sendmail

If this isn't exactly what you wanted, please try our Search (there's a LOT of techy and non-techy stuff here about Linux, Unix, Mac OS X and just computers in general!):

From: Steve Fabac <smfabac@att.net>
Subject: Re: sendmail problem on 5.0.4 on SW Bell ADSL line
References: <3B1459D9.F66AD487@att.net> <GE9H1J.nIB@wjv.com> 
Date: Sun, 03 Jun 2001 23:16:47 +0100

Bill Vermillion wrote:
> 
> In article <3B1459D9.F66AD487@att.net>, Steve Fabac  <smfabac@att.net> wrote:
> >I have a client running SCO 5.0.4 Ent. with sse022 (sendmail 8.8.8)
> >that begin complaining about long delivery times for their outgoing
> >e-mail. They reported a 5 hour delay between the time they sent the
> >email and the recipient receiving it. (No, I have not asked the client
> >to have the recipient forward me the email so that I can check the
> >headers ... yet.)
> 
> >To try to avoid the seeming delay in the swbell mail server, I
> >commented out the "smart host" directive in sendmail.cf that
> >specified "mail.swbell.net"
> 
> >Mail to smfabac@swbell.net then fails with
> 
> >>                 Mail Queue (1 request)
> >> --Q-ID-- --Size-- -----Q-Time----- ------------Sender/Recipient------------
> >> CAA29561       34 Fri Jun  1 02:55 smf
> >>                  (smfabac@swbell.net... reply: read error from swbell.net.)
> >>                                    smfabac@swbell.net
> 
> >But if I send the message addressed to smfabac@mail.swbell.net
> >it gets off the machine and is delivered!!!
> 
> No need for exclamation points there, as that is exactly the
> expected behaviour if you so not have SmartHost and DO NOT have
> a local DNS server.
> 
> By commenting out 'SmartHost' - which will lookup the
> proper MX records, you now have to deliver mail to an explicit
> email address, as you have just found.  That's why it's
> called a "SmartHost".
> --
> Bill Vermillion -   bv @ wjv . com

You're right Bill, I found that sendmail is not using DNS on the
client's machine due to the existence of /etc/service.switch. 

Some time in the past before the client was connected to the internet,
I had followed the SCO technical article to create /etc/service.switch
to prevent sendmail from using the nonexistent DNS service for
intra-company e-mail. When the system was connected to the internet, I 
reconfigured /usr/lib/sendmail.cf and dropped the OI-DNSRCH but
did not remove /etc/service.switch. 

Well, I fought getting e-mail off the machine until I set
mail.swbell.net
as the "smart host." Then, all non local e-mail was relayed through 
swbell.net. 

I found this when I executed /usr/lib/sendmail -bt and
issued /mx swbell.net and received the following response

> With /etc/service.switch set to:
> hosts files /dns
> 
> # /usr/lib/sendmail -bt
> WARNING: writable directory /usr
> WARNING: writable directory /usr/spool
> WARNING: writable directory /usr/spool/mqueue
> ADDRESS TEST MODE (ruleset 3 NOT automatically invoked)
> Enter <ruleset> <address>
> /mx swbell.net
> > getmxrr(swbell.net) returns 0 value(s):
> > 
> 
> After removing service.switch or changing it to:
> hosts files dns
> 
> # /usr/lib/sendmail -bt
> WARNING: writable directory /usr
> WARNING: writable directory /usr/spool
> WARNING: writable directory /usr/spool/mqueue
> ADDRESS TEST MODE (ruleset 3 NOT automatically invoked)
> Enter <ruleset> <address>
> /mx swbell.net
> > getmxrr(swbell.net) returns 3 value(s):
>    mta1.rcsntx.swbell.net.
>    mta2.rcsntx.swbell.net.
>    mta3.rcsntx.swbell.net.
> > 


Problem solved. 

                                          Steve Fabac
                                           S.M. Fabac & Associates
                                            816/765-1670

Jump to Comments

Many of the products and books I review are things I purchased for my own use. Some were given to me specifically for the purpose of reviewing them. I resell or can earn commissions from the sale of some of these items. Links within these pages may be affiliate links that pay me for referring you to them. That's mostly insignificant amounts of money; whenever it is not I have made my relationship plain. I also may own stock in companies mentioned here. If you have any question, please do feel free to contact me.

Specific links that take you to pages that allow you to purchase the item I reviewed are very likely to pay me a commission. Many of the books I review were given to me by the publishers specifically for the purpose of writing a review. These gifts and referral fees do not affect my opinions; I often give bad reviews anyway.

We use Google third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.