Author Topic: Instructions for using remote SMTP server as relay are missing a detail  (Read 3395 times)

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I am using a separate server for SMTP outbound relay, which is actually using AWS SES. This provides one path to AWS SES and AWS SES helps prevent false blacklisting. The instructions for how to setup a separate SMTP relay are very good ( https://wiki.centos-webpanel.com/how-to-setup-remote-smtp-server-as-relay ), but they do not tell you that this additional config line will be removed by rebuilding the Postfix/Mail configuration.
I knew how to add a relayhost to Postfix, I went looking for official documentation so that I would NOT get into this situation.
Once I realized what had happened I was able to fix it, but I lost a bunch of outgoing email because of it. The above documentation should include a VERY VISIBLE note that you will have to do this every time you rebuild the Postfix configuration.
« Last Edit: February 07, 2022, 01:24:07 AM by pk1048 »

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Re: Instructions for using remote SMTP server as relay are missing a detail
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2022, 03:17:14 PM »
why are you rebuilding the mail server?

"rebuilding" means "factory reset".

So, what makes you factory reset your mail server "every time"?

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Re: Instructions for using remote SMTP server as relay are missing a detail
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2022, 02:02:03 AM »
I was rebuilding the mail server because I needed to make a configuration change.

This is the very first context in which I have ever seen "rebuilding" used to mean "factory reset", and I would argue that it really is not a "factory reset" as it is not resetting the configuration to the factory defaults, but actually rebuilding the configuration to the values you have specified. So equating "rebuild" with "factory reset" is clearly incorrect, both from a language standpoint as well as in terms of what the rebuilding operation does.

And I do not rebuild my mail configuration "every time" (I'm not even sure what you meant by that), but "every time" I have had to rebuild the config due to chaging configuration needs, the relayhost configuration was lost. This is what I said, not that I frequently rebuild the mail config.

And what does that all have to do with my notation that the documentation is incomplete? Are you saying that the documentation is complete? Or that you should never "rebuild" your mail configuration, even if you need to make a change to the configuration?

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Re: Instructions for using remote SMTP server as relay are missing a detail
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2022, 05:08:51 AM »
The above documentation should include a VERY VISIBLE note that you will have to do this every time you rebuild the Postfix configuration.

This is where I got the "every time" from.

Let me rephrase what I was trying to say.
In CWP, rebuilding means resetting to those settings that you have specified in those limited amount of fields/checkboxes that you have in the rebuild CWP panel page. This is what I meant by factory reset.

The documentation don't need to be "completed" because there is nothing to be completed in regards to this issue. I've seen some people in this forum misunderstanding the purpose of "rebuild" and they complain that CWP is ruining their configs....
This is what the rebuild in CWP is supposed to do.

Rebuilding in CWP is to be used when there is something wrong or you want to change the default settings that you have applied in the rebuild page, but you have to be aware and I repeat; It WILL remove everything else custom.

So, I would argue that if you are needing to do rebuilding, then it means that you messed up the configuration and you want to "reset" it.... This is the purpose of rebuild. You only need to do it once.

So, never rebuild your server unless there is something wrong that you can't figure out. Otherwise, keep doing modifications manually like everybody else.

I have custom setup that I had to do once and that's it. I don't need to rebuild because I did nothing wrong with my custom setup. By custom, I mean editing the main.cf, master.cf and dovecot.conf files manually.
« Last Edit: February 08, 2022, 05:14:14 AM by iraqiboy90 »

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Re: Instructions for using remote SMTP server as relay are missing a detail
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2022, 02:17:14 AM »
I have been configuring mail servers since 1995. I wanted to use a system that automated much of that configuration so I would not have to spend the time to configure all of the components by hand.

I have used plenty of automated configuration systems over the years that do NOT wipe out customizations done in a SUPPORTED manner. That is what I thought I was getting from the documentation, a SUPPORTED method of making a custom change that the automated systems would recognize and handle correctly. I am suggesting a clarification to the documentation to make it clear that this is NOT the case.

Having used a tool to help CONFIGURE all of the mail components, I then needed a configuration parameter adjusted that was not handled by the tool. So I read the documentation for the 'official', 'approved' method of setting that value. I found it documented and followed the procedure. Then I needed to make a change that was controlled by the automated tool. Note that the automated operation is REBUILD, not BUILD. The implication being that you use this to BUILD AGAIN, not just BUILD THE FIRST TIME.

Where is it documented that you are only supposed to REBUILD your mail configuration ONCE?

Are you saying that requirements NEVER change? That is not reality, requirements and needs change all the time.

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Re: Instructions for using remote SMTP server as relay are missing a detail
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2022, 07:49:17 AM »
rebuild will make all new config.
Meaning it will repair the server by making a new mail server config based on the server setup and selected configuration.

Rebuild wouldn't be successful if it would leave your custom changes since in most cases rebuild is used to repair mail server bad configuration so if rebuild wouldn't remove bad/old config then it wouldn't repair anything.
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Re: Instructions for using remote SMTP server as relay are missing a detail
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2022, 01:17:00 PM »
I think what it means is that we need something in CWP for easier configuration and when you rebuild the email server, take it into account and insert it back into the corresponding files. CWP could create a module for this, I don't think it will be difficult, since there are simply two changes to be made.
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Re: Instructions for using remote SMTP server as relay are missing a detail
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2022, 01:44:27 PM »
rebuild will make all new config.
Meaning it will repair the server by making a new mail server config based on the server setup and selected configuration.

Rebuild wouldn't be successful if it would leave your custom changes since in most cases rebuild is used to repair mail server bad configuration so if rebuild wouldn't remove bad/old config then it wouldn't repair anything.

How about putting a warning notice in the Mail server Rebuild page and at the "WebServers Configuration Editor", since these are the two places where most complaints are about?