Email Services: Configuring Postfix

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Email Services: Configuring Postfix

Configuring `postfix` is a relatively simple task that will cause email systems to fail if done incorrectly. In this hands-on lab, you’ll be able to practice that configuration and test it in a controlled environment.

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Lab Info

Level

Beginner

Last updated

Sep 22, 2025

Duration

10m

Challenge

Configure the hostname and domain
1. First, we should check out what our hostname and domain are:
```
hostnamectl
```
1. With that information recorded in our notes we can elevate to root and verify postfix is installed:
```
sudo -i
rpm -q postfix
```
1. Now we can configure postfix:
```
sudo vim /etc/postfix/main.cf
```
1. Scroll down until we find the myhostname variable. We can set that to “server1.example.com”.
2. Set the mydomain variable to “example.com”
3. Search for the mail_spool_directory variable and uncomment the one that says “/var/mail”
4. Save and quit, then restart postfix.
```
sudo systemctl restart postfix
```
Challenge

Send a test email to cloud_user
This task requires understanding how email servers communicate.
1. Enter in the following commands in order to send the email:
  
  telnet localhost 25
  
  ehlo localhost
  
  mail from: [email protected]
  
  rcpt to: cloud_user
  
  data
  
  Subject: Test email
  
  test
  
  To close out of composing the message, place a . on a new line and press return. Then use: Ctrl + ] and press return Then type: close and press return
  
  Check to see that the e-mail sent:
```
sudo tail /var/log/maillog
```
Look for the current data, and then confirmation that an e-mail was received.
1. Change to the mail directory:
```
cd /var/mail/
```

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