mail server

[David L. Gehrt]

> On Wed, 2005-12-14 at 17:54 +0500, azeem ahmad wrote:
> > hi list
> > on FC4 box which mail server is recomended regarding ease of configuration 
> > and security
> 
> Man, this is just begging for a holy war, isn't it?
> 
> The answer is, "go with the one you are most comfortable with."
> 
> So you need to figure out a couple of things.  Which one has the
> documentation you find easiest to deal with?  Which one has the user
> community you feel most comfortable with?  Which one is more intuitive
> to use?
> 
> For me, I started with Sendmail about a decade ago, so I am most
> comfortable with it.  It just makes sense to me, and I find Postfix a
> royal PITA.  However, people who started off with Postfix think I'm a
> loon.
> 
> Both work really well, and both are very full-featured.  Pick one and go
> for it.
> 
> Thomas

Hear, hear, Thomas.  I started with Sendmail 20+ years ago on several
*NIXes for users communities of 3000+, 50, 5 and now just me.

When I got my first job as a UNIX sysadmin my priorities were (1) keep
the network up and (2) keep the e-mail flowing.  That meant learning
sendmail.

I went through the bad old days of the monthly (or more frequent)
security updates which resulted in the alternatives such as Postfix.  It
has been a while since a big deal sendmail problem.  I started hacking
.cf files cause that was the only configuration method there was.  I do
recognize that at first blush sendmail config is complicated.

My current configuration is more complicated than it needs to be, but
it is what I have implemented in the past, and I still operate as if my
job depends on it, even though I am retired.

I also remember the "religious wars" -- VMS/UNIX, and EMACS/VI/PICO and
even GNU EMACS/Unipress  EMACS/Gosling EMACS.  There WERE others, so my
advice would be to take this discussion off the list.

Now, as is Thomas, I am comfortable with sendmail, my chosen MTA.  Each
mail administrator has to make his or her own choice based on the
requirements of the e-mail service to be implemented, not based on what
works for Thomas, me or anybody else, and then get comfortable with it.

Cheers,

dlg