Frank van Amsterdam wrote on 18.07.2010:
I want to setup Dovecot LDA, but I don't understand what I'm doing anymore. I have to note that I'm a Linux beginner. I've been trying now for several months and I'm about to give up. Till so far I'm having no result. :-(
My current setup is done as described at http://www.linuxmail.info. We use Postfix 2.3.3 (with Postgrey, Spamassassin and ClamAV), Dovecot 1.2.11 and OpenLDAP 2.4.1 on CentOS 5.5. All incoming e-mail are delivered by Postfix in the users' maildir. We use this as a base for SOGo, our groupware solution and it runs smoothly.
I have to setup a new mailserver, because we're standardising on Debian. My employer wants to have new functions like out-of-office-replies and forwarding. I want to make use of sieve. Unfortunately I don't know anyone who can help me.
If you would like to use Sieve you should use the Dovecot LDA instead of the Postfix LDA "virtual". You can also use the ManageSieve service so that users can create their own Sieve scripts. Some clients supports it like Horde Ingo, Thunderbird with plugin...
When you use Debian (Lenny) you should use Dovecot from backports (current: 1.2.11) instead of the stable repository.
The Postfix version that comes with Debian Lenny (2.5.5) is OK so it's not needed to update.
I think the easiest way to implement the Dovecot LDA is to use virtual_transport or transport_maps if you use "virtual" users or within mailbox_command for system users - but this depends on your environment/configuration.
My problem is that I don't understand how the delivery process is working. I've read much documentation from Postfix and Dovecot, but I find it too difficult to understand.
Hmm, there's not much to say about that... If you use virtual_tranport or transport_maps then Postfix sends the mail to the Dovecot LDA. The Dovecot LDA handles further delivery of the mail.
What do I understand? I know that I have to make changes in /etc/dovecot, /etc/postfix/main.cf and /etc/postfix/master.cf as described at http://wiki.dovecot.org/LDA.
For Postfix all relevant informations are here: http://wiki.dovecot.org/LDA/Postfix
-- Daniel