Managing Systems and Workgroups: A Guide for HP-UX System Administrators

Configuring a System
Setting Up Mail Services
Chapter 3 273
Mail Alias Files
Mail Alias Files are used for:
• Mapping “real world” names to user login names
• Describing distribution lists (mailing lists), where a single name
(e.g., deptXYZ) is mapped to several or many user login names
For faster access, the alias files can be processed into a hashed database
using the command: newalias (a form of sendmail). By default, the alias
file (ASCII version) is located in the file /etc/mail/aliases.
The Mail Queue
Outgoing messages cannot always be sent right away because of down
computers, broken network connections, network traffic, and other
reasons. Your Mail Delivery Agent needs a place to hold these messages
until they can be sent on their way. That place is the mail queue.
If you are using sendmail (supplied with HP-UX) as your Mail Delivery
Agent, your mail queue is, by default, the directory /var/spool/mqueue.
Networking Topographies
Although there are many ways to configure electronic mail for a group of
computers under your control, the following setups are often used:
❏ Central Mail Hub
❏ Gateway Mail Hub
❏ Fully Distributed