Sendmail, Second Edition: Theory and Practice [Paperback]

Paul Vixie (Author), Frederick M Avolio (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2002 | ISBN-10: 155558229X | ISBN-13: 978-1555582296 | Edition: 2

Sendmail: Theory and Practice, 2E, is an authoritative and accessible guide to establishing and maintaining an electronic mail system using this powerful but very difficult software program. Highly regarded by the Sendmail community, this book is the only dedicated tutorial on the topic.

Sendmail: Theory and Practice, 2E, provides extensive "cookbook recipes" and hands-on instruction explaining how Sendmail works and how to manage even the most intricate mail system. After reading this book, system administrators, managers, and users will understand Sendmail's architecture, and how to design, configure, test, and maintain a distributed Sendmail system. The authors, recognized Sendmail authorities, have updated the book to cover the latest widely installed version of Sendmail and to address the critical new topics of SPAM and relay management, e-mail security, and Internet gateway design and configuration.

Builds on the success of Sendmail: Theory and Practice, 1EAccessible tutorial for the #1 UNIX and Linux email systemAuthors include a leading developer of the Sendmail program

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Sendmail: Theory and Practice, 2E, provides extensive "cookbook recipes" and hands-on instruction explaining how Sendmail works and how to manage even the most intricate mail system. After reading this book, system administrators, managers, and users will understand Sendmail's architecture, and how to design, configure, test, and maintain a distributed Sendmail system. The authors, recognized Sendmail authorities, have updated the book to cover the latest version of Sendmail (Versions 8.11) and to address the critical new topics of SPAM and relay management, e-mail security, and Internet gateway design and configuration.

About the Author

President of PAIX.net Inc, a subsidiary of Metromedia Fiber Network Inc (MFNX.O). A pioneer in Internet systems development, he is the author of the "King James" version of Sendmail and other industry-standard UNIX system software programs.

Frederick M. Avolio, Founder and President of Avolio Consulting, Inc., a computer and Internet security consulting firm

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Digital Press; 2 edition (January 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155558229X
• ISBN-13: 978-1555582296
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,436,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent explanation of sendmail.cf, companion to Bat book, November 9, 1998

By 

Mark C. Langston (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sendmail: Theory and Practice (Paperback)

This is an excellent book, IMHO. Although it does contain practical, hands-on examples, it's strenth is that it explains the theory behind sendmail and, more importantly, sendmail.cf. It really lets you get a grip on why sendmail.cf looks the way it does, and how the various rules work. While it's a good book on its own, it really shines as a companion to the Bat book. (O'Reilly & Assoc. Sendmail, 2nd Edition)

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dated but still relevant, March 16, 1999

By 

Kirk Rafferty ([e-mail]) (Aurora, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sendmail: Theory and Practice (Paperback)

"Sendmail : Theory and Practice" is a great introduction for anyone who has to maintain a UNIX mailserver. Although a bit dated (some of the suggested utilities are quite dated and have been superceded), the fundamentals are sound, and still very applicable.

If you're a beginning sendmail administrator, read this book before reading the "Bat" book (O'Reilly's Sendmail in a Nutshell). If you're more experienced, use it as a companion. And if you're a Guru, well...write another Sendmail book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not an introduction., June 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sendmail, Second Edition: Theory and Practice (Paperback)

I disagree that this book is a good introduction to sendmail. It does not cover the basic options well, and very quickly goes off the deep end of the sendmail.cf file. It is probably a very good introduction to the advanced sendmail.cf programming that most people will never need to do.

It barely mentions how to create sendmail.cf using the m4 macro processor. It doesn't cover virtual hosting well, but spends pages and pages on uucp and decnet mail. And ,it is unix-centric to the point of assuming that all users will be on unix boxes with their own properly configured hostname and sendmail, rather than on DHCPed PCs down the hall (which seems to be the current situation).

All in all, this book told me little of nothing about the sendmail tasks I have to accomplish and way too much about stuff I should never have to touch.