Hello,

So, here's my newbie question of the day. I have, through trial and (mostly) error, configured all that I need for my general purpose web/email server. With that, I am good to go. The problem I have, it seems, is that throughout the tutorials and manuals that I have read regarding email, I have never read what the hostname for the server should be. For example, say I have an email server running postfix, specified as "mail". Should the hostname be "mail.domain.com", or simply "mail"?

Thanks,
Kit

The hostname does not relate in any way to the function(s) of the machines, unless you find that convenient for your own use. You can call it "zanadu" for example, and still use it for email and/or web server, etc. If you are separating functions across multiple machines, people find it useful to name them www, mail, ftp, etc., because when you log in you have visual confirmation that you are on the right machine. Aside from that, the hostname has no functional significance.

The host should have a fully qualified name, and a short alias. For example, in /etc/hosts:

123.45.67.89 mail.domain.com mail

Awesome, that clears it up.