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16 <h1><img src="postfix-logo.jpg" width="203" height="98" ALT="">Postfix Address Verification Howto</h1>
18 <hr>
20 <h2>WARNING </h2>
22 <p> Recipient address verification may cause an increased load on
23 down-stream servers in the case of a dictionary attack or a flood
24 of backscatter bounces. Sender address verification may cause your
25 site to be blacklisted by some providers. See also the "<a
26 href="#limitations">Limitations</a>" section below for more. </p>
28 <h2><a name="summary">What Postfix address verification can do for you</a></h2>
30 <p> Address verification is a feature that allows the Postfix SMTP
31 server to block a sender (MAIL FROM) or recipient (RCPT TO) address
32 until the address has been verified to be deliverable. </p>
34 <p> The technique has obvious uses to reject junk mail
35 with an unreplyable sender address. </p>
37 <p> The technique is also useful to block mail for undeliverable
38 recipients, for example on a mail <a href="postconf.5.html#relayhost">relay host</a> that does not have a
39 list of all the valid recipient addresses. This prevents undeliverable
40 junk mail from entering the queue, so that Postfix doesn't have to
41 waste resources trying to send MAILER-DAEMON messages back. </p>
43 <p> This feature is available in Postfix version 2.1 and later. </p>
45 <p> Topics covered in this document: </p>
47 <ul>
49 <li><a href="#how"> How address verification works</a>
51 <li><a href="#limitations">Limitations of address verification</a>
53 <li><a href="#recipient">Recipient address verification</a>
55 <li><a href="#forged_sender">Sender address verification for mail
56 from frequently forged domains</a>
58 <li><a href="#sender_always">Sender address verification for all
59 email</a>
61 <li><a href="#caching">Address verification database</a>
63 <li><a href="#dirty_secret">Managing the address verification
64 database</a>
66 <li><a href="#probe_routing">Controlling the routing of address
67 verification probes</a>
69 <li><a href="#forced_examples">Forced probe routing examples</a>
71 <li><a href="#forced_limitations">Limitations of forced probe routing</a>
73 </ul>
75 <h2><a name="how">How address verification works</a></h2>
77 <p> A Postfix MTA verifies a sender or recipient address by probing
78 the nearest
79 MTA for that address, without actually delivering mail. The nearest
80 MTA could be the Postfix MTA itself, or it could be a remote MTA
81 (SMTP
82 interruptus). Probe messages are like normal mail, except that
83 they are never delivered, deferred or bounced; probe messages are
84 always discarded. </p>
86 <blockquote>
88 <table border="0">
90 <tr>
92 <td rowspan="2" colspan="5" align="center" valign="middle">
93 &nbsp; </td>
95 <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="bottom"> <tt> -&gt; </tt>
96 </td>
98 <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle"> probe<br>
99 message </td>
101 <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle"> <tt> -&gt; </tt>
102 </td>
104 <td rowspan="3" bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle">
105 Postfix<br> mail<br> queue </td>
107 </tr>
109 <tr> <td> </td> </tr>
111 <tr>
113 <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle"> Internet </td>
115 <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle"> <tt> -&gt; </tt>
116 </td>
118 <td rowspan="3" bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle">
119 <a href="smtpd.8.html">Postfix<br> SMTP<br> server</a> </td>
121 <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle"> <tt> &lt;-&gt;
122 </tt> </td>
124 <td rowspan="3" bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle">
125 <a href="verify.8.html">Postfix<br> verify<br> server</a>
126 </td>
128 </tr>
130 <tr>
132 <td rowspan="1" colspan="3"> </td>
134 <td rowspan="1" align="center" valign="middle"> <tt> |</tt><br>
135 <tt> v</tt> </td>
137 </tr>
139 <tr>
141 <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="top"> <tt> &lt;- </tt>
142 </td>
144 <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle"> probe<br>
145 status </td>
147 <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle"> <tt> &lt;- </tt>
148 </td>
150 <td rowspan="3" bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle">
151 Postfix<br> delivery<br> agents </td>
153 <td rowspan="3" align="left" valign="middle"> <tt>-&gt;</tt>
154 Local<br> <tt>-&gt;</tt> Remote</td>
156 </tr>
158 <tr>
160 <td rowspan="3" colspan="4" align="center" valign="middle">
161 &nbsp; </td>
163 <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle"> <tt>
164 ^</tt><br> <tt> |</tt><br> <tt> v</tt> </td>
