amuck-landowner

Running your own mail server

R

rm_

New Member
Added SPF and DKIM to the tutorials. Later just for the sake of having it.
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Don't overcomplicate it, was already too much with all the greylisting/filtering, people are just going to glance over and decide, "nah this is too difficult and time-consuming, guess I'm staying with GMail". What's wrong with just showing how to get basic postfix+dovecot running, and all the extra stuff as separate tutorials? Also for example I don't even use any spam filtering on the server, just got a Bayesian plugin for my mail client (Claws-mail), works perfectly, and worlds simpler to set up and use.
 
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wlanboy

wlanboy

Content Contributer
rm_ said:
Don't overcomplicate it, was already too much with all the greylisting/filtering, people are just going to glance over and decide, "nah this is too difficult and time-consuming, guess I'm staying with GMail". What's wrong with just showing how to get basic postfix+dovecot running, and all the extra stuff as separate tutorials? Also for example I don't even use any spam filtering on the server, just got a Bayesian plugin for my mail client (Claws-mail), works perfectly, and worlds simpler to set up and use.
Click to expand...
I was thinking about splitting the tutorials too, but it is easier to maintain this topic in one complete list of todos.

If you have to open 10 posts to see what you can do / should do, the reader can easily lose track. It might look difficult too if I say "please read this 10 threads in this order and afterwards you know what you have to think about".

This is the main reason why I am updating my first post every week on each tutorial. Each comment and suggestion is used to make my tutorials better. No one should have to read through all the pages to see if the original post is still up to date.

I have now marked all things that you do not need as OPTIONAL.

But all steps should stay in this tutorial because everyone reading through it does have a chance to say "hey this feature is cool - I take the extra work for it".
 
peterw

peterw

New Member
Great tutorial. I added a rule on maildrop to move all spam mails to a spam folder.

Code: 
/etc/courier/maildroprc

if ( /^X-Spam-Flag: YES/ )
{
to “Maildir/.Spam”
}
 
drmike

drmike

100% Tier-1 Gogent
Great work and thanks for updating the original tutorial/how to.

Eventually, I'll get this tested.  Time is a luxury currently.
 
H

HDPIXEL

New Member
Can you add notes or any additional configuration for using this tutorial with multiple domains on the same server?  Thank you so much for this.
 
wlanboy

wlanboy

Content Contributer
HDPIXEL said:
Can you add notes or any additional configuration for using this tutorial with multiple domains on the same server?  Thank you so much for this.
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Depends on the stuff you want to do.

If you have different users per domain you have to setup vitual mapping. This will be added to the tutorial later.

If you just want to add a second domain following steps have to be done:

  1. Add MX, CNAME, SPF records to second domain (with the same ips of the mailserver)
  2. Edit the file /etc/postfix/main.cf
    And add the additional domains/subdomains to the mydestination line. Like:

mydestination = domain.com, subdomain.domain.com, domain.net, subdomain.domain.net

Keep in mind that this setup have some drawbacks. Because [email protected] and [email protected] ends up into the same mailbox. Because we do not have a domain based mapping (like virtual mappings have).

PS:


Cannot edit the original post so I have to add this here.
 
drmike

drmike

100% Tier-1 Gogent
Thanks for the additional info on multiple domains and willingness to append the original tutorial.

I'll ask about the post editing again. Not sufficient as-is where you and others edit/append useful information to their original post.
 
blergh

blergh

New Member
Verified Provider
rm_ said:
Don't overcomplicate it, was already too much with all the greylisting/filtering, people are just going to glance over and decide, "nah this is too difficult and time-consuming, guess I'm staying with GMail". What's wrong with just showing how to get basic postfix+dovecot running, and all the extra stuff as separate tutorials? Also for example I don't even use any spam filtering on the server, just got a Bayesian plugin for my mail client (Claws-mail), works perfectly, and worlds simpler to set up and use.
Click to expand...
Overcomplicate it? You sir are an idiot if you think DKIM/SPF is "overcomplicating it". If you are going to setup and run your own mail, at least do it right. Cutting corners is just going to make your service run like shit.
 
acd

acd

New Member
I often disagree with blergh, but this time, he is absolutely right. DKIM and SPF has been made so easy to install on debian, you can do it in about 10 minutes. This guide elucidates how easy the process is. Granted, it could be made easier if debian's post-config script auto-installed into postfix's filter chains, but we can't have everything for free.

https://kura.io/2011/09/17/postfix-dk-dkim-spf/

Please configure your domains with spf records and in it, please use -all (not ~all). Reduce spam for everyone.

best regards,

-tw
 
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HalfEatenPie

HalfEatenPie

The Irrational One
Retired Staff
wlanboy said:
Depends on the stuff you want to do.

