Administering Mail Alias Files

Mail aliases must be unique within the domain. This section provides the procedures for administering mail alias files.

In addition, you can create database files for the local mail host by using makemap. Refer to the makemap(1M) man page. The use of these database files does not provide all of the advantages of using a name service such as NIS. However, you should be able to retrieve the data from these local database files faster because no network lookups are involved. For more information, refer to Interactions of sendmail With Name Services and Mail Alias Files in Chapter 3, Mail Services (Reference).

How to Set Up an NIS `mail.aliases` Map

Use the following procedure to facilitate aliasing with an NIS mail.aliases map.

Compile a list of each of your mail clients, the locations of their mailboxes, and the names of the mail server systems.
Become an administrator on the NIS master server.
For more information, see How to Use Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Oracle Solaris 11.1 Administration: Security Services.
Edit the /etc/mail/aliases file, and make the following entries.
1. Add an entry for each mail client.
```
# cat /etc/mail/aliases
..
alias:expanded-alias
```
  alias
  
  Use the short alias name.
  
  expanded-alias
  
  Use the expanded alias name (user@host.domain.com).
2. Ensure that you have a Postmaster: root entry.
```
# cat /etc/mail/aliases
..
Postmaster: root
```
3. Add an alias for root. Use the mail address of the person who is designated as the postmaster.
```
# cat /etc/mail/aliases
..
root: user@host.domain.com
```
  user@host.domain.com
  
  Use the assigned address of the designated postmaster.
Ensure that the NIS master server is running a name service to resolve the host names on each mail server.
Change to the /var/yp directory.
```
# cd /var/yp
```
Apply the make command.
```
# make
```
The changes in the /etc/hosts and /etc/mail/aliases files are propagated to NIS slave systems. The changes are active in only a few minutes, at most.

How to Set Up a Local Mail Alias File

Use the following procedure to resolve aliases with a local mail alias file.

Compile a list of each of your users and the locations of their mailboxes.
Become an administrator on the mail server.
For more information, see How to Use Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Oracle Solaris 11.1 Administration: Security Services.
Edit the /etc/mail/aliases file and make the following entries.
1. Add an entry for each user.
```
user1: user2@host.domain
```
  user1
  
  Use the new alias name.
  
  user2@host.domain
  
  Use the actual address for the new alias.
2. Ensure that you have a Postmaster: root entry.
```
# cat /etc/mail/aliases
..
Postmaster: root
```
3. Add an alias for root. Use the mail address of the person who is designated as the postmaster.
```
# cat /etc/mail/aliases
..
root: user@host.domain.com
```
  user@host.domain.com
  
  Use the assigned address of the designated postmaster.
Rebuild the alias database.
```
# newaliases
```
The configuration of the AliasFile option in /etc/mail/sendmail.cf determines whether this command generates in binary form either the single file, /etc/mail/aliases.db, or the pair of files, /etc/mail/aliases.dir and /etc/mail/aliases.pag.
Perform one of the following steps to copy the file or files that were generated.
1. (Optional) Copy the /etc/mail/aliases, the /etc/mail/aliases.dir, and the/etc/mail/aliases.pag files to each of the other systems.
  You can copy the three files by using the rcp or rsync commands. Refer to the rcp(1) man page or the rsync(1) man page for more information. Alternately, you can create a script for this purpose.
  When you copy these files, you do not need to run the newaliases command on each of the other systems. However, remember that you must update all the /etc/mail/aliases files each time you add or remove a mail client.
2. (Optional) Copy the /etc/mail/aliases and the /etc/mail/aliases.db files to each of the other systems.
  You can copy these files by using the rcp or rsync commands. Refer to the rcp(1) man page or the rsync(1) man page for more information. Alternately, you can create a script for this purpose.
  When you copy these files, you do not need to run the newaliases command on each of the other systems. However, remember that you must update all the /etc/mail/aliases files each time you add or remove a mail client.

How to Create a Keyed Map File

To create a keyed map file, follow these instructions.

Become an administrator.
For more information, see How to Use Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Oracle Solaris 11.1 Administration: Security Services.
Create an input file.
Entries can have the following syntax.
```
old-name@newdomain.com   new-name@newdomain.com
old-name@olddomain.com    error:nouser No such user here
@olddomain.com          %1@newdomain.com
```
old_name@newdomain.com

Use the user name that was previously assigned with the domain that is newly assigned.

new_name@newdomain.com

Use the address that is newly assigned.

old_name@olddomain.com

Use the user name that was previously assigned with the domain that was previously assigned.

olddomain.com

Use the domain that was previously assigned.

newdomain.com

Use the domain that is newly assigned.

The first entry redirects mail to a new alias. The next entry creates a message when an incorrect alias is used. The last entry redirects all incoming mail from olddomain to newdomain.
Create the database file.
```
# /usr/sbin/makemap maptype newmap < newmap
```
maptype

Select a database type, such as dbm, btree, or hash.

newmap

Use the name of the input file and the first part of the name of the database file. If the dbm database type is selected, then the database files are created by using a .pag and a .dir suffix. For the other two database types, the file name is followed by .db.

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.

Become an administrator.
For more information, see How to Use Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Oracle Solaris 11.1 Administration: Security Services.

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

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.
(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.

Become an administrator.
For more information, see How to Use Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Oracle Solaris 11.1 Administration: Security Services.
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 Setting Up and Managing User Accounts by Using the CLI (Task Map) in Managing User Accounts and User Environments in Oracle Solaris 11.1.
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.

Become an administrator.
For more information, see How to Use Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Oracle Solaris 11.1 Administration: Security Services.
Add an alias for root. Use the mail address of the person who is designated as the postmaster.
```
# cat /etc/mail/aliases
..
root: user@host.domain.com
```
user@host.domain.com

Use the assigned address of the person who is designated as postmaster.
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.
Rebuild the alias database.
```
# newaliases
```

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