Web hosting resellers - Running a Mail Server Electronic mail hardly requires
Running a Mail Server Electronic mail hardly requires introduction. Communications made through the original forms of e-mail helped shape the Internet. Widespread availability of access to e-mail and modern enhancements such as MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, which allow for inclusion of attachments and alternate message formats) have helped to make e-mail the most popular application on the Internet. With a Linux system and a suitable Internet connection, you can easily set up your own mail server for personal or business use. This chapter includes a description of how Internet mail works at the protocol level, and then guides you through the process of setting up a mail server, complete with spam and virus filtering. In the final section, you learn how to secure network communications between clients and your mail server through the use of SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer and Transport Layer Security) protocols. The examples in this chapter are based on a Debian GNU/Linux system. (See Chapter 9 for more information about Debian.) However, much of the knowledge you gain from setting up a mail server in Debian applies to other Linux systems as well. Internet E-Mail s Inner Workings E-mail messages are generated either by an automated process, such as a form processor on a Web page or an automated notification system, or by an MUA (Mail User Agent) controlled by an end user. Messages are delivered through one of two methods to the software performing the MTA (Mail Transfer Agent) function on a server: . SMTP The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is a networkbased protocol that allows for transmission of messages between systems. 2C H A5P5T E R . . . . In This Chapter Internet e-mail s inner workings About the system and the software used Preparing your system Installing and configuring the mail server software Testing and troubleshooting Configuring mail clients Securing communications with SSL/TLS . . . .
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