Re: Sendmail vs. Postfix vs. ?

[Whil Hentzen <lug@hentzenwerke.com>]

> no not exactly... IMAP, SMTP, POP3 are just protocols... Postfix the MTA,
> just accepts (or sends) packets, mail packets, and *delivers* them to your
> inbox. This is set up via its config file, called main.cf IIRC... it's been
> a long time <g>  How you read your mail depends on what protocol you use
> next. Either IMAP or POP... both read the same folder where your mail is
> stored on the mail server from Postfix..  /home/me/mail/ .. or where ever
> you set up for the mail to be stored.

OK, I'm following, until the last sentence.

> Yes, Postfix delivers mail to where you specify, /home/me/mail/ It stays on
> the IMAP server, which is your inbox, or /home/me/mail/ account.
>
> W> It does not download into KMail's folder under
> W> /home/myusername/mail (or whatever) on the box I'm sitting in front of.
>
> IMAP protocol leaves the mail on the server, POP gets it from the server
> and delivers it to your email client, in this case KMail. You can literally
> use POP3 or IMAP on the same /home/me/mail/ account... you can interchange
> them. They both read the same account where your mail is stored on the
> server.
>
> W> I'm confused, however, about how the IMAP server communicates with the
> MTA.
>
> It doesn't. It talks to where the mail is stored, which is your
> /home/me/mail account or where you set it up on the server, your inbox
> where Postfix delivers your mail initially. This is the same inbox where
> you POP your mail from.

Suppose postfix (an MTA piece of software)  and dovecot (an IMAP server piece 
of software) are both running on a box called Jeeves. (Jeeves' IP is 
associated with the MX record for www.example.net, so when someone sends mail 
to me@example.net, its eventual desintation is the mail server (MTA) running 
on Jeeves. But this is all besides the point.)

At this point, I'm groovy. (I currently run a proprietary Windows email server 
on Jeeves, and my email client connects to jeeves to fetch mail via POP, so I 
get this, sorta - the Windows email server combines the MTA and MDA for me.)

OK, when a piece of mail arrives at Jeeves for me, it gets put into 
/home/me/mail by Postfix. This directory, /home/me/mail, is ON JEEVES (the 
server box) - right? 

Next, dovecat, the IMAP server, reads the mail from /home/me/mail on Jeeves 
the server box. 

I'm running KMail on a different box, say, Cassandra. I've entered the IP of 
Jeeves and told it I'm using IMAP. So KMail connects to Jeeves, and it reads 
the mail on Jeeves, but the physical message stays on Jeeves. Right?

What I don't understand is if I was running KMail but wanted to download the 
messages to my local box (/home/me/mail on Cassandra), would I just enter the 
IP of Jeeves into KMail and tell it I'm using POP? Would I need to have 
installed and configured a POP server on Jeeves in lieu of having dovecot (or 
another IMAP server) on Jeeves?

-- 
Whil

Moving to Linux: Freedom, Choice, Security, Opportunity
http://www.hentzenwerke.com


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