1.3 Configuring the Linux Email System

Many systems use the Sendmail MTA to transfer email messages and on many Linux distributions  this is the default Mail Transfer Agent. Sendmail is, however, a complex system that can be difficult for both the beginner and experienced user to understand and configure. It is also falling from favor because it is considered to be slower at processing email messages than many of the more recent MTAs available.

Many system administrators are now using Postfix or Qmail to handle email. Both are faster and easier to configure than Sendmail 

For the purposes of this chapter we will look at Postfix as an MTA because of its simplicity and popularity. If you would prefer to use Sendmail there are many books that specialize in the subject and that will do the subject much more justice than we can in this introduction.