Question : Version 8.13.6+Sun Sendmail for Solaris 9

The version of sendmail running on OS Solaris 9 is showing below.  I created a /etc/mail/aliases and I would like to only mailx to local users only, but the problem is that we are not allow to have the deamon sendmail to run in the server just to use it as a mailer locally.  Okay when I have the deamon sendmail up and running it actually works like a chanp however when I stop the deamon sendmail then the error received in the /var/log/syslog is:

Jul  6 13:32:52 mcusquanmm02 sm-mta[1573]: [ID 801593 mail.info] k66DWqbH001573: from=m02.mcdsus.mcds.usmc.mil>, size=381, class=0, nrcpts=1, msgid=<200607061332.k66DWqTP001572@mcusquanmm02.m
cdsus.mcds.usmc.mil>, proto=ESMTP, daemon=MTA-v4, relay=localhost [127.0.0.1]

# echo \$Z | /usr/lib/sendmail -bt -d0
Version 8.13.6+Sun
 Compiled with: DNSMAP LDAPMAP LOG MAP_REGEX MATCHGECOS MILTER MIME7TO8
                MIME8TO7 NAMED_BIND NDBM NETINET NETINET6 NETUNIX NEWDB NIS
                NISPLUS PIPELINING SCANF USERDB USE_LDAP_INIT XDEBUG

============ SYSTEM IDENTITY (after readcf) ============
      (short domain name) $w = hostname02
  (canonical domain name) $j = hostname.domain.mil
         (subdomain name) $m = domain.mil
              (node name) $k = hostname02
========================================================

ADDRESS TEST MODE (ruleset 3 NOT automatically invoked)
Enter

> 8.13.6

Answer : Version 8.13.6+Sun Sendmail for Solaris 9

Mmm.

You do not need sendmail to be runing as a daemon for sendmail to be used to send mail, either for local or remote delivery - sendmail processes can and often are generated "on demand".

BUT, sendmail version 8.12.x made default the use of the MSP (Message Submission Program)

http://www.sendmail.org/~ca/email/doc8.12/cf/m4/msp.html

You can see this by looking at the processes ("ptree | grep sendmail") running after you run /etc/init.d/sendmail start, you will see 2

1) one with args like "-bd -q15m"
2) another with args which include "-Ac"

The latter process will also be running as the "smmsp" user, use "ptree smsmp" to see it.

With sendmail configured this way you do need something listening somewhere to deal with locally generated mails (from cron, at job, mailx, ...), which does mean a daemon for sendmail.  That "listener" should be configured to listen on just the loopback interface 127.0.1.  I suspect your "rules" disallowing sendmail running on the server were written before sendmail 8.12.  If confgured to listen just on loopback there is really no problem with having sendmail running, and I think it's safer than chnaging things to run as root rather than smsmp.  As you found, there is a problem having it NOT running at all.  anyway, it's a policy choice.

This is just 8.12 onwards, go back to 8.11 and there is msp to complicate things.  But going back to 8.11 on Solaris 9 is hard, impossible if you want to use the sun sendmail pkgs.

K