smtp.8   [plain text]


.TH SMTP 8 
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.SH NAME
smtp
\-
Postfix remote delivery via SMTP
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
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.nf
\fBsmtp\fR [generic Postfix daemon options]
.SH DESCRIPTION
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The SMTP client processes message delivery requests from
the queue manager. Each request specifies a queue file, a sender
address, a domain or host to deliver to, and recipient information.
This program expects to be run from the \fBmaster\fR(8) process
manager.

The SMTP client updates the queue file and marks recipients
as finished, or it informs the queue manager that delivery should
be tried again at a later time. Delivery status reports are sent
to the \fBbounce\fR(8), \fBdefer\fR(8) or \fBtrace\fR(8) daemon as
appropriate.

The SMTP client looks up a list of mail exchanger addresses for
the destination host, sorts the list by preference, and connects
to each listed address until it finds a server that responds.

When a server is not reachable, or when mail delivery fails due
to a recoverable error condition, the SMTP client will try to
deliver the mail to an alternate host.
.SH "SECURITY"
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.nf
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The SMTP client is moderately security-sensitive. It talks to SMTP
servers and to DNS servers on the network. The SMTP client can be
run chrooted at fixed low privilege.
.SH "STANDARDS"
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RFC 821 (SMTP protocol)
RFC 822 (ARPA Internet Text Messages)
RFC 1651 (SMTP service extensions)
RFC 1652 (8bit-MIME transport)
RFC 1870 (Message Size Declaration)
RFC 2045 (MIME: Format of Internet Message Bodies)
RFC 2046 (MIME: Media Types)
RFC 2554 (AUTH command)
RFC 2821 (SMTP protocol)
RFC 2920 (SMTP Pipelining)
.SH DIAGNOSTICS
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Problems and transactions are logged to \fBsyslogd\fR(8).
Corrupted message files are marked so that the queue manager can
move them to the \fBcorrupt\fR queue for further inspection.

Depending on the setting of the \fBnotify_classes\fR parameter,
the postmaster is notified of bounces, protocol problems, and of
other trouble.
.SH "CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS"
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.nf
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Changes to \fBmain.cf\fR are picked up automatically, as smtp(8)
processes run for only a limited amount of time. Use the command
"\fBpostfix reload\fR" to speed up a change.

