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Re: Free mail server: sendmail vs qmail

On 2/23/01 1:31 PM, "Marco Bambini" <email@hidden> wrote:

> MacOS X Server includes sendmail as default mail server but I think that qmail
> is much more powerful, easy to set up and easy to administer than sendmail.
>
> It is used by egroups, xoom and hotmail and it seems to be far superior that
> any other free mail server (you can have more details at
> http://www.lifewithqmail.org/lwq.html, Features and Comparison section).
>
> So my question is, why Apple includes sendmail with OS X Server?

Because it's pretty much standard everywhere else. Adding qmail to OSX
Server adds extra issues that can be avoided by using the standard software
- in this case sendmail.

It could also be a licensing/djb issue as you can't distribute patched
versions of qmail:

<http://cr.yp.to/qmail/dist.html>
--------------------
If you want to distribute modified versions of qmail (including ports, no
matter how minor the changes are) you'll have to get my approval. This does
not mean approval of your distribution method, your intentions, your e-mail
address, your haircut, or any other irrelevant information. It means a
detailed review of the exact package that you want to distribute.

Exception: You are permitted to distribute a precompiled var-qmail package
if (1) installing the package produces exactly the same /var/qmail hierarchy
as a user would obtain by downloading, compiling, and installing
qmail-1.03.tar.gz, fastforward-0.51.tar.gz, and dot-forward-0.71.tar.gz; (2)
the package behaves correctly, i.e., the same way as normal
qmail+fastforward+dot-forward installations on all other systems; and (3)
the package's creator warrants that he has made a good-faith attempt to
ensure that the package behaves correctly. It is not acceptable to have
qmail working differently on different machines; any variation is a bug. If
there's something about a system (compiler, libraries, kernel, hardware,
whatever) that changes qmail's behavior, then that platform is not
supported, and you are not permitted to distribute binaries.
--------------------

DJB also considers different places for files to be an incompatibility and
then: "that platform is not supported and you are not permitted to
distribute binaries."

<http://cr.yp.to/compatibility.html>

Stuff on OSX is usually in a wacked out OpenStep inspired location - not
normal compared to most other UNIXes - that would probably be an
"incompatibility".

> The best server (like OS X) should have the best mail server, so why not
> qmail?

Why qmail? Is it actually the best?

Why not Postfix? Exim? Zmailer?

> Anyone know some reasons to choose sendmail instead of qmail?

Simple.
Standard.
They have to be able to support it - Sendmail is generally well known (and
they can always turn to the bat book if they don't know the answer).
No restrictions on what you can and can't do with it.

It's really not that hard to rip it out and replace it.

I *always* rip Sendmail out and put Postfix in it's place, it's fast,
simple, very compatible (to software that expects to find Sendmail) and
doesn't have annoying licensing issues to boot.
--
darron froese
new media technologist
sutton javelin corporate communications
t 403.716.0351
f 403.265.7662
e email@hidden

References: 
 >Free mail server: sendmail vs qmail (From: Marco Bambini <email@hidden>)



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