Postfix is a Mail Transfer Agent (MTA): software that mail servers use to route email. Postfix is highly respected by experts for its secure design and tremendous reliability. And new users like it because it's so simple to configure. In fact, Postfix has been adopted as the default MTA on Mac OS X. It is also compatible with sendmail, so that existing scripts and programs continue to work seamlessly after it is installed. Postfix was written by well-known security expert Wietse Venema, who reviewed this book intensively during its entire development. Author Kyle Dent covers a wide range of Postfix tasks, from virtual hosting to controls for unsolicited commercial email. While basic configuration of Postfix is easy, every site has unique needs that call for a certain amount of study. This book, with careful background explanations and generous examples, eases readers from the basic configuration to the full power of Postfix. It discusses the Postfix interfaces to various tools that round out a fully scalable and highly secure email system. These tools include POP, IMAP, LDAP, MySQL, Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL), and Transport Layer Security (TLS, an upgrade of SSL). A reference section for Postfix configuration parameters and an installation guide are included. Topics include:

• Basic installation and configuration

• DNS configuration for email

• Working with POP/IMAP servers

• Hosting multiple domains (virtual hosting)

• Mailing lists

• Handling unsolicited email (spam blocking)

• Security through SASL and TLS

From compiling and installing Postfix to troubleshooting, Postfix: The Definitive Guide offers system administrators and anyone who deals with Postfix an all-in-one, comprehensive tutorial and reference to this MTA.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 13 Ratings

Good reference guide for PostFix - 2005-04-26
Reviewer Rating:
PostFix is a replacement mail server, MTA, for Unix based systems that
formerly used Sendmail or other variants. PostFix was written to be a
drop in replacement for Sendmail but with it's own variations on control
files.

This book outlines most of the common issues in dealing with setting up
PostFix. The author takes the reader through the design concerns outlined
by the author of the program, Wietse Venema, who wrote the forward of the
book.

Sendmail has been a staple of the mail delivery world but it has a well
deserved reputation for being hard to setup, administer and understand.
The O'Reilly book on Sendmail is at least 3 times as large as this book.
There is alot to learn about its' macro language and using M4 to build
control files. Sendmail is a very hard program for a beginner to
understand and configure properly.

The author spends the first few chapters discussing how a mail server is
supposed to work; how the DNS system interacts with the mail system. There
are well laid out block diagrams to show the flow of email through a
system. Any SysAdmin who has spent time administering a mail system can
probably skip the first few chapters. Those who are new to running a mail
server should find the begining chapters enlightening.

PostFix mostly uses easy to read control files that don't require processing.
The program can be set up to use the Unix standard mbox delivery format or
the newer maildir format. The book explains the pros and cons of the 2
storage formats both from the MTA perspective and the pop or imap
interface.

Most of the more common configuration tweaks used in securing a Sendmail
system also apply to a PostFix installation. They are just easier to set
up in PostFix with the examples provided.

The book has a section devoted to setting up secure mail relay using the
Cyrus SASL libraries. It details setting up the password database via the
Unix standard or shadow format, SASL, LDAP PAM or MYSQL formats. The
author discusses ways to further secure the connection by using TLS
connections to ensure passwords are not compromised.

PostFix has some built in anti-spam tools. The book has a chapter devoted
to to pros and cons of the various approaches. Examples of "reasonable"
and "paranoid" approaches for setting up PostFix are provided. A simpler
apporoach than jumping directly into Spam Assassin or other
spam pre-processors

Mailing lists are another feature that PostFix can manage. The book has
examples of various simple ways of setting up mailing lists short of
installing a separate program like MajorDomo. This is a handy feature.

There are Appendixes intended to walk a user through the compiling process
which will help users not familiar with using Make. There is a listing of
the PostFix parameter commands and what they all mean.

PostFix the Definitive Guide is a well written, easy to read step by step
instruction book for using the PostFix mail server. Using this book as a
reference, an experienced SysAdmin should make the transition from
Sendmail to PostFix without much trouble. For someone new to the world of
MTA's, the book should answer most of the questions associated with
getting a PostFix mail server up and running.

This is another O'Reilly book that should be on a SysAdmin's bookshelf.

Not what I was expecting - 2004-12-16
Reviewer Rating:
If you're looking for a comprehensive guide on setting up a Postfix mail server, then this isn't the book for you. For those that are already familiar with setting up MTAs, the information provided in "The Definitive Guide" is probably enough, but this book only covers a subset of the Postfix configuration parameters and does not provide the step-by-step instructions that many people may be expecting.

A very good book about Postfix - 2006-02-18
Reviewer Rating:
I wasn't looking for esoteric information on how to administer Sendmail. I was looking for a book on Postfix and that's what the author provided. I got the book based a lot on the quality of O'Reilly books and the editor's reputation. Andy Oram is a top notch editor. I recommend this book to any Linux or UNIX person wanting to substitute Postfix for sendmail. Postfix is a drop in replacement for systems configured for sendmail but Postfix is not a monlithic program with lots of vulnerabilities. The author expalins that perfectly.

Complex, fast moving topic - 2008-06-22
Reviewer Rating:
I bought this book as soon as it came out, and I was reading the docs online more than the book.

What I was really hoping for from the book was how to setup some of the more complex postfix installations, at the time anyway, that the book was supposed to cover. It turned out the book did a poor job explaining what I was trying to do, and I was back to reading forums to get my answers.

The online docs are a much better source of information then the book.

Good book, unfortunately not the best in the field... - 2006-12-08
Reviewer Rating:
I've got all three books in the field, and this is a good book. Unfortunately, although Kyle's book was co-written by the author of the software, I believe that "The Book of Postfix: State-of-the-Art Message Transport" by Ralf Hildebrandt is a better choice.

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