sendmail (how to avoid : with trailing dots to smtp server)?

[Tove Myhre]

Helo!
Have changed smtp server (other people are administrators to this server). Since the change we get this error : "501 5.5.4 Invalid Adress". I use sendmail -v to get this message on the screen. Using sendmail from a HP-UX 10.20 server (cant find our version of sendmail since swlist is not working....For my excuse i've been away from my job a couple of year's because i've got 2 children).....

Well, can i use sendmail.cf to send the ip-adress ore the hostname without hostname. *dot*???

Where does this dot come from (it is not defined in the hostfile, and is not a result of uname -a)?

[U.SivaKumar_2]

Hi,
Are you running DNS ?. When does the error come ? . show me your mail address to which you
are mailing ?.

regards,
U.SivaKumar

[Tove Myhre]

Hi!

We don't use DNS (forgot to mention that).

The error message occures whenever someone is trying to send to an internet adress like :
tove.myhre@telenor.com

[U.SivaKumar_2]

HI,
That is the problem. If you mail to xxx@yyyy.com there should be one DNS server for yyyy.com giving MX record for yyyy.com.
In your case do this
in /etc/nsswitch.conf
hosts: files dns
in /etc/hosts
201.23.33.44 remote remote.yyyy.com
Now
#mail root@remote
( or )
#mail root@remote.yyyy.com
will send the mail to user root in your remote
machine.

regards,
U.SivaKumar

[Kasper Haitsma]

Hi,

sending straight to an IP IS valid.
you can check your sendmail version by typing:
'echo quit | sendmail -bs'
you get an answer string like:
220 sendmail (patch)/;
221 closing connection

sendmail 8.x.x. relies heavily on DNS. if you are not the sendmail/smtp server admin, talk to them, on how to send mail in your domain.

if you do not have a domain set, you need to relay to a 'relay server', that is DNS aware, and/or knows a relay server that is.

the trailing dot is merely the autocompletion feature of sendmail, probaly set in sendmail.cf (Dj$w.)

hope this helps

[Tove Myhre]

Hi again

And thanks for your reply U.SivaKumar!

I hawe changed in my hostfile (at the server which is trying to send mail's to internet adresses via an smtp relay server).
I've put in an alias hostname in DNS style:
(210.23.33.44 hostname hostname.mycompany.com)
The nsswitch file is ok.

And i get the same error......also after taking a restart of the sendmail process.

I can se that the same error message as before:

# sendmail -v tove.myhre@telenor.com

Helo you ....

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tove.myhre@telenor.com... Connecting to smtp.mycompany.no via relay...
220 tns-208.corp.mycompany.no Microsoft ESMTP MAIL Service, Version: 5.0.2195.4453 ready at Thu, 13 Jun 2002 15:36:17 +0200
>>> EHLO hostname.
501 5.5.4 Invalid Address
>>> HELO hostname.
501 5.5.4 Invalid Address
>>> QUIT
221 2.0.0 tns-208.corp.mycompany.no Service closing transmission channel
tove.myhre@telenor.com... Service unavailable
/home/myuser/dead.letter... Saved message in /home/myuser/dead.letter
Closing connection to smtp.mycompany.no
#



Any more ideas?

[Tove Myhre]

Thanks to you also Kasper Haitsma!

Now i got my sendmail version (8.9.3)! waw!

>sendmail 8.x.x. relies heavily on DNS. if you >are not the sendmail/smtp server admin, talk t>o them, on how to send mail in your domain.

>if you do not have a domain set, you need to >relay to a 'relay server', that is DNS aware, >and/or knows a relay server that is.

Yes! The smtp server is also defined as relay server, and yes I'm not the smtp server admin. And i've been talking to the administrators there for a week now.....they have changed smtp server and so on. I've only changed name and adress in the hostfile + DSname in the sendmail.cf file

Hmm.........can i do anything about the (Dj$w.) ??

Well, I have to talk more I presume...

[Jordan Bean · Accepted solution]

What exactly does `sendmail -d0 -bv tove.myhre@telenor.com` report?

Without DNS the $j macro will be automatically set to the first name of the primary interface IP found in /etc/hosts.

Try reversing your list:

210.23.33.44 hostname.mycompany.com hostname

Or setting $j manually in /etc/mail/sendmail.cf:

Dj$w.mydomain.com

[Kevin Wright]

you must have a dot in /etc/hosts put it like this
hostname.domain.co hostname

and try it again.

[Tove Myhre]

Thanks to Jordan and Kevin!

It didn't work to change in /etc/hosts strange!?! Mabe a boot could help?

But setting $j manually in sendmail.cf was the solution here! Thanks again!