Re: [Exim] Relay questions..

On 2000-08-25 at 13:15 -0500, Don Click gifted us with:
> I am very confused by all this relay stuff..

In normal use, there are two ways in which a machine should forward mail
on. One is for mail from the world, coming in. This is controled by
local_domains and relay_domains. The other is for local systems sending
mail out to the whole world via your box, which is controlled by
host_accept_relay.

Take a look at the Specification, the section "Other policy controls on
incoming mail". The "Control of Relaying" bit explains it nicely, with
AsciiMation artwork as a value-added bonus. :^) This section is
roughly 7/8 way down the table of contents; personally, I'd have it
nearer the start, after the "How Exim delivers mail" section, but that's
just the way my mind works, and probably wrong for most people.

> All I want to do is send and recieve emails..

Actually, you want a bit more than that. You're trying to set up a way
to pass mail transparently for people who should be allowed to, but deny
it for everyone else (unless you want your ISP to cut your net access
off for being an 'open relay' - where spammers can use your mail system
to send their mail on in such a way that they can't be traced).

> I can send/recive locally just fine.
> I cannot send mail outside of my domain from ANY machine OTHER than my mail
> server.

Look at host_accept_relay under "Main configuration"

> I am not a mail guru, and was told that exim is eaiser to use than sendmail,
> however, Im still confused.

Have you ever dealt with sendmail.cf? Exim's config is easy for humans
to read, Exim takes care of building internal config state. sendmail.cf
is the internal state, humans be damned.

> Any suggestions? The docs confuse the hell outta me.

They do, at first. It clicks, though, and suddenly everything is
wonderful and you'll never want to use another MTA; once you understand
the relationship between transports, directors and routers, and the way
the config fits together, it's all transparently obvious and the docs
suddenly become some of the best available for any application.

It's the first "How do I control Exim, what areas of config handle what"
which originally threw me; the Overview explains what all the different
parts are, as discrete items, with features, without first giving a
precis of what is what, fitting into where.

The problem is that once you do understand Exim, it's difficult to
remember and understand how someone else can't.
--
"We've got a patent on the conquering of a country through the use of force.
We believe in world peace through extortionate license fees." -Bluemeat