Re: Mail Server Help Please (n00b)

From: houghi (houghi_at_houghi.org.invalid)
Date: 07/01/05 

Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 18:01:05 -0000

Alan Walker wrote:
> Next I want to configure a mail server, all I want to do is basic SMTP and
> POP3. Google points me to a huge range of HOWTOs all offering different
> approaches, could somebody here please point me to a straightforward, easy
> to follow, HOWTO.

SMTP as in just sending, or also recieving?

The problem with mail is that there are so many possibilaties to do
things that it is hard to explain how to do it. So be a bit more
specific on what you want to do. Sending and recieving are two
completely different things, using different kinds of software (and
overlapping kinds as well) when you look at it on server level.

A. You have an email with your provider.
You use the smtp and pop3 server from your provider. Fill tjose out in
your Emailclient.
Sending. You want to send with your own SMTP server: Install postfix and
it should work. Some things that might hinder it are: your provider
blocks 25. See that you use your providers SMTP in /etc/postfix/main.cf
e.g. : relayhost = smtp.example.com
Another problem might be that others do not like you notr having a
reversed MX or you are otherwise blocked by third parties. Use the
relayhost as a solution.

Recieving mail can be tricker, depending how you like to recieve mail.
The easiest is to let your provider(s) get your mail and then use
fetchnmail to get the mail.

Another way is to have your domain at your server. You need a
(sub)-domain and working MX records and, if possible, reversed IP as
well. That is on DNS level. Then you need to set mydestination in
/etc/postfix/main.cf to tell what domains will accept mail. That is
about it (on a very basic level). See that port 25 is open to recieve as
well.

Now if you want to get to your mail with pop3 (or imap) just install
xinetd, see that it starts at startup, install imap and change
/etc/xinetd.d/imap and run xinetd.

The last has NOTHING to do with standard sending and recieving email and
one thing will work independetly from the other. SO first make up your
mind how each process should be handled and then work on each process
independently.

There is in short: sending, recieving and reading email. There are
programs that will do all this in one (and run scripts, if you have the
right OS as well). If you want to do a systemwide setting, you need to
think about what you can and can't do and what will benefit the users
most.

My sugestion is to start and see if you can send trough localhost with
the following commands. Things starting with # are things you need to
enter:
# telnet localhost 25
Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
220 penne.houghi.net ESMTP Postfix
# helo example.com
250 penne.houghi.net
# mail from: sender@example.com
250 Ok
# rcpt to: reciever@example.net
250 Ok
# data
354 End data with <CR><LF>.<CR><LF>
# test
# .
250 Ok: queued as B63887B710
# quit
221 Bye
Connection closed by foreign host.

If that works, you can go to the recieving part with fetchmail. Next you
can try getting mail over SMTP and last but not least try reading mail
on your server with pop3 and/or imap.

Oh and then even laster and not leaster try webmail, spamfiltering,
virusalerting and other things you can do with mail. (You can send
messages to you best friends and enemies with errormessages. Nice. :-) 

-- 
houghi						      http://houghi.org
>
All my postings should  be read as if each line has a smiley behind it,
unless indicated  otherwise, including the signature.

Relevant Pages

  • RE: POP3 to SMTP
    ... the POP3 service performs the tasks of message download and ... request handling on a Windows-based server, where message download consists ... defines how the server responds to requests sent from an e-mail client. ... The SMTP service receives e-mail from the Internet, ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: Exchange emails not visible at client computer
    ... pop3 is for incoming mail only, you don't use it for outgoing mail. ... So we use their pipex smtp settings to send mail. ... So without exchange in the frame, we have two accounts setup that are used ... see the mails disappearing from the pop3 server as i collect them. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: POP3 Is not working
    ... > the POP3 service for email. ... > SMTP services so that when errors occur, ... > SMTP virtual server as I made some mistakes in setting it up and there ... > POP3's mailbox directory is 'mailbox' with a single mailbox setup ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: POP3 Is not working
    ... for MS Small Business Server, ... I have installed the SMTP ... > service and the POP3 service for email. ... > The only people that will be collecting emails form the POP3 server ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: POP3 Is not working
    ... SMTP services so that when errors occur, they can send emails. ... The only people that will be collecting emails form the POP3 server are ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
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