166 </tr>
168 <tr> <td> </td> </tr>
170 <tr> <td colspan="4"> &nbsp; </td> </tr>
172 <tr>
174 <td colspan="4" align="center" valign="middle"> &nbsp; </td>
176 <td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle">
177 Address<br> verification<br> database </td>
179 </tr>
181 </table>
183 </blockquote>
185 <p> With Postfix address verification turned on, normal mail will
186 suffer only a short delay of up to 6 seconds while an address is
187 being verified for the first time. Once an address status is known,
188 the status is cached and Postfix replies immediately. </p>
190 <p> When verification takes too long the Postfix SMTP server defers
191 the sender or recipient address with a 450 reply. Normal mail
192 clients will connect again after some delay. The address verification
193 delay is configurable with the <a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a> <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_poll_count">address_verify_poll_count</a>
194 and <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_poll_delay">address_verify_poll_delay</a> parameters. See <a href="postconf.5.html">postconf(5)</a> for
195 details. </p>
197 <h2><a name="limitations">Limitations of address verification</a></h2>
199 <ul>
201 <li> <p> When verifying a remote address, Postfix probes the nearest
202 MTA for that address, without actually delivering mail to it. If
203 the nearest MTA accepts the address, then Postfix assumes that the
204 address is deliverable. In reality, mail for a remote address can
205 bounce AFTER the nearest MTA accepts the recipient address, or AFTER
206 the nearest MTA accepts the message content. </p>
208 <li> <p> Some sites may blacklist you when you are probing them
209 too often (a probe is an SMTP session that does not deliver mail),
210 or when you are probing them too often for a non-existent address.
211 This is one reason why you should use sender address verification
212 sparingly, if at all, when your site receives lots of email. </p>
214 <li> <p> Normally, address verification probe messages follow the
215 same path as regular mail. However, some sites send mail to the
216 Internet via an intermediate <a href="postconf.5.html#relayhost">relayhost</a>; this breaks address
217 verification. See below, section <a href="#probe_routing">"Controlling
218 the routing of address verification probes"</a>, for how to override
219 mail routing and for possible limitations when you have to do this.
220 </p>
222 <li> <p> Postfix assumes that an address is undeliverable when the
223 nearest MTA for the address rejects the probe, regardless of the
224 reason for rejection (client rejected, HELO rejected, MAIL FROM
225 rejected, etc.). Thus, Postfix rejects an address when the nearest
226 MTA for that address rejects mail from your machine for any reason.
227 This is not a limitation, but it is mentioned here just in case
228 people believe that it is a limitation. </p>
230 <li> <p> Unfortunately, some sites do not reject
231 unknown addresses in reply to the RCPT TO command, but report a
232 delivery failure in response to end of DATA after a message is
233 transferred. Postfix address verification does not work with such
234 sites. </p>
236 <li> <p> By default, Postfix probe messages have a sender address
237 "double-bounce@$<a href="postconf.5.html#myorigin">myorigin</a>" (with Postfix versions before 2.5, the
238 default
239 is "postmaster@$<a href="postconf.5.html#myorigin">myorigin</a>"). This is SAFE because the Postfix SMTP
240 server does not reject mail for this address. </p>
242 <p> You can change the probe sender address into the null address
243 ("<a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_sender">address_verify_sender</a>
244 ="). This is UNSAFE because address probes will fail with
245 mis-configured sites that reject MAIL FROM: &lt;&gt;, while
246 probes from "double-bounce@$<a href="postconf.5.html#myorigin">myorigin</a>" would succeed. </p>
248 </ul>
250 <h2><a name="recipient">Recipient address verification</a></h2>
252 <p> As mentioned earlier, recipient address verification is
253 useful to block mail for undeliverable recipients on a mail relay
254 host that does not have a list of all valid recipient addresses.
255 This can help to prevent the mail queue from filling up with
256 MAILER-DAEMON messages. </p>
258 <p> Recipient address verification is relatively straightforward
259 and there are no surprises. If a recipient probe fails, then Postfix
260 rejects mail for the recipient address. If a recipient probe
261 succeeds, then Postfix accepts mail for the recipient address.
