Linux mail server for home

Hi guys I want to undertake a project in my spare time at home the aim of the project will be for me to configure and setup a mail server for home, for the sole purpose of improving my knowledge.

I will be running Windows XP with Ubuntu 8.10 running via vmware

I want to be able to setup a mail server and be able to send emails around the house and externally and be able to administrate and add users to the mail server.

I'm not some hardcore Linux Guru but I don't mind resorting to using the cli and editing config files if necessary.

What is the easiest way to get a mail server up and running through the cli, or use webmin?
i'm calling on you guys to share your experiences with me!

I have some fundemental flaws in my knowledge though one of the questions which has been bugging me is Once I have setup a mail server where the hell do I get the email addresses for my users from? can I create my own unique ones i.e Ally@allyshouse1.com??? how does it work do I have to register a domain? grrrrrr my brain hurts thinking about it :P

Anyways you guys can help me with my project give me advice and hints and I will report back to this thread my progress and any difficulties I encounter the eventual aim will be other users can use this thread as a resource! see i'm just full of good ideas

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Comments

remyforbes777

The first thing I would do is google how a mailserver works. It seems you are trying to jump into the pros without first playing in highschool. You need to know the basics of what you want your email server to do. Not that it can't be done, it's just harder. There are different implementations, do you want to set up POP3 mail, or IMAP. That is going to determine what server package you are going to use. Sendmail is a popular one along with Postfix. Both of these as far as I know are CLI based. There are plenty of tutorials on getting a mailserver in Linux up and running. As far as your email addresses, those are going to be determined by if you have a domain registered or not.

Mishra

This site is golden and helped me learn what I know of Linux today.

http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/

They have a

Quick HOWTO : Ch21 : Configuring Linux Mail Servers

undomiel

I set up a Linux based home mail server recently on CentOS. The way I did it was I did a quick google search to find out what are the popular MTAs and then I looked through to see which had the best documentation. Then I just got started installing things and built out from there. I ended up going for Postfix.

ally_uk

Thanks for the response guys that website looks pretty good I shall have to spend a few hours reading through some of the tutorials!

remyforbes777

FYI there is a software that is a Exchange alternative called PostPath. You can download a free 12 user license copy. It's supposedly very compatible with MS.

Schluep

Be careful with your ISP if you are running a mail server from home on a home priced connection. A lot of home ISPs (particularly cable) often include a clause in the contract stating you cannot do this. I do know someone who had some of their e-mail communication blocked at the ISP level as a result.

I have used Sendmail before but only in conjection with an Apache web server running PHP script. I found it to be very lightweight in accomplishing my goal.

marco71

You need a registered domain and a MX record for your mail server into some external nameservers (normally into your ISP nameservers) in order to receive external emails; also you need your smtp port (tcp/25) to be open for outside (unfiltered by your ISP or by your own firewall)...
as for mail-daemon, you can use postfix, qmail or exim, instead sendmail