Please help - configuring e-mail

[D'Arcy J.M. Cain]

I have Cc'd and redirected followups to netbsd-***@NetBSD.org. This
question is not i386 specific.

On Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:39:00 +0100

I am trying to configure NetBSD to send and receive e-mails. I read the chapter 26 e-mail of the NetBSD guide, but this does not really bring me forward. I am using NetBSD 4.0 as a desktop without X. All distribution sets are installed except X. All I want is to be able to be a home user in a text-only NetBSD system. I would also like to mention, I once tried NetBSD with X and Sylpheed on the same machine with the same connection, and it worked flawlessly.

It is possible for an MUA (Mail User Agent or "client") to work even if
you don't have a local MTA (Mail Transfer Agent or "server") if you are
set up to send outgoing email through a server that trusts you. Have
you tried elm or mutt on your text only system?

I tried to follow the steps in the guide, but when I had to do
postmap /etc/postfix/generic
as described in Chapter 26, it just complained that the hostname is empty. How do I set the hostname? I have no idea, I tried various things (which I don't remember, sorry - I tried to set it in rc.conf, in /etc/hosts, and with the command hostname).

Are you sure that you have "hostname=mybox" or whatever you call your
machine?

I tried the example
sendmail myusername

I guess sendmail is looking for an SMTP server and you don't have one
yet. Try this command:

date | mail -s TEST myusername

I believe that this does not use the local MTA.

OK, so what do I have to do in order to set up e-mail? I want to know the STEPS!

Try going through /etc/postfix/main.cf and let me know what changes you
do to get it going. Did you perhaps add a myhostname or mydomain
value? The default (not defined) should work in most cases.

10.0.0.217 mynet
(I am in an internal network of my dormitory, I always get the same IP when I connect, which is 10.0.0.217.)
mynet=10.0.0.217

I think the guide assumes that you have already set up hostname if you
have a running system. Let me know if the above suggestion works for
you. Perhaps I can add a note to that area of the guide.

[netbsd unix]

Dear newsgroup members,

As to the the hostname, do I correctly assume that it can be any valid text string? Maybe my mistake was that I REALLY call it "mynet" or something similar, without .com, .net or anything, since actually noone else knows who's this machine is besides myself!

By the way, my dormitory network does not "trust" me - it merely allows me to connect to the internet. As to checking the mail, I tried mutt (before I reinstalled), and it said I have no mail, but I had not configured it either, so no surprise here. But I checked GMX, the free mail provider (I sent e-mails to myself), and none arrived. The BSD mail utility also said "no mail", therefore, I assume indeed nothing was delivered.

date | mail -s TEST myusername

just gives me "postfix/sendmail: fatal: unable to use my own hostname"

I never tried to make an SMTP-server. Is this part of the setup?

No, I don't have hostname=mybox, I actually only have it with the IP-Address:
I have in /etc/hosts:

10.0.0.217 mynet

and in /etc/rc.conf:

mynet=10.0.0.217

that is all.

Yes, last time I indeed DID set in /etc/postfix/main.cf mydomain and myhostname, and it almost worked, but I was not too certain of what I was doing, that is why I finally just reinstalled NetBSD, and now I did not set them - now I just did what I described in my mail to you.

So do correctly assume that now I have to find out how to make an SMTP-server, and write somewhere hostname=mynet (where?)? Thank you in advance for your kind assistance.

Kind regards,

Nino

-------- Original-Nachricht --------

Datum: Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:34:22 -0400
Betreff: Re: Please help - configuring e-mail
question is not i386 specific.
On Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:39:00 +0100

I am trying to configure NetBSD to send and receive e-mails. I read the

chapter 26 e-mail of the NetBSD guide, but this does not really bring me
forward. I am using NetBSD 4.0 as a desktop without X. All distribution sets
are installed except X. All I want is to be able to be a home user in a
text-only NetBSD system. I would also like to mention, I once tried NetBSD
with X and Sylpheed on the same machine with the same connection, and it
worked flawlessly.
It is possible for an MUA (Mail User Agent or "client") to work even if
you don't have a local MTA (Mail Transfer Agent or "server") if you are
set up to send outgoing email through a server that trusts you. Have
you tried elm or mutt on your text only system?

I tried to follow the steps in the guide, but when I had to do
postmap /etc/postfix/generic
as described in Chapter 26, it just complained that the hostname is

empty. How do I set the hostname? I have no idea, I tried various things (which
I don't remember, sorry - I tried to set it in rc.conf, in /etc/hosts, and
with the command hostname).
Are you sure that you have "hostname=mybox" or whatever you call your
machine?

I tried the example
sendmail myusername
but I get nowhere anything (I am quite sure I did it correctly, I tried

I guess sendmail is looking for an SMTP server and you don't have one
date | mail -s TEST myusername
I believe that this does not use the local MTA.

OK, so what do I have to do in order to set up e-mail? I want to know

the STEPS!
Try going through /etc/postfix/main.cf and let me know what changes you
do to get it going. Did you perhaps add a myhostname or mydomain
value? The default (not defined) should work in most cases.

So far, I understand it as follows; however, when I tried it yesterday,
10.0.0.217 mynet
(I am in an internal network of my dormitory, I always get the same IP

when I connect, which is 10.0.0.217.)

mynet=10.0.0.217

I think the guide assumes that you have already set up hostname if you
have a running system. Let me know if the above suggestion works for
you. Perhaps I can add a note to that area of the guide.
--
http://www.NetBSD.org/

[D'Arcy J.M. Cain]

On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 07:21:10 +0100

Post by netbsd unix
So do correctly assume that now I have to find out how to make an SMTP-server, and write somewhere hostname=mynet (where?)? Thank you in advance for your kind assistance.

In /etc/rc.conf.