262 However, recipient address verification probes can increase the
263 load on down-stream MTAs when you're being flooded by backscatter
264 bounces, or when some spammer is mounting a dictionary attack. </p>
266 <p> By default, address verification results are saved in a <a
267 href="#caching">persistent database</a> (Postfix version 2.7 and
268 later; with earlier versions, specify the database in <a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a> as
269 described later). The persistent database helps to avoid probing
270 the same address repeatedly. </p>
272 <blockquote>
273 <pre>
274 /etc/postfix/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>:
275 <a href="postconf.5.html#smtpd_recipient_restrictions">smtpd_recipient_restrictions</a> =
276 <a href="postconf.5.html#permit_mynetworks">permit_mynetworks</a>
277 <a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unauth_destination">reject_unauth_destination</a>
279 <a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unknown_recipient_domain">reject_unknown_recipient_domain</a>
280 <a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unverified_recipient">reject_unverified_recipient</a>
282 # Postfix 2.6 and later privacy feature.
283 # <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_recipient_reject_reason">unverified_recipient_reject_reason</a> = Address lookup failed
284 </pre>
285 </blockquote>
287 <p> The "<a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unknown_recipient_domain">reject_unknown_recipient_domain</a>" restriction blocks mail
288 for non-existent domains. Putting this before "<a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unverified_recipient">reject_unverified_recipient</a>"
289 avoids the overhead of generating unnecessary probe messages. </p>
291 <p> The <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_recipient_reject_code">unverified_recipient_reject_code</a> parameter (default 450)
292 specifies the numerical Postfix SMTP server reply code when a
293 recipient address is known to
294 bounce. Change this setting into 550 when you trust Postfix's
295 judgments. </p>
297 <p> The following features are available in Postfix 2.6 and later.
298 </p>
300 <p> The <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_recipient_defer_code">unverified_recipient_defer_code</a> parameter (default 450)
301 specifies the numerical Postfix SMTP server reply code when a
302 recipient address probe fails with some temporary error. Some sites
303 insist on changing this into 250. NOTE: This change turns MX servers
304 into backscatter sources when the load is high. </p>
306 <p> The <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_recipient_reject_reason">unverified_recipient_reject_reason</a> parameter (default:
307 empty) specifies fixed text that Postfix will send to remote SMTP
308 clients, instead of sending actual address verification details.
309 Do not specify the SMTP status code or enhanced status code. </p>
311 <p> The <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_recipient_tempfail_action">unverified_recipient_tempfail_action</a> parameter (default:
312 <a href="postconf.5.html#defer_if_permit">defer_if_permit</a>) specifies the Postfix SMTP server action when a
313 recipient address verification probe fails with some temporary
314 error. </p>
316 <h2><a name="forged_sender">Sender address verification for mail from frequently forged domains</a></h2>
318 <p> Only for very small sites, it is relatively safe to turn on
319 sender address verification for specific domains that often appear
320 in forged email. </p>
322 <blockquote>
323 <pre>
324 /etc/postfix/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>:
325 <a href="postconf.5.html#smtpd_sender_restrictions">smtpd_sender_restrictions</a> = hash:/etc/postfix/sender_access
326 <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_sender_reject_code">unverified_sender_reject_code</a> = 550
327 # Postfix 2.6 and later.
328 # <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_sender_defer_code">unverified_sender_defer_code</a> = 250
330 # Default setting for Postfix 2.7 and later.
331 # Note 1: Be sure to read the "<a href="#caching">Caching</a>" section below!
332 # Note 2: Avoid hash files here. Use btree instead.
333 <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_map">address_verify_map</a> = btree:/var/lib/postfix/verify
335 /etc/postfix/sender_access:
336 # Don't do this when you handle lots of email.
337 aol.com <a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unverified_sender">reject_unverified_sender</a>
338 hotmail.com <a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unverified_sender">reject_unverified_sender</a>
339 bigfoot.com <a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unverified_sender">reject_unverified_sender</a>
340 ... etcetera ...
341 </pre>
342 </blockquote>
344 <p> At some point in cyberspace/time, a list of frequently forged
345 MAIL FROM domains could be found at
346 <a href="http://www.monkeys.com/anti-spam/filtering/sender-domain-validate.in">http://www.monkeys.com/anti-spam/filtering/sender-domain-validate.in</a>. </p>
348 <p> NOTE: One of the first things you might want to do is to turn
349 on sender address verification for all your own domains. </p>
351 <h2><a name="sender_always">Sender address verification for all
352 email</a></h2>
354 <p> Unfortunately, sender address verification cannot simply be
355 turned on for all email - you are likely to lose legitimate mail
356 from mis-configured systems. You almost certainly will have to set
357 up white lists for specific addresses, or even for entire domains.
