does PHP mail() function depend on sendmail?

[lawrence]

We're installing a new server at the office and this will be the first
server we set up from which we host our website. We got tired of
dealing with Interland and decided to bring our hosting in-house. The
guy doing most of the work struggled with sendmail for awhile and then
gave up. Now he's installing Postit, or Postfix, or whatever it's
called.

Does the PHP mail function depend on sendmail, or can it use any mta
software?

[Luke Ross]

Re: does PHP mail() function depend on sendmail?

Hi,

lawrence wrote:[color=blue]
> We're installing a new server at the office and this will be the first
> server we set up from which we host our website. We got tired of
> dealing with Interland and decided to bring our hosting in-house. The
> guy doing most of the work struggled with sendmail for awhile and then
> gave up. Now he's installing Postit, or Postfix, or whatever it's
> called.
>
> Does the PHP mail function depend on sendmail, or can it use any mta
> software?[/color]

Under Unix-a-likes, mail() relies on there being a sendmail-like
interface. Most MTAs have a program that looks like sendmail for these
purposes, and usually it gets symlinked into the right place. You don't
need genuine sendmail.

Under Windows PHP does SMTP itself.

Regards,

Luke

[lawrence]

Re: does PHP mail() function depend on sendmail?

Luke Ross <lukeross@sys31 75.co.uk> wrote in message news:<vmdijktmj df2e2@corp.supe rnews.com>...[color=blue]
> Hi,
>
> lawrence wrote:[color=green]
> > We're installing a new server at the office and this will be the first
> > server we set up from which we host our website. We got tired of
> > dealing with Interland and decided to bring our hosting in-house. The
> > guy doing most of the work struggled with sendmail for awhile and then
> > gave up. Now he's installing Postit, or Postfix, or whatever it's
> > called.
> >
> > Does the PHP mail function depend on sendmail, or can it use any mta
> > software?[/color]
>
> Under Unix-a-likes, mail() relies on there being a sendmail-like
> interface. Most MTAs have a program that looks like sendmail for these
> purposes, and usually it gets symlinked into the right place. You don't
> need genuine sendmail.
>
> Under Windows PHP does SMTP itself.
>
> Regards,
>
> Luke[/color]



We're running Red Hat 9 on the server. So we need to do into the PHP
config file and set a path to whatever MTA we eventually get going?

[eric]

Re: does PHP mail() function depend on sendmail?

I have the EXACT same problem except it's on an upgrade from 7.3 to 9
and now mail() does not work. It has the symlink
sendmail->/etc/alternatives/mta but it won't send out a single email.
Please let me know if you find a solution to this. You can email me at
eric0524@yahoo. com If I get a solution I will post it here. I think we
are not the only ones with this problem.

On 15 Sep 2003 11:17:59 -0700, lkrubner@geocit ies.com (lawrence)
wrote:
[color=blue]
>We're installing a new server at the office and this will be the first
>server we set up from which we host our website. We got tired of
>dealing with Interland and decided to bring our hosting in-house. The
>guy doing most of the work struggled with sendmail for awhile and then
>gave up. Now he's installing Postit, or Postfix, or whatever it's
>called.
>
>Does the PHP mail function depend on sendmail, or can it use any mta
>software?[/color]

[lawrence]

Re: does PHP mail() function depend on sendmail?

eric <eric0524@yahoo .com> wrote in message news:<3fj3nvsvc 2cg4qh7uul6uitt mct28d8h93@4ax. com>...[color=blue]
> I have the EXACT same problem except it's on an upgrade from 7.3 to 9
> and now mail() does not work. It has the symlink
> sendmail->/etc/alternatives/mta but it won't send out a single email.
> Please let me know if you find a solution to this. You can email me at
> eric0524@yahoo. com If I get a solution I will post it here. I think we
> are not the only ones with this problem.
>
> On 15 Sep 2003 11:17:59 -0700, lkrubner@geocit ies.com (lawrence)
> wrote:
>[color=green]
> >We're installing a new server at the office and this will be the first
> >server we set up from which we host our website. We got tired of
> >dealing with Interland and decided to bring our hosting in-house. The
> >guy doing most of the work struggled with sendmail for awhile and then
> >gave up. Now he's installing Postit, or Postfix, or whatever it's
> >called.
> >
> >Does the PHP mail function depend on sendmail, or can it use any mta
> >software?[/color][/color]


Seems like he finally got it to work, though it took him hell's own
amount of time. I'll ask what he did. Did you get your problem
resolved?