configuring sentmail

[Binu_5]

Hi All

Can somebody help me in configuring sendmail for my private network...I need not coneect to the internet ...
Do I need to setup a DNS ...??How to put the domain name ...It is purely a new setup on Red hat Linux 9

Please help

Binu

[Steven E. Protter]

DNS is not required for normal sendmail operations.

If all the servers you will be sending mail to are defined in /etc/hosts your mail will work just fine.

Good resource on everything and anything with sendmail: http://www.sendmail.org

SEP

[Ivan Ferreira]

You should setup a local DNS server and add an MX record.

All sendmail configuration is done through sendmail.mc.

You should first install a newer version of linux, like Fedora Core 4, with an updated sendmail package installed.

You can also use postfix instead of sendmail. Postfix is very easy to configure.

This document will help you in the configuration:

http://www.brennan.id.au/

[Binu_5]

Hi

Can you tell me how to setup a local DNS

Thanks
Binu

[Thomas Bianco]

for a local DNS, you'll need a copy of bind (i forget where to get the source, but there should be a version with your disribution).

also, you'll need to get a SOA record at your domain registrar that points to the IP address of the server you're running bind on.

try http://tldp.org/HOWTO/DNS-HOWTO.html

as above, once you get the local DNS up, be sure to put 2 MX records in, one fore the server, and one with a blank server (for the whole domain)

it's useful to understand how mail is delivered: when you send, your SMTP server looks at the address, then finds the MX record for the domain portion.

an example:
to: User@domain.net
look in DNS for an MX type record for domain.net
result: domain.net MX preference = 0, mail exchanger = mailhost.domain.net
lookup IP address of mailhost.domain.net ( A type record)
result: mailhost.domain.net internet address = 69.17.118.22
contact 69.17.118.22 and try to deliver to user@domain.net

[Thomas Bianco]

doh- one more thing:

you can have your registrar do all this for you, if they support it. have them set up the DNS records for the domain and the MX in their bind.

[Steven E. Protter]

Great doc:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/other-formats/html_single/DNS-HOWTO.html

A really good cookbook there.

Its how I learned DNS.

SEP