sendmail, 4th Edition

confMBIN...

Where and how to install sendmail Build macro

The sendmail binary is intended to run as root only when root runs it. The directory that it is installed in, and the permissions that it has, are defined by four macros:

confMBINDIR

The confMBINDIR macro determines where the sendmail program will be installed. For most sites, the correct directory will be defined in your devtools/OS file. But if you decide to put sendmail in a different directory, you can do so by defining this macro:

define(`confMBINDIR', `/export/local/sos5.6/clients/sbin')

In general, whenever you relocate the sendmail program, you should also examine your /etc/rc or /etc/init.d scripts. They often contain built-in path assumptions that will need to be changed to match the new path. If you fail to change those scripts, the new sendmail will not be automatically started at boot time.

Note that many mail user agents (MUAs) also hardcode assumptions about where sendmail is located. Check every MUA on your machine to be certain none of them will break because of the new location. Some, such as /usr/ucb/Mail, have configuration files of their own that define sendmail’s location. You will need to find and fix those separate configuration files too.

Lastly, note that -E DESTDIR (DESTDIR= on page 349) can be used to relocate all installation directories.

confMBINGRP

This macro sets the group that sendmail should belong to. The group defaults to bin. If you wish to use a different group you can do so like this:

define(`confMBINGRP', ...