OT: building new server, need MTA advice

[Glenn Steen]

On 30/01/07, Res <res at ausics.net> wrote:
> On Tue, 30 Jan 2007, Randal, Phil wrote:
>
> >> Typical outcome .. 2 votes postfix one for exim. A sendmail bash and
> >> an absolute "no" to qmail.
>
> who voted no to qmail? It in fact the best for virtual domains.
>
> If I wasnt voted in for sendmail, chuck me in now :)
>
>
> > It takes a while to get used to
>
> This is the biggest thing, it is very very configurable and that scares
> those who dont know it.

This is actually true for all of Exim, Sendmail and Postfix... When
you scratch the surface, there be dragons:-).

> I liken Sendmail to a console user and postfix as the gui user

Well, To use your analogy... Sendmail has mutated (slooowly) from a
"homegrown piece of crap CUI, that you constantly have to tinker with,
or wave chicken wings at" to "a rather well functioning newt-based
CUI, with convenient commands and fileformats if one don't want it"...
Modern Sendmail isn't at all as horrid as it used to be when I used to
use it:-):-). And I actually still use Sendmail on systems that come
preloaded with it... Why bother changing that on a DB server (or
similar)?

I suspect you mean that Postfix is "inflexible, but streamlined", by
the GUI reference? Can't really say I agree;-). More like it was that
nice CUI with options from the start:-D.

But this is neither here nor there. The MTAs in question are very well
come together, all told. You have your view on the matter, I have
mine, and we can certainly agree to disagree, as we have in the
past;-).

Note to the casual reader: The analogy above doesn't imply any use of
a configuration tool aside from an editor, it is after all just an
analogy;-).

> /me ducks from Glenn
As well you should:-)

It's a bit fun to be perceived as such an advocate for PF. Sure, it is
what I use, and prefer,  now... And "the devil one knows best" is
usually the one to go with (would be a huge investment in time to
switch to Exim, for example, simply because I'd need to start from
scratch... again... I like to know my MTAs well:-)... But if there
would arise a situation where, for some strange reason, Postfix would
not be a viable option for MailScanner... Well then I'd certainly have
no problem moving to either of the other candidates.

This whole discussion reminds me a lot of the old "Which OS is
best"... The answers: "Any". "None". "Doesn't matter as much as you'd
think". "Which OS do you know?". "They can basically be taught to do
anything"... :-)

-- 
-- Glenn
email: glenn < dot > steen < at > gmail < dot > com
work: glenn < dot > steen < at > ap1 < dot > se