dovecot - Jan 2013 - dovecot as layer between postfix and thunderbird

Hello, im all new to this but feel i want to have a dedicated server to 
handle my mails from Gmail and Hotmail

Basically, i installed SMS, superb Mini Server (based on slackware), and 
with that default install i got: dovecot, postfix, fetchmail and sendmail.

The postfix part seems to work according to a "telnet localhost 25",
now
i want to procede with dovecot, as i understand it, its the middle layer 
between (in my case) postfix and thunderbird.

What i expect in the very end is a dedicated server who regulary checks 
and fetches mails, and lets me have all contacts info in the (already up 
and running) LDAP server.

When i start thunderbird, i want it to go grab those mails from my local 
machine

I am, ofcourse all over manpages, HOWTOs, guides and google, but would 
certainly appriciate further help and points in the right direction

My apologises for any weird beginner mistakes in this post

On Jan 4, 2013 7:27 PM, "martin svensson" <zylorx at
hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hello, im all new to this but feel i want to have a dedicated server to
handle my mails from Gmail and Hotmail
>
> Basically, i installed SMS, superb Mini Server (based on slackware), and
with that default install i got: dovecot, postfix, fetchmail and
sendmail.
>
> The postfix part seems to work according to a "telnet localhost
25", now
i want to procede with dovecot, as i understand it, its the middle layer
between (in my case) postfix and thunderbird.
>
> What i expect in the very end is a dedicated server who regulary checks
and fetches mails, and lets me have all contacts info in the (already up
and running) LDAP server.
>
> When i start thunderbird, i want it to go grab those mails from my local
machine
>
> I am, ofcourse all over manpages, HOWTOs, guides and google, but would
certainly appriciate further help and points in the right
direction
>
> My apologises for any weird beginner mistakes in this post
You will need to configure fetchmail to collect mail from gmail and hotmail
and use Dovecot to serve it to thunderbird unless you configured gmail and
hotmail to send it your postfix install.

Simon

On 2013-01-04 7:26 PM, martin svensson <zylorx at hotmail.com>
wrote:
> Basically, i installed SMS, superb Mini Server (based on slackware), 
> and with that default install i got: dovecot, postfix, fetchmail and 
> sendmail.
Ummm... remove sendmail. You can't have two MTAs on the same machine 
unless you just really enjoy headaches and frustration.

Also, I'd recommend getmail over fetchmail, but fetchmail will work...
> The postfix part seems to work according to a "telnet localhost
25",
Maybe - or maybe it is sendmail you're talking to.

No way to tell without seeing logs of a telnet session.

Also, the above in no way proves a working/secure postfix setup. A LOT 
more information is needed, like config details (postconf -n output and 
maybe master.cf contents for starters) and logs of mail transactions...
> now i want to procede with dovecot, as i understand it, its the middle 
> layer between (in my case) postfix and thunderbird.
Your understanding is flawed.

Dovecot is first and foremost an IMAP server, but also does POP3. It 
serves mail to email clients.

It can interact with an MTA (like postfix) for final delivery of email 
though.

It sounds to me like you really know very little about administering a 
mail server. Working with your own private server is a good way to 
start, but you need to be very careful - it is easy to make mistakes 
that will result in getting hacked/exploited (you could become a source 
of spam or backscatter), or make mistakes that lose mail (maybe not a 
big deal if it is your own private server and you are using unimportant 
domains/accounts for getting up to speed).

Charles