358 </p>
360 <p> To find out how sender address verification would affect your
361 mail, specify "<a href="postconf.5.html#warn_if_reject">warn_if_reject</a> <a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unverified_sender">reject_unverified_sender</a>" so that
362 you can see what mail would be blocked: </p>
364 <blockquote>
365 <pre>
366 /etc/postfix/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>:
367 <a href="postconf.5.html#smtpd_sender_restrictions">smtpd_sender_restrictions</a> =
368 <a href="postconf.5.html#permit_mynetworks">permit_mynetworks</a>
369 ...
370 <a href="postconf.5.html#check_sender_access">check_sender_access</a> hash:/etc/postfix/sender_access
371 <a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unknown_sender_domain">reject_unknown_sender_domain</a>
372 <a href="postconf.5.html#warn_if_reject">warn_if_reject</a> <a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unverified_sender">reject_unverified_sender</a>
374 # Postfix 2.6 and later.
375 # <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_sender_reject_reason">unverified_sender_reject_reason</a> = Address verification failed
377 # Default setting for Postfix 2.7 and later.
378 # Note 1: Be sure to read the "<a href="#caching">Caching</a>" section below!
379 # Note 2: Avoid hash files here. Use btree instead.
380 <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_map">address_verify_map</a> = btree:/var/lib/postfix/verify
381 </pre>
382 </blockquote>
384 <p> This is also a good way to populate your cache with address
385 verification results before you start to actually reject mail. </p>
387 <p> The sender_access restriction is needed to whitelist domains
388 or addresses that are known to be OK. Although Postfix will not
389 mark a known-to-be-good address as bad after a probe fails, it is
390 better to be safe than sorry. </p>
392 <p> NOTE: You will have to whitelist sites such as securityfocus.com
393 and other sites that operate mailing lists that use a different
394 sender address for each posting (VERP). Such addresses pollute
395 the address verification cache quickly, and generate unnecessary
396 sender verification probes. </p>
398 <blockquote>
399 <pre>
400 /etc/postfix/sender_access
401 securityfocus.com OK
403 </pre>
404 </blockquote>
406 <p> The "<a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unknown_sender_domain">reject_unknown_sender_domain</a>" restriction blocks mail from
407 non-existent domains. Putting this before "<a href="postconf.5.html#reject_unverified_sender">reject_unverified_sender</a>"
408 avoids the overhead of generating unnecessary probe messages. </p>
410 <p> The <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_sender_reject_code">unverified_sender_reject_code</a> parameter (default 450)
411 specifies the numerical Postfix server reply code when a sender
412 address is known to
413 bounce. Change this setting into 550 when you trust Postfix's
414 judgments. </p>
416 <p> The following features are available in Postfix 2.6 and later.
417 </p>
419 <p> The <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_sender_defer_code">unverified_sender_defer_code</a> parameter (default 450) specifies
420 the numerical Postfix SMTP server reply code when a sender address
421 verification probe fails with some temporary error. Specify a valid
422 2xx or 4xx code. </p>
424 <p> The <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_sender_reject_reason">unverified_sender_reject_reason</a> parameter (default:
425 empty) specifies fixed text that Postfix will send to remote SMTP
426 clients, instead of sending actual addres verification details.
427 Do not specify the SMTP status code or enhanced status code. </p>
429 <p> The <a href="postconf.5.html#unverified_sender_tempfail_action">unverified_sender_tempfail_action</a> parameter (default:
430 <a href="postconf.5.html#defer_if_permit">defer_if_permit</a>) specifies the Postfix SMTP server action when a
431 sender address verification probe fails with some temporary error.
432 </p>
434 <h2><a name="caching">Address verification database</a></h2>
436 <p> To improve performance, the Postfix <a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a> daemon can save
437 address verification results to a persistent database. This is
438 enabled by default with Postfix 2.7 and later. The
439 <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_map">address_verify_map</a> (NOTE: singular) configuration parameter specifies
440 persistent storage for sender or recipient address verification
441 results. If you specify an empty value, all address verification
442 results are lost after "postfix reload" or "postfix stop". </p>
444 <blockquote>
445 <pre>
446 /etc/postfix/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>:
447 # Default setting for Postfix 2.7 and later.
448 # Note: avoid hash files here. Use btree instead.
449 <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_map">address_verify_map</a> = btree:$<a href="postconf.5.html#data_directory">data_directory</a>/verify_cache
451 # Default setting for Postfix 2.6 and earlier.
452 # This uses non-persistent storage only.
