[CentOS] Re: CentOS 5 and removing sendmail

Mon Dec 3 17:35:30 UTC 2007
Stephen Harris <lists at spuddy.org>

On Mon, Dec 03, 2007 at 10:04:30AM -0700, Joseph L. Casale wrote:
> Well, unless you install postfix first, then system-switch-mail, then
> execute switch-mail, how does the stuff that needs sendmail know what to use?

This is the "alternatives" system at work.  /usr/sbin/sendmail
is a symlink to /etc/alternatives/sendmail.  The "alternatives"
system will manage the /etc/alternatives/sendmail symlink, so that
if your mail system is configured as "sendmail" then it points to
/usr/sbin/sendmail.sendmail which is the _actual_ sendmail command
provided by the sendmail RPM package.  If your mail system is postfix
then it points to /usr/sbin/sendmail.postfix instead.

-- 

rgds
Stephen