How do I configure sendmail to allow relaying ?

[Luis Toro]

I have a desktop application that sends emails to an exchange relay host. The Exchange group wants to limit the hosts allowed to relay through their server so they're recommending that the desktop app send the emails to their HPUX server, which would in turn forward the emails to the exchange relay host. Currently all I do in sendmail.cf is update the DS line to reflect the relay host. What do I need to do to receive the emails from the various desktops, and forward them on to the exchange relay host ? The emails would be destined to someone@mydomain.com.

Thank you

[Steven E. Protter]

You can receive emails from any desktop on your network so long as the /etc/mail/access file contains a relay allower.

ip_address RELAY

Tab delimited.

If the machine is exposed to the Internet, you chould explicitly authorize each relay.

sendmail by default denies relay to stop spammers.

Then /sbin/init.d/sendmail stop
/sbin/init.d/sendmail start

SEP

[Geoff Wild]

Add to the access map:

mydomain.com relay

makemap hash /etc/mail/access
You might want to also set the DM macro in sendmail.cf

DMmydomain.com

Rgds...Geoff

[Karthik S S]

Check this link,

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=14711

-Karthik S S

[Luis Toro]

Thanks for the replies.
I followed Geoff's advice since I do not know the desktop IP, but the user is still getting "Relaying denied".
Here is some more specific info:

HPUX server is zeus.mydomain.com (not exposed to the internet)
Exchange relay host is: exch.mydomain.com
Desktops are DHCP and have following names:
user.pcnet.mydomain.com

In sendmail.cf I have:
DMmydomain.com
DSexch.mydomain.com

In /etc/mail/access
mydomain.com
pcnet.mydomain.com

[Geoff Wild]

Sorry - by default, HP's sendmail.cf does not include access db.

You will have to create a new sendmail.cf
Easiest way is to download the sendmail source from sendmail.org

Add:

FEATURE(`access_db')dnl

to the sendmail.mc file. (it should be in cf/cf dir of source tree - just copy one of the ones there)

Then you bulid it:

./Build sendmail.cf

Rgds...Geoff

[Luis Toro]

Thanks Geoff.

I had some issues trying to get sendmail to work after downloading a copy from sendmail.org. Turns out the HP version does allow you to "turn on" the access file.
Found a doc:
http://www2.itrc.hp.com/service/cki/docDisplay.do?docLocale=en_US&docId=200000062903020
which details how to configure HPs sendmail to relay.

thanks again