Re: [LI] Questions on mail server setup

["Binand Raj S." <binand@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Differentiated Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd. forced the electrons to say:
> Hi,
> 
> I've been using linux for s/w development over next 6 months. Now we've
> decided to also make it our mail server.

Good for you. Anyway, first I will answer your questions.

> 1. I have a machine with IP address 192.168.1.2. It is also called
> localhost. From any WIN95 workstation if I ping 192.168.1.2 or localhost it
> is able to go thru'. I want it to be called +ADw-myhost+AD4-. I used this program

Do you really want to call your machine this, or is it a goof-up? Anyway, this
string is not allowed in hostnames - they have to come from the regex
[-a-zA-Z0-9] and of course, the period that separates the fields.

Anyway, to change the hostname of your system, put in one of your early rc
files, the line (this has to be before you start many other things, notably
sendmail, httpd, named etc.).

hostname the.name.you.want

> hostname and set the host name as myhost. Now, if I ping even in the linux
> machine as myhost it says host not found +ACEAIQ- If I give hostname command it
> displays myhost. What is the funda behind this ??

You have to add an entry to /etc/hosts, for the name. Or, you should run a DNS
server.

> 2. As a first step towards setting up the mail server, I want to check
> within office mail. If I have to make multiple mailboxes... should I have
> multiple mail-ids on the Linux box. How do I create pop mail accounts in the
> linux machine and enable within office mail??

Add users for all people who want email access. Then open the pop-3/imap ports
on your server. This can be done by uncommenting the relevant lines in
/etc/inetd.conf. Then your users can use your linux server as their pop/imap
server.

> 3. Do I need to setup DNS on my server if I have to send and receive mail
> outside office.

If you are planning to use this as an email server, it is always a good idea -
since sendmail does a lookup on the connecting client as well. Set up a
cacheing DNS server, with forwarders as your ISP's name servers. Use it as the
primary nameserver all over your LAN. 

> 4. In general if somebody can tell me the sequence of steps I have to follow
> I will attack the PCQ May 1998 magazine again +ACEAIQ-

There are a few things you have to check.

1. Sendmail should accept mails relayed from your LAN. Add lines like:

127.0.0   RELAY
192.168.1 RELAY

in /etc/mail/access.

2. Sendmail can be setup to relay mails to your ISP mailserver, or to try to
deliver them directly. Which do you want? Relaying to ISP might cause
unnecessary delay in mail delivery, since your ISP will be handling many
thousands of mails every hour.

3. Configure sendmail to masquerade as well. Lookup MASQUERADE_AS and
MASQUERADE_DOMAIN in sendmail's documentation. Also, check the features
masquerade_envelope and masquerade_entire_domain. You do have a registered
domain, don't you?

4. If your MX record points elsewhere (in all possibility a multidrop
mailbox), then setup fetchmail to download these and put in each user's
mailbox.

> I'm finding it incredibly difficult to setup a chatscript and dial out. What
> took me say 2 hours on Win95 took me several days to do in Linux and that
> too without this linux-india mailing list I don't think I would've ever
> completed it.

Well, I see this as an argument against windows. That OS doesn't let the
user know what it is doing - it assumes it is more intelligent than the
user, and it should hide all details from him. They try to automate most
things that people have stopped reading the manuals that came with their
modems, printers, terminals, controllers...

Binand

PS: Views expressed are mine and mine alone.

-- 
#include <stdio.h>                                   | Binand Raj S.
char *p = "#include <stdio.h>%cchar *p = %c%s%c;     | This is a self-
int main(){printf(p,10,34,p,34,10);return 0;}%c";    | printing program.
int main(){printf(p,10,34,p,34,10);return 0;}        | Try it!!
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