[Probably a bit OT] A question about mail systems [SOLVED]

[Rolf Nielsen]

2011-01-08 13:26, Rolf Nielsen skrev:
> Hello,
>
> I have several e-mail addresses, and to make it easier to read them all,
> I use fetchmail to get the messages from the servers and deliver them to
> one local account. And I have a POP3 server running so I can read that
> local account's mail from e.g. thunderbird or even from my cell phone.
>
> The POP3 server I use is mail/popd from the ports, but I'm not very
> happy with it. Among other things it occasionally messes up attached
> files, so I want to switch.
>
> Moreover, I'd like to use maildir instead of a single file mailbox, so
> I'd like to switch from sendmail to e.g. postfix.
>
> The problem is that my knowledge about e-mail configuration is somewhat
> limited. I've found several tutorials and HOWTOs on getting postfix and
> either a POP3 or an IMAP server up and running, but they were all aimed
> at quite advanced setups, meant for serving entire domains, and most of
> them involved having the users in a MySQL database. I've fiddled a bit
> with it, but I can't seem to get postfix to deliver the mail.
>
> So here's what I want to do.
>
> 1. Have fetchmail get the messages.
>
> 2. Have an MTA (is that the right name, I always confuse them) deliver
> them locally to a maildir.
>
> 3. Have either a POP3 or an IMAP server from which I can retrieve the
> messages to whichever client I choose.
>
> 1 isn't a problem unless I need to make some radical changes.
>
> How do I set up 2 in the easiest possible way? Can anyone point me to a
> tutorial or HOWTO that I've missed? Or perhaps give me some tips on how
> to do it?
>
> For 3, can anyone recomend a good server that's easy to get up and
> running and which, obviously, handles maildir? Preferably one that can
> do both POP3 and IMAP, in case my needs change later. A good tutorial or
> HOWTO, or maybe some pointers?
>
> If I've left something out or I need to clarify anything, please let me
> know. I'll do what I can to help you help me. :)
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Rolf Nielsen

Thanks for the input I received from you guys. I've got things running 
in a way I'm quite happy with now. And with your input and a little 
further digging on my part, it turned out to be pretty simple.

I kept sendmail, set up dovecot as an IMAP server, and put
"| /usr/local/libexec/dovecot/deliver" in ~/.forward. That's all I did. 
And it works just like I want it to. Realising it was that simple made 
me laugh at myself. But then again, mail servers isn't my area of expertise.

I find using ~/.forward for this a bit of an ugly hack, but as long as 
I'm the only one using this computer, I can live with it, though I would 
prefer to have it in /etc/mail/aliases instead, but that just gives me 
warnings about deliver not being run as the correct user (yes, I did try 
with the -d option). If someone knows how to fix that, I'd be greatful, 
but it's not that important, at least not for the time being, so don't 
lose any sleep over it for me.

Anyway, thanks again for the input,

Rolf Nielsen