> Hello
>
> I'm very new to Linux, but would consider myself fairly expert at Windows
> (but not networks). Nevertheless, I'm very confused!
>
> I'm trying to make a mail server for a friend of mine, who runs a charity,
> with about a dozen staff (each with a PC). Each member of staff, wants to
> have their own internet email address, correctly routed to their own PC,
as
> well as 'internal' email.
> The existing configuration at the charities office, is a Windows 95/98
peer
> to peer network (10-base-t... I think), with shared folders and printers.
>
> The set-up I want to use, is as follows...
>
> * A dialup account with an ISP, who provides email addresses like
> "[EMAIL PROTECTED]".
> * An old Compaq server with built-in network card.
> * Red Hat 6.0.
> * An external 56K modem
>
> The above is already working and connected to my Win98 machine, at home.
> "Working" means that I can 'ping' each machine from the other and I can
open
> a 'terminal' session, to the Linux box, from the Windows PC. I can also
> dial out from Linux and connect to an ISP.
>
> This is where I get stuck. I thought that I needed something like
> 'sendmail', but I'm beginning to learn that this is a Mail Transport Agent
> and not a Mail Server. I'm not entirely clear of the difference, and I
> certainly don't know where to go from here (i.e. I haven't got a clue!).
Sendmail is a mail server, an SMTP server, sendmail is used to send email,
to receive email you need a differant kinda of server like pop3 or imap.
Mail Transport Agent is just a fancy word and doesn't mean a whole lot to
comman folk like myself.
> I am hoping that one of you kind people will help me, before my headache
> gets any worst!!
>
> Many Thanks
>
> Neil
>
If you want to give users email address at [EMAIL PROTECTED], you will
have to setup a mail server (probably both SMTP and POP3) or have someone
host it for you. You can host the domains mail over a 56K line, but the
line would have to be connected pretty much 24-7 or you might lose some
incoming mail. Also if the users and pushing/pulling a lot of email from
the site the line could get laggy depending on the number of users.
First you have to the domain and then have someone do the DNS hosting for
you, since it isn't the best idea to run a primary name server or a dial up
account. Once they set it up, have them point the MX record to your mail
server (the ip on which you plan on running sendmail), the dns admin hosting
your domain will know what this means.
After that, install sendmail on the machine and run though the
/etc/mail/sendmail.cf file and configure any options you may have. Warning
the sendmail.cf is reguarded as one of the hardest config files to master in
the Unix world, I would recommened you pick up a good manual, the bat book
from O'Rielly is really good. After sendmail is configured edit
/etc/mail/sendmail-relay-hosts and put one ip per line for every user
wanting to send mail from the server. If they want to pick up there mail on
this server, get a pop3 server like qpopper (check freshmeat.net), create
the user an account on the system.
Then in the users email client, but the SMTP (outgoing) and pop3 (incoming)
mail server address to the compaq running this services.
If you just want to use this for "internal" mail, so co-workers can send
each others (but not people on the internet) email, it is about the same,
but you don't need to registor the domain or set the MX record since it is
an internal operation.
There is a lot of details, pick up some how-tos at http://www.linuxdoc.org
and read the INSTALL and README files with sendmail and the sendmail FAQ at
http://www.sendmail.org to get the "dirt" that would take to long to explain
in email.
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