Maildir path problems

[shdwdrgn]

I'm trying to contain my virtual users within the home directory to keep ispconfig compatible with the existing structure on my network. I tried setting Maildir Path to "/home/[domain]/[localpart]", however when I created new mailboxes, they were still appearing in /var/vmail/. Attempting to work around this, I deleted /var/vmail and recreated it as a link to /home/. If there's a way to make the option work properly, please let me know...

Continuing on this point, however, I had to modify the domain directories as such:

# chown root.vmail /home/domain.com/
# chmod 775 /home/domain.com.

Now when I create the mailbox, the user folder appears as I wanted. The next problem was a permission issue with maildrop.

postfix/pipe[5358]: 318FA22C2E: to=<user@domain.com>, relay=maildrop, delay=44101, delays=44101/0.23/0/0.06, dsn=4.3.0, status=deferred (temporary failure. Command output: ERR: authdaemon: s_connect() failed: Permission denied /usr/bin/maildrop: Home directory owned by wrong user. )

I had to chown vmail.vmail /home/ in order to get past this error. Again, I would appreciate any suggestions on a better way to fix this, as /home/ should be owned by root.

And now for the current problem. The virtual user folders are being created, the maildir folders are in place and owned by vmail, and syslog shows the welcome email being sent and delivered to the mailbox... but there are no emails appearing. I can log into the account via thunderbird, and I have checked the new and cur folders for the email, but it's not there. I have no idea how to troubleshoot virtual users (my network currently uses LDAP, which apparently ispconfig does not support?), so I'm at a loss as to where to start on this one.

Details about my setup...
Ubuntu 9.10
New install followed this guide: http://www.howtoforge.com/perfect-se...10-ispconfig-3
* The mySQL server is on another machine, not local... the proper IP was entered during setup to point to the mySQL server
Apache2 / Postfix / Courier

Ask if you need anything else. And thanks for the help.

[till]

All mail directories have to be owned by user and group vmail.

using /home as directorie for the virtual mail users is not a good choice, as you will have to change the home directory of the vmail user in /etc/passwd to /home now and then copy the .mailfilter file from /var/vmail to /home/ and then edit the pthas in the .mailfilter file too. You will also have to edit the paths to the mailboxes in the mail_user database table etc. I can only recommend to not do these changes as you will only mess up your system.

[shdwdrgn]

I don't have the option of changing the structure of my existing directory setup, as that would require reconfiguring every other server on the network. The idea was to mimic the existing directory structure, and when it looked like it was working, connect to the shared home drive so that the existing user data would be right where it's expected.

One issue I see with this is that all these virtual users have the same gid/uid. Why must ispconfig create virtual users? Can I change something so that all mailboxes are real users with a unique gid/uid, and use pam-mysql to resolve these accounts? This is how ldap user accounts work, and it's been very reliable over the last few years.

You mentioned a mailfilter file from /var/vmail/... Apparently I lost that file when I removed the original /var/vmail. Could you please tell me where I can get the file from again (I assume it's somewhere in the ispconfig source)?

[till]

Why must ispconfig create virtual users?

This has many benefits e.g. that you can use the email address as username. Most new large scale ISP mail systems use virtual users. Using real linux users is only used on office systems where you also need sambe shares etc. or wether your users shall be able to login on the shell with the same account.

Can I change something so that all mailboxes are real users with a unique gid/uid, and use pam-mysql to resolve these accounts?

No. Not without changing a lot of things in the ispconfig sources.

As you dont want to use to manage your system with ispconfig, why did you install it instead of setting up a ldap based mailsystem manually?

You mentioned a mailfilter file from /var/vmail/... Apparently I lost that file when I removed the original /var/vmail. Could you please tell me where I can get the file from again (I assume it's somewhere in the ispconfig source)?

The file is in install/tpl/mailfilter.master

You have to replave {dist_postfix_vmail_mailbox_base} with /home

[shdwdrgn]

Thanks for the info on the mailfilter file. Looks like that was the problem, as my test emails are now being delivered and showing up in both thunderbird and squirrelmail. I had a lot of files to touch up, since my full path is /home/domain.com/username/.Maildir/ but it's working great now.

I've started poking at the website stuff. It was a lot easier to get working on the directory path I wanted, but I have one small question here. The website pages default to being created in the /domain/web/ folder. Is there some place I can change this so ispconfig instead uses a /domain/www/ folder?

You asked why I installed ispconfig instead of using ldap to manage my users... It's because I'm trying to find some kind of unified system to manage user accounts, web sites, and dns settings. My network is still small enough that I *can* convert the user base over to something new, but I am working on a live network so I need to keep things such as the directory structure the same during the crossover. From what I've seen, ispconfig is the best of the CP's I've tested. It has the potential to handle everything within my own personal structures, I just need to learn more of how it works and decide what items I need to adjust to ispconfig's structure, and what items I simply need to make code changes for in order to be more flexible to my needs.