LinuxQuestions.org - Best mail transfer agent (Sendmail? Qmail? Other?)

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Best mail transfer agent (Sendmail? Qmail? Other?)

Hi there

I'd be interested to know which MTA the good people on this forum love and use.

I recently asked a question about Sendmail, and was asked "Why are you using Sendmail?"

This implies that, at least in one person's opinion, there are better MTAs out there for Linux. So I'm interested to know what MTA you'd recommend for the small webserver project I'm working on, and why you'd recommend it.

I love Postfix. Simple and very powerful.

Maybe someone with knowlegde and experience on this subject could list out the major ones with pros and cons? If they have the time, that is.

here's a nice article about postfix:

Quote:

Postfix was developed as a replacement for Sendmail and is known to compile on almost every flavor of Unix including Mac O/S X. Wietse Venema, program founder and security specialist, several years developing the application while working as a researcher at IBM's T.J. Research lab. Postfix is the free version of IBM's commercial Mailer, Secure Mailer. It was released in 1998 and dubbed IBM's Christmas present to the Internet. Postfix became especially popular during the Linux revolution by enthusiasts who were looking for open source code that would compile on a free operating system.

Complete Article

another MTA you might wanna check-out is exim, Debian's default:

http://www.exim.org/

NOTE FOR OTHER NEWBIES READING THIS:
I'm a newbie. I'm no Linux expert. The following is information I've found online. Please don't mistake the following for long years of experience.

Thanks for your replies.

Since I first posted my question, my own reading has lead me to conclude that Postfix may well be the best MTA for me. Below, I explain why I think that.

Other newbies looking for an MTA may read this thread in future. I thought they may find it useful to know why a fellow newbie has decided that Postfix is the best solution for a Fedora 3 newbie in need of an MTA. Here are the reasons as I currently see them...

1) It's on the Fedora 3 DVD, and can be installed easily by a newbie. Qmail (for example) requires a lot more work according to my reading.

2) It has a good reputation for security 'out of the box'. I see this as especially useful for a newbie installing his/her first MTA.

3) It has loads of sample configuration files with extensive documentation, allowing newbies to look at example configurations and understand what's happening.

4) It's relatively easy to setup and configure Postfix (believe this one when I see it :D )

5) "Postfix the Definitive Guide" by Kyle D. Dent is well reviewed, apparently comprehensive, and available from Amazon (UK) for only £17.46

6) Postfix has an intelligent queue manager: "It will sort messages by host and attempt delivery on a host basis rather than on a message basis...if I have 13,000 delayed messages to 50 hosts, Postfix will attempt 50 deliveries while sendmail will try all 13,000"

A great (if obvious) site to visit if you're considering Postfix: http://www.postfix.org/

ever since my days of using Debian (now long past) i use "Exim"
i love it, it always works great, doesn't take up alot of system resources, and is understandable to configure.