When I first tried to setup a mail server on Linux I spent several days struggling through a morass of very poor information and downright unhelpful people. There are also several good, but incomplete, how-tos out there so I’ve decided to put them all together and write an article on how to build a “Complete” mail server.
This is an update of an article I wrote several months before. There maybe be some inconsistencies in writing style.
Before we start it will be very helpful to detail exactly what a typical (linux) mail server is comprised of. Half of the problems I encountered were down to basic misconceptions.
A typical (useful) “Mail Server” is not a single piece of software. The setup I’ve ended up with involves at least 5 separate packages.