[CentOS] nullmailer recommendations

Fri Jul 21 19:27:02 UTC 2006
Les Mikesell <lesmikesell at gmail.com>

On Fri, 2006-07-21 at 11:47 -0700, Mark Schoonover wrote:
> > 
> > The reason no one else has written that script is that the stock
> > sendmail 'just works' as shipped for sending mail.  And if you have
> > something odd locally, it is usually a one-line edit in sendmail.mc to
> > accommodate it.
> 
> Well, it may just work for some, but not for others - I'm sure I'm not alone
> in sendmail not 'just working'.

If your DNS works and your destination accepts standard smtp, sendmail
'just works' on the sending side.  If those aren't true you will run
into the same problems (with the possible exception of using the MX
address) with any other sending program.

> Using sendmail/postfix/qmail to send simple
> email from cronjobs is like using a jackhammer to drive finishing nails. Why
> go through all that hassle of sendmail and it's near daily security problems
> for such a simple task?

There are always people who prefer to invent new security problems
instead
of fixing the known ones.  They are usually good at it.

>  My network has mixed CentOS and Gentoo systems, with
> the Gentoo systems not having sendmail installed. Installing sendmail on
> those systems would take far more time then coming up with a simple script
> to do what I need. Take into account running another binary, it's just
> another service taking up resources that doesn't have to be used.

If you never care about queuing/retries when the destination doesn't
accept the first attempt, a sender is pretty simple.  Or you could
ssh it to a real mailer.  If you want reliable service it is a different
issue and you might as well use something that is already tested.

-- 
  Les Mikesell
   lesmikesell at gmail.com