Apps :: DSL an email server?



I would like to use DSL to run an email server.  Does anyone have experience doing this? if so what software package did you use? I'm a linux noob, and need a full featured email server, that is hopefully easy to set up and configure.

Thanks for any help!
Hey Superunknown98,
I do not know how to install it on DSL, but I read an article about this in the german magazin c't and they have a quite ready to use solution (a complete email and web server with firewall etc.... for downloading) at the link

http://www.heise.de/ct/ftp/projekte/srv/

its based on DEBIAN Linux. If you understand some German, may it helps...

Vincent
Okay.  There's a few problems with running a mail server from home. The primary problem is one of network ip, more than likely, you don't have a static ip, and if you do happen to have a static ip, if it's not within an acceptable ip block, your mail server is gonna get banned by several of the larger ISPs (AOL and it's derivatives, wmconnect, etc. and Earthlink, right off the top of my head, to name a few) so you won't be able to send mail to anyone on those networks from your mailserver.  I'm telling you this from personal experience, so be prepared for it.

Secondly, the biggest problem with new sysadmins setting up email for the first time is inadvertantly setting up an open relay.  I've done it, everybody that's ever set up a mail server has done it at one time or another.  If you set up an open relay, spammers will move in, set up residence and use your box for a spamming fiesta.  You will get some of the nastiest emails in the world from hardworking sysadmins questioning your parentage and your predilection for bestiality.

Thirdly, there is no third point.

If you're dead set on setting up an email server, I'd suggest Qmail as it has, iirc, the best security record.  Incidentally, qmail's creator, DJ Bernstein, has US $500 for you if you can find a security hole.

Several distributions have prepackaged versions of Qmail, but it would be best if you downloaded the source and built it from scratch.

Dave Sill, author of Life with qmail has also authored a book The qmail Handbook which can be had from Amazon for under $10US.
You can get around your mail server being banned from larger ISP's by using your ISP's SMTP servers to do the out going.  

I run into the problems you described when I first setup my email server.   But the solution is: Use your IPS SMTP servers to do the out going mail.  

The open relay thing sucks.  I ran into that problem at first to, but with a little work, you will figure out how to turn off the open relay.

I am wanting to turn one of my DSL machines into an email server also and need a light weight email server program...

GRIM SAID "Thirdly, there is no third point."

I disagree completely, there is a point, the point to be incharge of your own email system and not depending on others to take care of your email.  It is about being independant, plus it is a great learning experience.
I admin several high volume servers that are on cable modems, and as Newdude said, we use the cable company for out going emails. A typical server recieves 2000 - 5000 emails an hour of spam and processes 100-400 legit emails a day.

There is a very positive reason for this... When you send an email, the receiving server does a reverse dns lookup, if your email is coming from a dynamicly assigned ip then they will refuse it.(AOL for one does this) When they see it comes from your ISP then they will accept it.

Also if you server becomes an open relay by accident or someone taking it over the isp will stop the out going email for you.

I would also look at setting up spamassassin, procmail, dovecot and postfix for your email (Qmail is a good program but it is hard to configure and is generally for large sites) and good old apache for the web.
Smooth Flights.
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