Now that I've got a debian box I have a somewhat more eclectic selection of MTAs. Instead of being "stuck" with sendmail I can select either Postfix or Exim. Currently my box has postfix 2.1.5 installed. But I see that I can install one of the following: Exim 3.36 Exim 4.50 (stable) Exim 4.52 (testing) Postfix 2.2.4 (testing) I know Daniel is fairly familiar with Exim but I know nothing about these alternative MTAs. Can anyone provide sage advice on which has more features, is easier to configure, has powerful plugins, db support, IMAP server integration, virtual domains, spam filtering that sort of thing. Recommendations highly appreciated. Regards -- Oliver Jones > Roving Code Warrior > www.deeperdesign.com
Currently my box has postfix 2.1.5 installed. But I see that I can install one of the following:
Exim 3.36 Exim 4.50 (stable) Exim 4.52 (testing) Postfix 2.2.4 (testing)
Lots of people here are very familiar with Exim. The biggest gotcha with it is Debian packages it in many little config-file-lets, which are combined at config reload into a single file. I like it that way, others not so much. I'd run Exim 4.5 out of those choices. 3.x is deprecated and 4.5 is certainly up to date.
I know Daniel is fairly familiar with Exim but I know nothing about these alternative MTAs. Can anyone provide sage advice on which has more features, is easier to configure, has powerful plugins, db support, IMAP server integration, virtual domains, spam filtering that sort of thing.
Spam/virus filtering is done by 'exiscan', which is included with exim as of 4.5. Everything else is just there. Are you familiar with sendmail? Is there any reason you don't want to keep using that? Craig
I think I'll stick with Postfix. I just bought a postfix book from Tech Books on Swanston street. Postfix looks the business and it's the "standard" sendmail alternative on RH/FC distros as well, so any learning I do is translatable from Debian to FC. Regards Craig Box wrote:
Currently my box has postfix 2.1.5 installed. But I see that I can install one of the following:
Exim 3.36 Exim 4.50 (stable) Exim 4.52 (testing) Postfix 2.2.4 (testing)
Lots of people here are very familiar with Exim. The biggest gotcha with it is Debian packages it in many little config-file-lets, which are combined at config reload into a single file. I like it that way, others not so much.
I'd run Exim 4.5 out of those choices. 3.x is deprecated and 4.5 is certainly up to date.
I know Daniel is fairly familiar with Exim but I know nothing about these alternative MTAs. Can anyone provide sage advice on which has more features, is easier to configure, has powerful plugins, db support, IMAP server integration, virtual domains, spam filtering that sort of thing.
Spam/virus filtering is done by 'exiscan', which is included with exim as of 4.5. Everything else is just there.
Are you familiar with sendmail? Is there any reason you don't want to keep using that?
Craig
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I know Daniel is fairly familiar with Exim but I know nothing about these alternative MTAs. Can anyone provide sage advice on which has more features, is easier to configure, has powerful plugins, db support, IMAP server integration, virtual domains, spam filtering that sort of thing.
I'm not particularly familiar with postfix, but it seems to be "about the same" as exim, although when I did use it, it wasn't quite as flexible I'd definitely use exim 4.5 or later, because of integrated exiscan support as Craig has already mentioned. With postfix you can use amavisd for spam/virus scanning Both exim and postfix have support for db and ldap lookups. These allow for relatively free-form queries, which don't tie you to any particular schema. I seem to remember postfix enforced a particular LDAP schema, which was possible to change but rather tedious. I'm willing to be corrected on this point though :). Exim doesn't care. With database lookups you get virtual domains. IMAP server integration is trivial - courier uses "normal" maildir, which exim and postfix should be able to deliver to fine. Cyrus doesn't use normal maildir, but will accept incoming mails via LMTP, which both exim and postfix support. You can also deliver via a 'deliver' program, but it just accepts mail on stdin and delivers to cyrus via LMTP anyway. Both cyrus and courier do virtual domains, and both are reasonably good about it now. Cyrus supports a full-text index if you enable the squat process (which uses about the same amount of space as your mailspool, so don't enable it unless you have lots of space) WAND has some copies of the Exim book left over from NZNOG. I'd highly recommend this book, although it does only cover version 4.0, and there's been a lot of change since 4.50. It's a great start though.
Oliver Jones wrote:
Now that I've got a debian box I have a somewhat more eclectic selection of MTAs. Instead of being "stuck" with sendmail I can select either Postfix or Exim.
Currently my box has postfix 2.1.5 installed. But I see that I can install one of the following:
Exim 3.36 Exim 4.50 (stable) Exim 4.52 (testing) Postfix 2.2.4 (testing)
Qmail
I know Daniel is fairly familiar with Exim but I know nothing about these alternative MTAs. Can anyone provide sage advice on which has more features, is easier to configure, has powerful plugins, db support, IMAP server integration, virtual domains, spam filtering that sort of thing.
Recommendations highly appreciated.
