On 04/19/2007 07:40 AM somebody named Sandy Drobic wrote:
ken wrote:
That there is a running daemon process does NOT mean that the system is a mail server. Usually, the term "mail server" is only used for systems that accept email from other systems, but not for systems with a configured local mail service. (The technical meaning of "mail server" is actually "mail transfer agent that listens on the SMTP port and accepts inbound messages".) You are so kind to correct the misunderstanding which you imagined I had. Be assured that no one is thinking you are retracting your previous proposition that a mail server is required on every machine on which a mail client is installed.
Since you haven't really explained why you think it is undesirable to let Postfix take care of sending the mail it is difficult to help you. And no, simply saying "I want a mail client to do that" does not constitute a reason.
It can't be resource consumption since the memory footprint and cpu consumption of Postfix is very low.
I have my doubts about security concerns, since Postfix isn't known for exploitable bugs, especially since we are talking about a sending only solution, a "null client" configuration.
If you have the cron daemon installed and running how are reports or cron errors delivered?
Any server software on your machine either expects to send reports/mails via a local sending null client configuration of Postfix/Sendmail or must be manually configured send directly via smtp. Not every Server software can be configured to send directly.
Something about your situation and your explanations/requirements doesn't add up.
So, what is the reason why the mail can't be send by Postfix? What is the advantage of doing it with a mail client (a solution that has yet to be found)?
Actually, I've already found two working solutions (mentioned in a previous posting in this thread). The only problem is that neither of them makes use of SSL out of the box. Nail, one of these solutions, would need to be recompiled, as the version distributed by suse doesn't support SSL. Another poster mentioned he'd used mutt to accomplish what I'm seeking to do, but I suspect that the binary version of mutt from suse might not have SSL compiled in either. (Or?) In the past I've used pine from the command line to send an email from within a shell script. Emacs can send mail too and can be used in batch mode. Perl and Tcl, I'm told, are a couple other possibilities, but I don't see the sense in reinventing the wheel unless it's absolutely necessary. So there are a number of solutions, two of which already work. I just need to implement one which does SSL. If I needed a mail server, well then, yes, I'd use it. But I don't need that. It just seems ridiculous to set up a mail server on every machine on which somebody sends out an email. The question shouldn't be "Why not use postfix?", but rather "Why use it?" All I've heard so far are a couple voices that I *must* use it and loud pronouncements of disaster if I don't, but no specific and compelling reasons in favor of it. If there were such reasons, then every little email workstation would have a mail server running on it.
So, what is this software which needs to be installed to avoid "sure disaster", this MTA (no longer a mail server)?
No idea what you are talking about.
Joachim was retreating from his claim that I needed to set up a mail server, articulating a mouthful of theory that all I needed really was an MTA (mail transfer agent). Trying to bring the conversation back to practical reality, I was asking what/which MTA software package this was that I'd need to install. :) -- "This world ain't big enough for the both of us," said the big noema to the little noema. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org