Managing the postmaster Alias

Every system must be able to send mail to a postmaster mailbox. You can create an NIS alias for postmaster, or you can create the alias in each local /etc/mail/aliases file. Refer to these procedures.

• How to Create a postmaster Alias in Each Local /etc/mail/aliases File

• How to Create a Separate Mailbox for postmaster

• How to Add the postmaster Mailbox to the Aliases in the /etc/mail/aliases File

How to Create a postmaster Alias in Each Local /etc/mail/aliases File

If you are creating the postmaster alias in each local /etc/mail/aliases file, follow these instructions.

1. Become an administrator.

   For more information, see Using Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Securing Users and Processes in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .

2. View the /etc/mail/aliases entry.

   # cat /etc/mail/aliases
   # Following alias is required by the mail protocol, RFC 2821
   # Set it to the address of a HUMAN who deals with this system's
   # mail problems.
   Postmaster: root

3. Edit each system's /etc/mail/aliases file.

   Change root to the mail address of the person who is designated as the postmaster.

   Postmaster: mail-address

   mail-address

   Use the assigned address for the person who is designated as the postmaster.

4. (Optional)Create a separate mailbox for the postmaster.

   You can create a separate mailbox for the postmaster to keep postmaster mail separate from personal mail. If you create a separate mailbox, use the mailbox address instead of the postmaster's personal mail address when you edit the /etc/mail/aliases files. For details, refer to How to Create a Separate Mailbox for postmaster.

How to Create a Separate Mailbox for postmaster

If you are creating a separate mailbox for postmaster, follow these instructions.

1. Become an administrator.

   For more information, see Using Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Securing Users and Processes in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .

2. Create a user account for the person who is designated as postmaster. Put an asterisk (*) in the password field.

   For details about adding a user account, refer to Task Map for Setting Up and Managing User Accounts by Using the CLI in Managing User Accounts and User Environments in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .

3. After mail has been delivered, enable the mail program to read and write to the mailbox name.

   # mail -f postmaster

   postmaster

   Use the assigned address.

How to Add the postmaster Mailbox to the Aliases in the /etc/mail/aliases File

If you are adding a postmaster mailbox to the aliases in the /etc/mail/aliases file, follow these instructions.

1. Become an administrator.

   For more information, see Using Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Securing Users and Processes in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .

2. Add an alias for root. Use the mail address of the person who is designated as the postmaster.

   # cat /etc/mail/aliases
   ..
   root: [email protected]

   [email protected]

   Use the assigned address of the person who is designated as postmaster.

3. On the postmaster's local system, create an entry in the /etc/mail/aliases file that defines the name of the alias. sysadmin is an example. Also, include the path to the local mailbox.

   # cat /etc/mail/aliases
   ..
   sysadmin: /usr/somewhere/somefile

   sysadmin

   Create a name for a new alias.

   /usr/somewhere/somefile

   Use the path to the local mailbox.

4. Rebuild the alias database.

   # newaliases