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Managing sendmail Services in Oracle Solaris 11.1     Oracle Solaris 11.1 Information Library
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Document Information

Preface

1.  Mail Services (Overview)

2.  Mail Services (Tasks)

3.  Mail Services (Reference)

Oracle Solaris Version of sendmail

Flags Used and Not Used to Compile sendmail

MILTER, Mail Filter API for sendmail

Alternative sendmail Commands

Versions of the Configuration File

Software and Hardware Components of Mail Services

Software Components

Mail User Agent

Mail Transfer Agent

Local Delivery Agent

Mailers and sendmail

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Mailers

UNIX-to-UNIX Copy Program (UUCP) Mailers

Mail Addresses

Domains and Subdomains

Name Service Domain Name and Mail Domain Name

Typical Format for Mail Addresses

Route-Independent Mail Addresses

Mailbox Files

Mail Aliases

Hardware Components

Mail Host

Mail Server

Mail Client

Mail Gateway

Mail Service Programs and Files

Enhancement for vacation Utility

Contents of the /usr/bin Directory

Contents of the /etc/mail Directory

Contents of the /etc/mail/cf Directory

Contents of the /usr/lib Directory

Other Files Used for Mail Services

Interactions of Mail Programs

sendmail Program

sendmail and Its Rerouting Mechanisms

sendmail Features

sendmail Configuration File

Mail Alias Files

.mailrc Aliases

/etc/mail/aliases File

NIS aliases Map

.forward Files

Situations to Avoid

Controls for .forward files

.forward.hostname File

.forward+detail File

/etc/default/sendmail File

Mail Addresses and Mail Routing

Interactions of sendmail With Name Services

sendmail.cf and Mail Domains

sendmail and Name Services

Mail Domains and Name Service Domains

Requirements for Name Services

Interactions of NIS and sendmail

Interactions of sendmail With NIS and DNS

Changes in Version 8.14 of sendmail

Changes in Version 8.13 of sendmail

Support for Running SMTP With TLS in Version 8.13 of sendmail

Configuration File Options for Running SMTP With TLS

Macros for Running SMTP With TLS

Rule Sets for Running SMTP With TLS

Security Considerations Related to Running SMTP With TLS

Additional Command-Line Options in Version 8.13 of sendmail

Additional and Revised Configuration File Options in Version 8.13 of sendmail

Additional and Revised FEATURE() Declarations in Version 8.13 of sendmail

Changes From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Support for TCP Wrappers From Version 8.12 of sendmail

submit.cf Configuration File From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Functions That Distinguish sendmail.cf From submit.cf

Functional Changes From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Additional or Deprecated Command-Line Options From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Additional Arguments for the PidFile and ProcessTitlePrefix Options From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Additional Defined Macros From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Additional Macros From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Additional MAX Macros From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Additional and Revised m4 Configuration Macros From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Changes to the FEATURE() Declaration From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Changes to the MAILER() Declaration From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Additional Delivery Agent Flags From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Additional Equates for Delivery Agents From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Additional Queue Features From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Changes for LDAP From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Change to the Built-In Mailer From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Additional Rule Sets From Version 8.12 of sendmail

Changes to Files From Version 8.12 of sendmail

sendmail Version 8.12 and IPv6 Addresses in Configuration

Index

Mail Addresses and Mail Routing

The path that a mail message follows during delivery depends on the setup of the client system and the topology of the mail domain. Each additional level of mail hosts or mail domains can add another alias resolution, but the routing process is basically the same on most hosts.

You can set up a client system to receive mail locally. Receiving mail locally is known as running sendmail in local mode. Local mode is the default for all mail servers and some clients. On a mail server or a mail client in local mode, a mail message is routed the following way.


Note - The following example assumes that you are using the default rule set in the sendmail.cf file.


  1. Expand the mail alias, if possible, and restart the local routing process.

    The mail address is expanded by checking for the mail alias in the name service and substituting the new value, if a new value is found. This new alias is then checked again.

  2. If the mail is local, deliver the mail to /usr/lib/mail.local.

    The mail is delivered to a local mailbox.

  3. If the mail address includes a host in this mail domain, deliver the mail to that host.

  4. If the address does not include a host in this domain, forward the mail to the mail host.

    The mail host uses the same routing process as the mail server. However, the mail host can receive mail that is addressed to the domain name as well as to the host name.