[plug] NewbieQ:Easy Graphical Setup/Management tools for Sendmail/Qmail/etc?

[Michael Hunt]

Daniel wrote:
> Hi Plug, I know little about all this:
>
> I would like to set up a Linux box (currently on loan) to get mail from
> ISP, deal with spam, then be accessed from other machines to get mail.

Cool stuff. This is one of the areas that Linux has been strong in for
sometime.

> I am daunted by the seeming complexity when I read of Sendmail, Qmail,
> Postfix, Fetchmail,Exim(&SAUCE),Courier, Blackmail( antispam on top of
main
> MTAs) and procmail ... it all gets a bit mind boggling for me.

Ok some things to remember about MTA's and all the other additional software
that goes with dealing with mail

1. The software and config files of MTA's can have some of the most complex
syntaxes, configs etc of any piece of software in the world (Sendmail being
a classic case in point). Many experienced admins approach these files with
fear and trembling. But don't worry you can get a working MTA up and
happening with out needing to read the Bat Book (O'rielly's Sendmail book).
Part of the reason there is also so many MTA's around is to try and address
the issues of ease of use, configuring etc. Give us some idea on your choice
of distro and we will try and point you in the right direction as far as
MTA's go

2. Don't think about compiling from source your MTA if you haven't got
plenty of time on your hands and don't feel like being intellectually
challenged to the point of frustration. Grab a RPM or DEB file and install
from these. You will find that most distributions have a fairly
comprehensive and robust mail configuration sorted out and usually you only
have to modify one or two config files to get something up and working. Look
at the distro documentation that comes on these subjects,. I know RedHat has
a very good guide on how to setup a mail server specific to its
distributions.

3. If you plan on using fetchmail with your account then make sure you also
install the fetchmailconf package. This contains a GUI front end to
fetchmail and whilst it doesn't always do exactly 100% of what you may want
it do it gives you a very good start to it.

4. Choice of MTA can also be dictated by type of connection you have. I
would choose a different set of tools if I were going to dial in to my
provider say once a day over what I would use for a permanent connection.
Again give us some idea on what type of connection you plan to use and we
will be able to better give you an idea on what would be appropriate.

> Do any of them have an easy graphical install and options for tackling
spam
> (and include IMAP)?

I like to use cyrus of UWimap as it command line config tools are much
easier to use than anything I have seen for UW. I did see that there was
also a KDE tool available for it but I haven't yet tried/used it to give you
my opinion. Do a search for cyrus on freshmeat for a link to the site and
more information on the tool.

> What of KSendmail as a management system for Sendmail (supposedly to make
> Sendmail administration easy) and SWAT (Sendmail web administration tool)

I always thought SWAT was the Samba admin tool. I suppose there can be two
tools of the same name but it does make it a bit confusing. I have never
used KSendmail so I can't comment but you can also do some basic Sendmail
config with tool like linuxconf.

> .... I haven't seen anyone mention them in the recent references to
> Sendmail. Has anyone tried them? Are there any better alternatives?

Well better alternatives depend on a lot of things, like how you define
better. On one hand if you want to spend some money there are plenty of
commercial mail server type programs that usually have spent more time on
their admin utils than say the more traditional mail programs. This can make
them better in one sense, but then they sometimes are closed source or cost
way too much for a simple setup so become impractical. They can also leave
the actual MTA work to something like Sendmail, which doesn't really let you
off the hook. For an example of one of these commercial products take a look
at HP Openmail. I'm not sure what they're licensing is like now but you were
able to pick up a free 50-user license under some arrangement.

> Thanks to Steve Vertigan and Joshua Pierre for previous responses.
>
> Thanks very much,
> Daniel.

Glad to be of help.
Michael Hunt
West Africa