Re: Exim: frustrations configuring a satellite system (Solution)

[Jean Orloff <orloff@in2p3.fr>]

Hi, I finally cooked up something, that should maybe be added by eximconfig.

To recap my problem:

I have a machine (call it debsat) that sort of sits behind a firewall,
gets mail from an imap server (clrmail.in2p3.fr) and sends mail via smtp
through the same. This is the situation of 95% of people with Windblows
machines, and I can do like them: use netscape for email. However, I like emacs
mailers better, and also it is kind of nice to have local and external mail
merged. Plus it was frankly frustrating not to be able to do the same as plain
Outlook Express guys...

Fetching mail with fetchmail works fine. For security reasons, I only allow
smtp connections from 127.0.0.1 (localhost) to limit the risks of propagating
spam.

The problem was for outgoing mail: messages would go out OK, but for badly
adressed messages, I would never be warned (eg. for my original posting to
"users@lists.debian.org").

After trying Postfix (thanks Henrique) I decided that it was too heavy for a
such simple satellite system.

So here is my solution (very simple, but took quite some efforts, believe me!
testing mail is cumbersome!): just add the following lines at the end of
/etc/exim.conf :

	# Put "from" header into envelope From:
	# Let users control, like with simple netscape or Eudora SMTP...
	*@*     "${if def:header_from {$h_from:}fail}" F

The effect is to force the Envelope-From (where errors are bounced) to what the
user specifies in its From:-field. As far as I understand, this is exactly what
happens when netscape connects to an smtp server (like for instance the exim
server on localhost!), and declares the from in your netscape config as the
MAIL FROM in the smtp dialog. One could also rewrite the sender field if one is
present. (Would that be so much better?)

Now if anyone has an objection concerning bad things this could generate on
system mail, I am all ears, but I don't believe system mail needs a
from-envelope different from the from-field, does it? If not, then this should
maybe be suggested in the eximconfig dialog for a satellite system.

Amities,

		Jean Orloff