The text below provides only a parameter summary. See
postconf(5) for more details including examples.
.SH "COMPATIBILITY CONTROLS"
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.nf
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.IP "\fBignore_mx_lookup_error (no)\fR"
Ignore DNS MX lookups that produce no response.
.IP "\fBsmtp_always_send_ehlo (yes)\fR"
Always send EHLO at the start of an SMTP session.
.IP "\fBsmtp_never_send_ehlo (no)\fR"
Never send EHLO at the start of an SMTP session.
.IP "\fBsmtp_defer_if_no_mx_address_found (no)\fR"
Defer mail delivery when no MX record resolves to an IP address.
.IP "\fBsmtp_line_length_limit (990)\fR"
The maximal length of message header and body lines that Postfix
will send via SMTP.
.IP "\fBsmtp_pix_workaround_delay_time (10s)\fR"
How long the Postfix SMTP client pauses before sending
".<CR><LF>" in order to work around the PIX firewall
"<CR><LF>.<CR><LF>" bug.
.IP "\fBsmtp_pix_workaround_threshold_time (500s)\fR"
How long a message must be queued before the PIX firewall
"<CR><LF>.<CR><LF>" bug workaround is turned
on.
.IP "\fBsmtp_quote_rfc821_envelope (yes)\fR"
Quote addresses in SMTP MAIL FROM and RCPT TO commands as required
by RFC 821.
.IP "\fBsmtp_skip_5xx_greeting (yes)\fR"
Skip SMTP servers that greet with a 5XX status code (go away, do
not try again later).
.IP "\fBsmtp_skip_quit_response (yes)\fR"
Do not wait for the response to the SMTP QUIT command.
.PP
Available in Postfix version 2.0 and earlier:
.IP "\fBsmtp_skip_4xx_greeting (yes)\fR"
Skip SMTP servers that greet with a 4XX status code (go away, try
again later).
.SH "MIME PROCESSING CONTROLS"
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Available in Postfix version 2.0 and later:
.IP "\fBdisable_mime_output_conversion (no)\fR"
Disable the conversion of 8BITMIME format to 7BIT format.
.IP "\fBmime_boundary_length_limit (2048)\fR"
The maximal length of MIME multipart boundary strings.
.IP "\fBmime_nesting_limit (100)\fR"
The maximal nesting level of multipart mail that the MIME processor
will handle.
.SH "EXTERNAL CONTENT INSPECTION CONTROLS"
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Available in Postfix version 2.1 and later:
.IP "\fBsmtp_send_xforward_command (no)\fR"
Send the non-standard XFORWARD command when the Postfix SMTP server EHLO
response announces XFORWARD support.
.SH "SASL AUTHENTICATION CONTROLS"
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.IP "\fBsmtp_sasl_auth_enable (no)\fR"
Enable SASL authentication in the Postfix SMTP client.
.IP "\fBsmtp_sasl_password_maps (empty)\fR"
Optional SMTP client lookup tables with one username:password entry
per remote hostname or domain.
.IP "\fBsmtp_sasl_security_options (noplaintext, noanonymous)\fR"
What authentication mechanisms the Postfix SMTP client is allowed
to use.
.SH "RESOURCE AND RATE CONTROLS"
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.IP "\fBsmtp_destination_concurrency_limit ($default_destination_concurrency_limit)\fR"
The maximal number of parallel deliveries to the same destination
via the smtp message delivery transport.
.IP "\fBsmtp_destination_recipient_limit ($default_destination_recipient_limit)\fR"
The maximal number of recipients per delivery via the smtp
message delivery transport.
.IP "\fBsmtp_connect_timeout (30s)\fR"
The SMTP client time limit for completing a TCP connection, or
zero (use the operating system built-in time limit).
.IP "\fBsmtp_helo_timeout (300s)\fR"
The SMTP client time limit for sending the HELO or EHLO command,
and for receiving the initial server response.
.IP "\fBsmtp_xforward_timeout (300s)\fR"
The SMTP client time limit for sending the XFORWARD command, and
for receiving the server response.
.IP "\fBsmtp_mail_timeout (300s)\fR"
The SMTP client time limit for sending the MAIL FROM command, and
for receiving the server response.
.IP "\fBsmtp_rcpt_timeout (300s)\fR"
The SMTP client time limit for sending the SMTP RCPT TO command, and
for receiving the server response.
.IP "\fBsmtp_data_init_timeout (120s)\fR"
The SMTP client time limit for sending the SMTP DATA command, and for
receiving the server response.
.IP "\fBsmtp_data_xfer_timeout (180s)\fR"
The SMTP client time limit for sending the SMTP message content.
.IP "\fBsmtp_data_done_timeout (600s)\fR"
The SMTP client time limit for sending the SMTP ".", and for receiving
the server response.
.IP "\fBsmtp_quit_timeout (300s)\fR"
The SMTP client time limit for sending the QUIT command, and for
receiving the server response.
.PP
Available in Postfix version 2.1 and later:
.IP "\fBsmtp_mx_address_limit (0)\fR"
The maximal number of MX (mail exchanger) IP addresses that can
result from mail exchanger lookups, or zero (no limit).
.IP "\fBsmtp_mx_session_limit (2)\fR"
The maximal number of SMTP sessions per delivery request before
giving up or delivering to a fall-back relay host, or zero (no
limit).
.IP "\fBsmtp_rset_timeout (120s)\fR"
The SMTP client time limit for sending the RSET command, and
for receiving the server response.
.SH "TROUBLE SHOOTING CONTROLS"
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.IP "\fBdebug_peer_level (2)\fR"
The increment in verbose logging level when a remote client or
server matches a pattern in the debug_peer_list parameter.
.IP "\fBdebug_peer_list (empty)\fR"
Optional list of remote client or server hostname or network
address patterns that cause the verbose logging level to increase
by the amount specified in $debug_peer_level.
.IP "\fBerror_notice_recipient (postmaster)\fR"
The recipient of postmaster notifications about mail delivery
problems that are caused by policy, resource, software or protocol
errors.
.IP "\fBnotify_classes (resource, software)\fR"
The list of error classes that are reported to the postmaster.
.SH "MISCELLANEOUS CONTROLS"
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.IP "\fBbest_mx_transport (empty)\fR"
Where the Postfix SMTP client should deliver mail when it detects
a "mail loops back to myself" error condition.
.IP "\fBconfig_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)\fR"
The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf
configuration files.
.IP "\fBdaemon_timeout (18000s)\fR"
How much time a Postfix daemon process may take to handle a
request before it is terminated by a built-in watchdog timer.
.IP "\fBdisable_dns_lookups (no)\fR"
Disable DNS lookups in the Postfix SMTP and LMTP clients.
.IP "\fBfallback_relay (empty)\fR"
Optional list of relay hosts for SMTP destinations that can't be
found or that are unreachable.
.IP "\fBinet_interfaces (all)\fR"
The network interface addresses that this mail system receives mail
on.
.IP "\fBipc_timeout (3600s)\fR"
The time limit for sending or receiving information over an internal
communication channel.
.IP "\fBmax_idle (100s)\fR"
The maximum amount of time that an idle Postfix daemon process
waits for the next service request before exiting.
.IP "\fBmax_use (100)\fR"
The maximal number of connection requests before a Postfix daemon
process terminates.
.IP "\fBprocess_id (read-only)\fR"
The process ID of a Postfix command or daemon process.
.IP "\fBprocess_name (read-only)\fR"
The process name of a Postfix command or daemon process.
.IP "\fBproxy_interfaces (empty)\fR"
The network interface addresses that this mail system receives mail
on by way of a proxy or network address translation unit.
.IP "\fBsmtp_bind_address (empty)\fR"
An optional numerical network address that the SMTP client should
bind to when making a connection.
.IP "\fBsmtp_helo_name ($myhostname)\fR"
The hostname to send in the SMTP EHLO or HELO command.
.IP "\fBsmtp_host_lookup (dns)\fR"
What mechanisms when the SMTP client uses to look up a host's IP
address.
.IP "\fBsmtp_randomize_addresses (yes)\fR"
Randomize the order of equal-preference MX host addresses.
.IP "\fBsyslog_facility (mail)\fR"
The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
.IP "\fBsyslog_name (postfix)\fR"
The mail system name that is prepended to the process name in syslog
records, so that "smtpd" becomes, for example, "postfix/smtpd".
.SH "SEE ALSO"
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qmgr(8), queue manager
bounce(8), delivery status reports
postconf(5), configuration parameters
master(8), process manager
syslogd(8), system logging
.SH "README FILES"
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.nf
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Use "\fBpostconf readme_directory\fR" or
"\fBpostconf html_directory\fR" to locate this information.
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SASL_README, Postfix SASL howto
.SH "LICENSE"
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The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this software.
.SH "AUTHOR(S)"
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Wietse Venema
IBM T.J. Watson Research
P.O. Box 704
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA