pointing to you ip address, rename your computer name to the dyndns name you created using netconfig i.e. host: mybrilliantmailserver
domain: .dyndns.org

Add

localhost RELAY

to the "access" file

additional step I've found necessary add

sendmail:ALL

to /etc/hosts.allow

Make sure port 25 is open

restart sendmail, receive and send email as i.e me@mybrilliantmailserver.dyndns.org then come back here if doesn't worK :)

Qmail is very simple to setup. Go to http://www.lifewithqmail.org and print the PDF version.

As far as smarthosts go:

1. Create a file called smtproutes in your control dir which contains the following:
:smtp.smtpforwardserver.net

Sendmail is a MTA (Mail Transport Agent) and is used to "move" the mail from your mailserver to the clients appropriate mail program. That program may receive mail in either a POP3 or IMAP "protocol". I use Sendmail in my mail servers so that is most familiar to me. I don't use Slackware so I can't speak from that perspective. I would assume however that it would be similar. (You know what assume means). There is a file (sendmail.mc) that is used to do the inital and basic configuration of sendmail. It has notes and documentation in it and there are the man pages and website (www.sendmail.org). After doing whatever config is necessary, you will need to rebuild the sendmail.cf file. In RH9 it is done by using the M4 engine. I am not sure in your distro. After that, restart sendmail and you should be up and running. Make sure and have the obvious things: all mail clients must be actual users on the machine, passwords, etc... You will have to ensure that the MX records point to your machine somewhere. That may be at the site mentioned earlier or at your ISP's. If you really want to get into managing a mail server there is a book by O'Reilly press simply called Sendmail. It is the bible and a must have. Good luck and repost if you have problems.