[geeks] Linux Mail Servers

[Mike Meredith]

On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:44:10 +0000, Mark Benson wrote:
> I don't want a how-to, I want some advice from seasoned geeks on what
> to use and what works best before I dive into spending hours battling
> it. Once I establish an idea of *what* to use, then I'll get my teeth
> sunk into it. At THAT point I might need a how-to :)

Personally I'd suggest looking at Exim (for the MTA) and Dovecot (for
the mailbox server). Bear in mind that I've got a lot more experience
with Exim than Postfix though :)

Exim is a little trickier to get started with, but it may be easier in
the long run if you end up doing anything out of the ordinary. It also
depends on where you are; if you're UK-based, there's a quite an Exim
community including courses at Cambridge (if they're still going), etc.

Sendmail is of course the only choice if you want a programming
language for writing an MTA in :)

You're implying that you're starting with a single server. It may be
worth using Solaris zones (or equivalents) to split up the workload
into several lightweight virtual "machines" more or less along the
lines of a conventional mail server farm :-

global
|
|---mailbox server (Exim|Postfix & Dovecot)
|
|---MX (incoming mail) relay (Exim, SpamAssassin, clamav)
|
|---outgoing mail relay (Exim, clamav)

Personally I don't use a separate outgoing mail relay, but sometimes
wish I did.

Using resource controls, you can ensure that if your incoming relay
gets hit hard with a big spam run, the mailbox server will still have
resources to handle local users.



-- 
Mike Meredith (http://zonky.org/)
  If you play the Windows CD backwards you hear a satanic message.
  But it gets worse... If you play it forwards it installs Windows.