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Re: default MTA



On Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:11:06, Bernhard R. Link wrote:
> * Chris Knadle <Chris.Knadle@coredump.us> [130529 08:29]:
> >   - Exim configuration is more human readable than Postifx's, IMHO.
> >   
> >     Postfix configuration is concise but terse, and there are typically
> >     blocks of options separated by commas that doesn't easily allow
> >     commenting on specific config options.
> 
> Configurability is an important point. Having had to use postfix lately
> I'm quite suprised anyone voluntarily uses that thing. Postfix feels
> like some ad-hoc configuration gone absurd, by only making special use
> cases configuable and then misusing those options for other things.

There's a reason it feels like this.  Postfix was designed with security in 
mind, but wasn't focused on being a general purpose MTA.  It happens to /work/ 
pretty well in that role in many cases, though.

   http://shearer.org/MTA_Comparison#Postfix

Exim is exactly the opposite: its design was focused on being a general 
purpose MTA, but wasn't focused on security.  Yet this doesn't mean that Exim 
is insecure.

   http://shearer.org/MTA_Comparison#Exim

> Together with this splitting in many little programs which all lack most
> of the information, configuring postfix is a large puzzle and any
> advanced postfix configuration (even from the official documentation)
> looks like McGyver was out of duct-tape but had to build a nuclear reactor
> from kitchen parts with only the transparent tape for office use.

This feels like a fitting description.  [Postfix's master.cf file is what I 
find the most confusing.]

> The only positive thing you can say about Postfix' configuration is that
> it might be better than sendmail's.

Sendmail's configuration is so unreadable that nobody [in their right mind] 
configures it in the native format and instead does it with m4 scripts.  
However with m4 scripts I think Sendmail configuration might actually be less 
confusing than Postfix's.

  -- Chris

--
Chris Knadle
Chris.Knadle@coredump.us
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