Editing Introduction to a Self Managed Life: a 13 hour & 28 minute presentation by FUTO software (section)

== Step 1: Setting Up Postfix Email System on Ubuntu Server 24.04 ==

<span id="install-required-packages"></span>
==== 1.1 Install Required Packages ====

<pre>sudo apt update
sudo apt install postfix libsasl2-modules mailutils -y</pre>
When prompted during install:

* Choose '''“Internet Site”''' for configuration type
* Enter your system’s fully qualified domain name when asked of where we are sending emails from, in our case it is <code>home.arpa</code>
* Recipient for root &amp; postmaster mail will be the email you want to receive that at, for me I set it as the same email as ZFS alerts which is <code>l.a.rossmann@gmail.com</code> for me
* Set '''“Force synchronous updates on mail queue?”''' to no

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<span id="configure-main-postfix-configuration---this-is-similar-to-what-we-did-for-freepbx-voicemail-alerts-in-the-previous-section"></span>
==== 1.2 Configure Main Postfix Configuration - this is similar to what we did for FreePBX voicemail alerts in the previous section ====

<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;">
<li><p>Backup existing configuration:</p>
<pre>sudo cp /etc/postfix/main.cf /etc/postfix/main.cf.backup</pre></li>
<li><p>Create new <code>main.cf</code>:</p>
<pre>sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cf</pre></li>
<li><p>Copy and paste the provided configuration template if you need, and edit the <code>yourdriveisdead@stevesavers.com</code> email in the configuration file with the email you wish to have Postfix use to send you an email.</p></li></ol>

<pre>  # See /usr/share/postfix/main.cf.dist for a commented, more complete version
  
  
  # Debian specific:  Specifying a file name will cause the first
  # line of that file to be used as the name.  The Debian default
  # is /etc/mailname.
  #myorigin = /etc/mailname
  
  smtpd_banner = $myhostname ESMTP $mail_name (Debian/GNU)
  biff = no
  
  # appending .domain is the MUA's job.
  append_dot_mydomain = no
  
  # Uncomment the next line to generate &quot;delayed mail&quot; warnings
  #delay_warning_time = 4h
  
  readme_directory = no
  
  # See http://www.postfix.org/COMPATIBILITY_README.html -- default to 3.6 on
  # fresh installs.
  compatibility_level = 3.6
  
  
  
  # TLS parameters
  smtpd_tls_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
  smtpd_tls_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
  smtpd_tls_security_level=may
  
  smtp_tls_CApath=/etc/ssl/certs
  smtp_tls_security_level=may
  smtp_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtp_scache
  
  
  smtpd_relay_restrictions = permit_mynetworks 
  permit_sasl_authenticated defer_unauth_destination
  myhostname = debian.home.arpa
  alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases
  alias_database = hash:/etc/aliases
  mydestination = $myhostname, debian, localhost.localdomain, localhost
  relayhost = [smtp.postmarkapp.com]:587
  smtp_use_tls = yes
  smtp_sasl_auth_enable = yes
  smtp_sasl_password_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/sasl_passwd
  smtp_sasl_security_options = noanonymous
  smtp_sasl_mechanism_filter = plain
  sender_canonical_maps = static:yourdriveisdead@stevesavers.com
  mynetworks = 127.0.0.0/8 [::ffff:127.0.0.0]/104 [::1]/128
  mailbox_size_limit = 0
  recipient_delimiter = +
  # WARNING: Changing the inet_interfaces to an IP other than 127.0.0.1 may expose Postfix to external network connections.
  # Only modify this setting if you understand the implications and have specific network requirements.
  inet_interfaces = 127.0.0.1
  inet_protocols = all
  message_size_limit = 102400000</pre>
<span id="set-up-smtp-authentication-and-use-your-usernamespasswordsemails-to-replace-mine"></span>
==== 1.3 Set Up SMTP Authentication, and use your usernames/passwords/emails to replace mine ====

<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;">
<li><p>Create the SASL password file:</p>
<pre>sudo nano /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd</pre></li>
<li><p>Add this line to the file, replacing the username &amp; password with your credentials from postmark:</p></li></ol>

<pre>[smtp.postmarkapp.com]:587 1788dd83-9917-46e1-b90a-3b9a89c10bd7:1788dd83-9917-46e1-b90a-3b9a89c10bd7</pre>
<ol start="3" style="list-style-type: decimal;">
<li><p>Set proper permissions for security:</p>
<pre>sudo chmod 600 /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd</pre></li>
<li><p>Create the hash database file:</p>
<pre>sudo postmap /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd</pre></li></ol>

<span id="restart-and-test"></span>
==== 1.4 Restart and Test ====

<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;">
<li><p>Restart Postfix:</p>
<pre>sudo systemctl restart postfix</pre></li>
<li><p>Verify Postfix is running:</p>
<pre>sudo systemctl status postfix</pre></li>
<li><p>Test the email setup:</p>
<pre>echo &quot;Test email from $(hostname)&quot; | mail -s &quot;Test Email&quot; l.a.rossmann@gmail.com</pre></li></ol>

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</gallery> '''Verification Steps:'''

<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;">
<li><p>Check mail logs for errors:</p>
<pre>sudo tail -f /var/log/mail.log</pre></li>
<li><p>Verify permissions:</p>
<pre>ls -l /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd*</pre>
<p>Should show:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>-rw------- 1 root root</code> for sasl_passwd</li>
<li><code>-rw------- 1 root root</code> for sasl_passwd.db</li></ul>
</li></ol>

<span id="troubleshooting-1"></span>
=== Troubleshooting: ===

If emails aren’t being sent:

<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;">
<li><p>Check Postfix status:</p>
<pre>sudo systemctl status postfix</pre></li>
<li><p>View detailed mail logs:</p>
<pre>sudo journalctl -u postfix</pre></li></ol>

Check mail logs for errors:

<pre>sudo tail -f /var/log/mail.log</pre>
# Check <code>/var/log/mail.log</code> for errors
# Check that Postmark credentials are correct (e.g., if you typed <code>postmark.com</code> instead of <code>postmarkapp.com</code> for server, etc.)
# Verify sender domain (<code>stevesavers.com</code>) is properly configured in Postmark
# Check the '''Activity''' tab on the transactional stream in Postmark
# Mail log will tell you what you fkd up 99% of the time.

'''This setup does as follows:'''

* Send FROM: ''[mailto:yourdriveisdead@stevesavers.com yourdriveisdead@stevesavers.com]''
* Send TO: ''[mailto:l.a.rossmann@gmail.com l.a.rossmann@gmail.com]''
* Use the configured SMTP relay
* Include proper authentication

The system is now ready for the next step in the ZFS monitoring setup.

<span id="step-2-creating-complete-zfs-monitoring-script-with-logging"></span>