Regards
www.qmailrocks.org is a great way to get into qmail, and it offers an "all-in-one-setup". My two cents for you qmail-hating hippies! - Drew
Drew Broadley wrote:
www.qmailrocks.org is a great way to get into qmail, and it offers an "all-in-one-setup".
My two cents for you qmail-hating hippies!
I use a debian sarge server with exim 3 (legacy setup :( ) and have been looking at moving away from exim all together. Whats the reason you prefer qmail over exim/postfix/sendmail etc ? Mike
James Clark wrote:
Michael Honeyfield wrote:
I use a debian sarge server with exim 3 (legacy setup :( ) and have been looking at moving away from exim all together. Whats the reason you prefer qmail over exim/postfix/sendmail etc ?
Postfix rocks. How complex is your setup?
James.
5 virtual domains, nothing too fancy. No SPAM or AV scanning, but if I replace the MTA, then those will be added. I have only really just started looking at a replacement for exim. Mike
5 virtual domains, nothing too fancy. No SPAM or AV scanning, but if I replace the MTA, then those will be added.
I have only really just started looking at a replacement for exim.
Trying hard to not have this degenerate into a "use foo" religious-war style debate, but why are you changing? (ie, and not upgrading to exim 4.5, which is packaged in debian sarge)
Daniel Lawson wrote:
5 virtual domains, nothing too fancy. No SPAM or AV scanning, but if I replace the MTA, then those will be added.
I have only really just started looking at a replacement for exim.
Trying hard to not have this degenerate into a "use foo" religious-war style debate, but why are you changing? (ie, and not upgrading to exim 4.5, which is packaged in debian sarge)
I am not ruling that out completely, but taking the time to weigh in on all the pros and cons. Switch MTA is not something I want to do all the time, so if I afford sometime looking at it now, hopefully my role as a sys admin is easier :D Mike
Not very complex. But I'd like to support virtual domains. I'd also like to support virtual users (ie, users who don't have home directories or unix accounts). I've familiar with Cyrus as an IMAP server. Regards James Clark wrote:
Michael Honeyfield wrote:
I use a debian sarge server with exim 3 (legacy setup :( ) and have been looking at moving away from exim all together. Whats the reason you prefer qmail over exim/postfix/sendmail etc ?
Postfix rocks. How complex is your setup?
James.
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For no other reason then the fact it was all laid out very well I chose Qmail using the www.qmailrocks.org site instructions. At the end of it all you get IMAP, IMAPS, POP3, POP3S, webmail, virtual domains, antispam, antivirus, mailing lists and remote admin via http. The install is very straight forward, not 100% perfect, but the author makes it clear you need to do some understanding before going live. Many people will say Qmail is evil as it breaks the RFC, but don't forget an RFC is only a request for comment not a standard ;) also for just a small home / business server it gives you enough. 73's Brett.
On Sat, 2005-09-24 at 10:50 +1200, DrWho? wrote:
but don't forget an RFC is only a request for comment not a standard ;)
That's not correct. RFC's become standards because they are adopted by the majority of the Internet community through a consensus based process. The author of a particular piece of software can choose not to conform to the standard, as qmail's author has done. This action doesn't in any way lessen the legitimacy of the standard. If we take your proposition to it's logical conclusion, you're stating that TCP/IP isn't a standard. As a LUG we should be doing everything we can to promote the development, use and improvement of Open Standards such as the RFCs published by the IETF. You might find it informative to read up on the Internet Standards Process which is described in rfc 2026. http://coders.meta.net.nz/~perry/rfc/index-2026.html Cheers -- Matt Brown matt(a)mattb.net.nz Mob +64 275 611 544 www.mattb.net.nz
Many people will say Qmail is evil as it breaks the RFC, but don't forget an RFC is only a request for comment not a standard ;) also for just a small home / business server it gives you enough.
That has to be one of the dumbest things I've heard on this list in a LONG time. No open standard forces you to conform it is extremely dumb not to. Regards -- Oliver Jones > Roving Code Warrior > www.deeperdesign.com
Michael Honeyfield wrote:
I use a debian sarge server with exim 3 (legacy setup :( ) and have been looking at moving away from exim all together.
Whats the reason you prefer qmail over exim/postfix/sendmail etc ?
Mike
Purely forced on me since my first professional job, I am only recommending it as an alternative (being that even the underdog should get a mention no matter how dis-liked, unapproved or how much of an arse the owner of it is). I personally have only been involved in sendmail and qmail my professional life, with rare glimpses of postfix (which caused a headache due to ownership of the directory an alias contained was not correct, nor was it obvious in t he postfix alias documentation). I am actually eyeing up postfix right now as an alternative to my next mailserver. I really would like to get away from my professioanl `chroot` jail with nothing but /var/qmail in it and spread my wings. - Drew
participants (8)
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Craig Box -
Daniel Lawson -
Drew Broadley -
DrWho? -
James Clark -
Matt Brown -
Michael Honeyfield -
Oliver Jones