Installing PostFix on Ubuntu 20.04 a CreatingNet.Works How To

A mail server is very useful when you own a website or web application and want to send transactional emails to users.

There are many Amazing Options to choose from when considering a mail server.

This post is going to cover just one of them: Postfix.

Postfix is a free and open-source Mail Transfer Agent used to send and receive emails. Postfix is free to use thus saving you from needing a 3rd party pay-to-use provider .

You will need a server running Ubuntu 20.04 as the operating system with at least 2GB RAM.

STEP 1

Once you are logged in to your Ubuntu 20.04 server, run the following command to update your base system with the latest available packages.

# Apt-get update -y && apt-get upgrade -y        

STEP 2

you will need to set the hostname of your server:

# hostnamectl set-hostname your.hostnamegoeshere.com        

Next, edit /etc/hosts file and add the following line:

nano /etc/hosts        

Add the following line:

your-server-ip your.hostnamegoeshere.com        

Save and close the file when you are finished.

STEP 3 - Install Postfix & Verify

The simple and easiest way to install Postfix is to install mailutils package to your system.

You can install the mailutils package using the following command:

apt-get install mailutils -y        

During the installation, you will be asked to select the type of mail configuration, Select Internet Site and hit?Enter. You will be asked to provide your mail name - enter your domain name and/or your hostname.

Next, check the status of Postfix using the following command:

systemctl status postfix        

There is a bit more setup - depending upon your needs.

Next in the series we will go over how to configure various options - but for now you have a running mail server.