On Mon, Jun 03, 2002 at 08:52:24PM -0300, Gilson Soares wrote:
> I've been using qmail for a couple years, mainly installing it in
> ISPs. It has a lot of features. But sometimes, it stops working,
> without any hint. And support it's not so easy as other open source
> projects, specially because the logs didn't show what is really
> happening.
>
> I've heard good opinions about Postfix and expect start using it
> instead of qmail. But I have some minimum requirements to be able to
> switch.
>
> My usual setup is:

all of the *features* you use are available with postfix (and more), but
the mechanisms are different. but that's part of the point, isn't it?

if you install postfix + parts of courier (especially courier-maildrop
courier-pop, courier-imap, and sqwebmail) then you will have a mail
server which can do system and/or virtual users, pop, imap, and webmail.

there are SSL encryption options for postfix, courier imap & courier pop
and, of course, any webmail service can (and probably should) be run on
a https server.

you can configure postfix and/or courier to get account details from
system files (/etc/passwd, nsswitch, pam) AND/OR from mysql, postgres,
hashed db map files or whatever you like.

the last remaining piece is the mailing list manager. the one that
probably comes closest to ezmlm's functionality would be GNU MailMan
(www.list.org), followed closely by ecartis (aka "listar") at
www.ecartis.org. neither are identical to ezmlm, but they do a
comparable job.

> Except for item 4, I can setup all this using a plain RH 7.x base
> install, some RPMs (mysql, gcc, apache, and few others) and items 1-3
> compiling from the tar.gz files, in a couple hours. Ie, no
> complicated configs, compilings, etc.

all of the above can be installed and configured easily on a debian box
just by apt-getting a handful of packages. dunno about RH, but i would
assume that packages are available for RH too (if not in RH itself, then
in contrib packages...which are of notoriously variable quality, some
are excellent, some are very poor).

my strongest recomendation would have to be to build a test machine and
install postfix and all of the above packages, and play with it for a
few days or a few weeks. my bet is that you will become a postfix
convert in short order :-), postfix really sells itself, especially to
experienced mail systems administrators who can easily see the benefits.

if you do switch to postfix, you will have to plan the transition very
carefully - changing MTA is not something to be undertaken lightly.
there are some significant conceptual differences to the way qmail works
and the way postfix (or any other MTA for that matter) works. qmail
tends to expect you to do everything DJB's One True Way, whether you
like it or not...other MTAs like postfix tend to be far more flexible.

also, most MTAs other than qmail have some core similarities because
they all provide some level of backwards-compatibility (or at least an
easy migration path) with sendmail. qmail really is the odd one out.

i say these things as statements of fact, not in an attempt to disparage
qmail...although i am obviously biased towards postfix. i've been using
postfix for several years now. i had previously used qmail for a few
years (and sendmail and smail and others for years before that). i
would never switch back to any of the others.

craig

-- 
craig sanders <castaz.net.au>
Fabricati Diem, PVNC.
 -- motto of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch
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