20.1 Synopsis

Electronic Mail, better known as email, is one of the most widely used forms of communication today. This chapter provides a basic introduction to running a mail server on FreeBSD. However, it is not a complete reference and in fact many important considerations are omitted. For more complete coverage of the subject, the reader is referred to the many excellent books listed in Appendix B.

After reading this chapter, you will know:

• What software components are involved in sending and receiving electronic mail.

• Where basic sendmail configuration files are located in FreeBSD.

• How to block spammers from illegally using your mail server as a relay.

• How to replace sendmail as your system's default mailer.

• How to troubleshoot common mail server problems.

Before reading this chapter, you should:

• Properly setup your network connection (Chapter 19).

• Properly setup the DNS information for your mail host (Chapter 19).

• Know how to install additional third-party software (Chapter 4).