If you have different users per domain you have to setup vitual mapping. This will be added to the tutorial later.

If you just want to add a second domain following steps have to be done:

  1. Add MX, CNAME, SPF records to second domain (with the same ips of the mailserver)
  2. Edit the file /etc/postfix/main.cf
    And add the additional domains/subdomains to the mydestination line. Like:

mydestination = domain.com, subdomain.domain.com, domain.net, subdomain.domain.net

Keep in mind that this setup have some drawbacks. Because [email protected] and [email protected] ends up into the same mailbox. Because we do not have a domain based mapping (like virtual mappings have).

PS:


Cannot edit the original post so I have to add this here.
Click to expand...
I did a pretty crappy edit to the main post.  let me know if I should fix it up differently.  Thanks for this fantastic tutorial buddy! :)
 
R

rm_

New Member
You sir are an idiot if you think DKIM/SPF is "overcomplicating it". If you are going to setup and run your own mail, at least do it right. Cutting corners is just going to make your service run like shit.
Click to expand...
Hello!

Yes, DKIM is some silly crap invented by Yahoo for no good reason, I completely ignore it.

SPF is an extravagancy you can bother with "to feel good about yourself" if you have too much free time, but in reality no one cares about SPF anyway, and you can not practically set hardfails either, since it breaks too much stuff such as forwarding.

And yes, both are unnecessary for a basic mail server. The principal thing to do is to ensure your IP is not in RBLs (can use http://bgp.he.net/ for that, it can check 51 RBLs automatically). Other than that, yes, DKIM and SPF are awesome-on-paper, pie-in-the sky ideas that (unfortunately?)went exactly nowhere in the real world.
 
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sleddog

sleddog

New Member
rm_ said:
Don't overcomplicate it, was already too much with all the greylisting/filtering, people are just going to glance over and decide, "nah this is too difficult and time-consuming, guess I'm staying with GMail". What's wrong with just showing how to get basic postfix+dovecot running, and all the extra stuff as separate tutorials? Also for example I don't even use any spam filtering on the server, just got a Bayesian plugin for my mail client (Claws-mail), works perfectly, and worlds simpler to set up and use.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. Mail setup should be modular. First, the core setup that gets mail flowing, then the 'addons'.

Each addon needs to be evaluated and an informed decision made as to whether or not it appropriate or required.

The newbie mail admin really needs to understand how all the components interact. Simply copying/pasting commands and configurations is not only confusing but leads to problems down the road, when something breaks and he/she has no idea how to fix it.
 
wlanboy

wlanboy

Content Contributer
HalfEatenPie said:
I did a pretty crappy edit to the main post.  let me know if I should fix it up differently.  Thanks for this fantastic tutorial buddy! :)
Click to expand...
Thank you. Maybe you should write your name.

"HEP" is quite short...

sleddog said:
I agree with this. Mail setup should be modular. First, the core setup that gets mail flowing, then the 'addons'.
Click to expand...
Totally agree.

I have added optional tasks out of this reason.

Because email servers can have a lot of features like:

  • marking spam
  • graylisting
  • virus scanning
  • virtual mappings
  • etc
I will mark every step that is just adding a feature as OPTIONAL.

So let's start with the preparations:
Click to expand...
 
peterw

peterw

New Member
grayfuz said:
how can you prevent your emails going gmail spam folder?
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  1. Don't send spam
  2. Don't use dynmaic ips for sending emails
  3. Remove your ip from spam blocklists
  4. Configure rDNS and MX
  5. Create SPF
  6. Send all messages from the same ip (per domain)
  7. Sign email with domain keys or DKIM
  8. If you mass email add a list-unsubscribe header
 
G

grayfuz

New Member
thanks.. i already did all of that but still my emails are going to gmail spam folder. any more suggestions?
 
Aldryic C'boas

Aldryic C'boas

The Pony
If you have this running on a VM, it's very likely that Google has already greylisted the provider's IP ranges.  Safest bet is to contact Google directly, explain exactly what your mail server is used for (personal, mass, etc), and request a whitelisting for your assigned IP/domain.  If your provider offers SWIP, having the assigned IPs SWIP'd to your name will also help.
 
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