So Many Choices

M

makdaddy8888

Hi Ben here from Australia,

So have been messing around with FreeBSD on and off for about 8 years. Decided that I want to continue down this FreeBSD path as it's a fairly nice environment to work in. A lot like MAC OSX.

I wanted to set up Postfix along with Dovecot and PostgreSQL. There seems to be information strewn all over the internet and nothing seems to match or is either outdated nor not the way to do it now.

I have read quite a lot, mostly thanks to google and the advance date range filter, but whom is the authority/trusted group ensuring that a relative newbie to UNIX can go and configure their unix boxes to do what is BEST practice?

I have read topics like:
  • using postgresql over mysql
  • using different MX records so spammers can be reported back to a central database
  • postfix or exim over sendmail
  • postfixadmin as a nice interface
  • is dovecot the best client interface
I know my issue is very much personalised but why would the FreeBSD handbook not describe other MTA's in more detail. Or at least say "Here is a trusted source of information". I know the handbook is maintained but why not have a user generated handbook where people can add to like a wiki page and let the community maintain it?

Thanks for listening,

Ben
 
You can't fault the FreeBSD Handbook for describing what is part of its own base system, like Sendmail. The rest is add-on software (provided by third-party developers/porters) which comes with its own documentation. FreeBSD doesn't prescribe anything, it just comes with a set of tools. Those are described.
 
makdaddy8888 said:
... whom is the authority/trusted group ensuring that a relative newbie to UNIX can go and configure their unix boxes to do what is BEST practice?
Click to expand...

I believe one of the central questions in your post is, "Should I use Postfix?"

The good news is there is a variety of excellent FOSS MTAs to choose from. The bad news (if you're just getting started) is there is a variety of excellent FOSS MTAs to choose from.

Even if I don't agree with all the conclusions, I've found the sections of objective commentary in this MTA comparison to be useful: http://shearer.org/MTA_Comparison

If you require certain features, that may help eliminate options, and make the decision more obvious.
 
makdaddy8888 said:
I have read quite a lot, mostly thanks to google and the advance date range filter, but whom is the authority/trusted group ensuring that a relative newbie to UNIX can go and configure their unix boxes to do what is BEST practice?
Click to expand...

For most things, there is no single best practice.

I know my issue is very much personalised but why would the FreeBSD handbook not describe other MTA's in more detail.
Click to expand...

Like DD says, other MTAs are not part of FreeBSD. We could have sections on, say, Postfix, but it could be quickly outdated and would be a copy of other information. Generally, multiple copies get out of sync quickly.

Or at least say "Here is a trusted source of information".
Click to expand...

We do sometimes have links elsewhere, and updates to the documentation are generally welcomed (hint, hint).

I know the handbook is maintained but why not have a user generated handbook where people can add to like a wiki page and let the community maintain it?
Click to expand...

PC-BSD does that for their User's Handbook. I don't know whether it's even been seriously considered by FreeBSD. A post to the freebsd-doc mailing list might get better answers on that.
 
wblock@ said:
PC-BSD does that for their User's Handbook. I don't know whether it's even been seriously considered by FreeBSD. A post to the freebsd-doc mailing list might get better answers on that.
Click to expand...

Postgresql documentation allows users to add comments to the manual pages. The comments can be helpful for users and the documentation team can incorporate what they choose into the documentation. Perhaps a scheme like this could lighten the load for the documentation writers, while maintaining quality. Of course there is the initial time and effort to set things up. Just a thought.
 
I would love to see that. Someday, we'll switch to a different bug reporting system that may be easier for users, and that could make documentation bug reports easier to file. Although the web PR interface is pretty easy already.
 
So it sounds like a wiki is in order.

I still think that this is the only downfall on vanilla unix system like FreeBSD, that being the lack of a cohesive (non-jargon) based reference guide/best practices. Meanwhile newer linux's distributions ie Ubuntu have very good reference manuals and wiki's.

There are enough intelligent moderators and members who do care about this FreeBSD so a user generated wiki would be more than welcome. You can quote a lot out of the forums but it's not until you read the entire post that you learn that a particular subject has since been resolved with 'this mod' or 'that option'.

I had read the post by @graudeejs but I found it hard to follow and not very verbose. Especially important for relative newbie's to the system.

Thanks for taking your time to respond and hope to better hone my FreeBSD skill and maybe even contribute to your up and coming wiki :)

I appreciate all your responses. I might have to move some of my specific question to the appropriate area.

Ben
 
Ben,

That's a big project. If you haven't done it before, you should consider setting up and testing each component. It takes time. You need to take notes as you go and assume that you will have to start again, perhaps even more than once. You may wish to start by experimenting on a virtual machine using something like virtualbox. Then you can take snapshots of your progress as you go and revert if need be. It takes time to get a good mail solution like that happening. Each of the components fits together in a certain way. All the components come from different organizations, so you have to figure out how they fit together by researching and deciding which way is best for you. There are many different ways to accomplish the same outcome. Hope that helps. ;)
 
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