Press Release
January 13, 2004
"Postfix: The Definitive Guide": A Secure and Easy-to-Use Mail Transfer Agent for Unix
Sebastopol, CA--Postfix, the open source mail transfer agent, is fast,
easy to administer, and--perhaps best of all--secure. Highly respected for
its efficiency and design, Postfix features a simple interface to a secure
design. Its straightforward administration is managed with only two
configuration files, eliminating much of the complexity that sendmail is
known for, and it employs multiple layers of defense in its security to
protect against attackers. In fact, most system administrators agree that
Postfix has only one shortcoming: its existing documentation is terse and
assumes a level of technical competency that most sys admins aren't
required to know. Postfix: The Definitive Guide (O'Reilly, US $34.95)
by Kyle D. Dent changes all this.
This new book offers both a tutorial and complete reference for Postfix
that system administrators of any level can tackle with ease. Gentler and
more accessible in its approach than the official documentation, Postfix:
The Definitive Guide provides a single, comprehensive source of
documentation on this open source option. The book's tutorial style will
guide newcomers through the intricacies of Postfix, while also serving as
a reference for seasoned users to thumb through whenever questions or
problems arise. Altogether, this book makes the perfect resource for
administrators who want to master Postfix or switch to it from other mail
transfer agents.
Postfix was originally conceived as a replacement for sendmail, explains
Dent, which, though more pervasive, challenges administrators with its
intricate, monolithic architecture. "Postfix's design eliminates many
opportunities for security problems," Dent notes. "It also eliminates much
of the complexity that comes with managing a sendmail configuration.
Postfix has been designed from the beginning to handle unexpected hardware
or software problems gracefully."
While basic Postfix configuration is easy, each site has unique needs that
call for a certain amount of study. With careful background explanations
and generous examples, this book eases readers from basic configuration to
the full power of Postfix. It discusses the Postfix interfaces to various
tools that round out a fully scalable and highly secure email system.
These tools include POP, IMAP, LDAP, MySQL, Simple Authentication and
Security Layer (SASL), and Transport Layer Security (TSL, an upgrade of
SSL). A reference section for Postfix configuration parameters and an
installation guide are included.
Postfix: The Definitive Guide covers the following topics and more:
Basic installation and configuration
DNS configuration for email
Working with POP/IMAP servers
Hosting multiple domains (virtual hosting)
Mailing lists
Handling unsolicited email (blocking spam)
Security through SASL and TLS
Wietse Venema, creator of Postfix, writes in his foreword to the book,
"One of the main goals of Postfix is wide adoption. Building Postfix was
only the first challenge on the way to that goal. The second challenge was
to make the software accessible...Truth to be said, I would not expect to
see wide adoption of Postfix without a book that introduces the concepts
behind the system, and that gives examples of how to get common tasks
done. I was happy to leave the writing of this book to Kyle Dent."
From compiling and installing Postfix to troubleshooting, Postfix: The
Definitive Guide offers sys admins and anyone who deals with Postfix an
all-in-one, comprehensive tutorial and reference to this MTA.
Additional Resources:
More information about the book, including table of contents, index,
author bio, and samples
A cover graphic in JPEG format
Postfix: The Definitive Guide
Kyle D. Dent
ISBN 0-596-00212-2, 264 pages, $34.95 US, $50.95 CA
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
About O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
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