Re: [desktop] Installation of mail server by default
On Fri, Mar 28, 2003 at 09:37:10AM +0100, Andreas Metzler wrote:
> Osamu Aoki <osamu@debian.org> wrote:
> ["SMTP conflicts problem"]
> > 1. exim is "Priority: important".
> > This is the problem which requires us to use brute action to remove exim
> > from system to install other MTAs. If we make a empty package mta_*.deb
> > as "Priority: important" package which sets "Depends: exim |
> > mail-transport-agent" and all real MTA packages set "Provides:
> > mail-transport-agent" and "Priority: standard", then I think this
> > problem is solved. As for MTA packages, "exim", "postfix", "ssmtp",
> > "nullmailer" and possibly "qmail (non-free)" are candidates or this.
>
> > (Am I technically correct here?)
>
> I don't get it. Why is "apt-get install postfix" "brute action"?
It forces to delete exim. Installing xdm does not remove gdm.
* You may have set to run exim on different port (for
(port forwarding or some weird needs may exists)
(Remember, /etc/init.d/* are conffile)
* You may want to use exim from command line to get BSMTP, ...
Other issues are:
* You can not install both to read documentations
* This conflicts move postfix to "extra" instead of "optional".
> Actually I don't even get the problem. Could you elaborate what the
> "SMTP conflicts problem" is?
>
> > 2. exim conflicts with other MTA
> > If we have init script for all MTAs written like "xdm", we have only one
> > active MTA daemon.
> [...]
>
> I kind of doubt that it is feasible writing an init-script that works
> for all MTAs. Take a look at the init-scripts for sendmail and exim4.
They all get their own init scripts like xdm, gdm, kdm,... All you need
is a shared file such as /etc/default/mta or something like it to tell
which init script actually executed.
Issue shall be /etc/inetd.conf. A bit complicated to write postinst
script.
> > 3. sendmail, mailq, rsmtp commands overlap between programs.
> > I think postinst script should take care this conflict depending on
> > which daemon is active.
> [...]
>
> These links could probably be managed by update-alternatives. I just
> don't know how smart a-a is (RedHat uses it for exactly this purpose)
What is a-a?
> 4. inetd.
This is tough one. Then again, do we need inetd?
> 5. most important one: make sure that the daemon that is actually
> running and the one providing /usr/sbin/sendmail are one and the
> same. Otherwise you'll have lots of interesting bugreports by
> people whose mail isn't delivered properly because the have
> configure MTA A but MTA B owns /usr/sbin/sendmail.
If that is the case, /usr/sbin/sendmail should be a wrapper script which
read configuration file. I can say, it can be done. But issue is does
the maintainer of those daemon will agree, this is questionable.
Osamu
--
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Osamu Aoki <osamu@debian.org> Cupertino CA USA, GPG-key: A8061F32
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