453 <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_map">address_verify_map</a> =
454 </pre>
455 </blockquote>
457 <p> NOTE 1: The database file should be stored under a Postfix-owned
458 directory, such as $<a href="postconf.5.html#data_directory">data_directory</a>. </p>
460 <blockquote> As of version 2.5, Postfix no longer uses root privileges
461 when opening this file. To maintain backwards compatibility, an
462 attempt to open the file under a non-Postfix directory is redirected
463 to the Postfix-owned <a href="postconf.5.html#data_directory">data_directory</a>, and a warning is logged. If
464 you wish to continue using a pre-existing database file, change its
465 file ownership to the account specified with the <a href="postconf.5.html#mail_owner">mail_owner</a> parameter,
466 and either move the file to the <a href="postconf.5.html#data_directory">data_directory</a>, or move it to some
467 other Postfix-owned directory. </blockquote>
469 <p> NOTE 2: Do not put this file in a file system that may run out
470 of space. When the address verification table gets corrupted the
471 world comes to an end and YOU will have to MANUALLY fix things as
472 described in the next section. Meanwhile, you will not receive mail
473 via SMTP. </p>
475 <p> NOTE 3: The <a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a> daemon will create a new database when
476 none exists. It will open or create the file before entering the
477 chroot jail. </p>
479 <h2><a name="dirty_secret">Managing the address verification
480 database</a></h2>
482 <p> The <a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a> manual page describes parameters that control how
483 long address verification results are cached before they need to
484 be refreshed, and how long results can remain "unrefreshed" before
485 they expire. Postfix uses different controls for positive results
486 (address was accepted) and for negative results (address was rejected,
487 or address verification failed for some other reason). </p>
489 <p> The <a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a> daemon will periodically remove expired entries
490 from the address verification database, and log the number of entries
491 retained and dropped (Postfix versions 2.7 and later). A cleanup
492 run is logged as "partial" when the daemon terminates early because
493 of "postfix reload, "postfix stop", or because the daemon received
494 no requests for $<a href="postconf.5.html#max_idle">max_idle</a> seconds. Postfix versions 2.6 and earlier
495 do not implement automatic address verification database cleanup.
496 There, the database is managed manually as described next. </p>
498 <p> When the address verification database file becomes too big,
499 or when it becomes corrupted, the solution is to manually rename
500 or delete (NOT: truncate) the file and run "postfix reload". The
501 <a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a> daemon will then create a new database file. </p>
503 <h2><a name="probe_routing">Controlling the routing of address
504 verification probes</a></h2>
506 <p> By default, Postfix sends address verification probe messages
507 via the same route as regular mail, because that normally produces
508 the most accurate result. It's no good to verify a local address
509 by connecting to your own SMTP port; that just triggers all kinds
510 of mailer loop alarms. The same is true for any destination that
511 your machine is best MX host for: hidden domains, virtual domains,
512 etc. </p>
514 <p> However, some sites have a complex infrastructure where mail
515 is not sent directly to the Internet, but is instead given to an
516 intermediate <a href="postconf.5.html#relayhost">relayhost</a>. This is a problem for address verification,
517 because remote Internet addresses can be verified only when Postfix
518 can access remote destinations directly. </p>
520 <p> For this reason, Postfix allows you to override the routing
521 parameters when it delivers an address verification probe message.
522 </p>
524 <p> First, the <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_relayhost">address_verify_relayhost</a> parameter allows you to
525 override the <a href="postconf.5.html#relayhost">relayhost</a> setting, and the <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_transport_maps">address_verify_transport_maps</a>
526 parameter allows you to override the <a href="postconf.5.html#transport_maps">transport_maps</a> setting.
527 The <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_sender_dependent_relayhost_maps">address_verify_sender_dependent_relayhost_maps</a> parameter
528 does the same for sender-dependent <a href="postconf.5.html#relayhost">relayhost</a> selection. </p>
530 <p> Second, each address class is given its own address verification
531 version of the message delivery transport, as shown in the table
532 below. Address classes are defined in the <a href="ADDRESS_CLASS_README.html">ADDRESS_CLASS_README</a>
533 file. </p>
535 <blockquote>
537 <table border="1">
539 <tr> <th> Domain list </th> <th> Regular transport</th> <th> Verify
540 transport </th> </tr>
542 <tr> <td> <a href="postconf.5.html#mydestination">mydestination</a> </td> <td> <a href="postconf.5.html#local_transport">local_transport</a> </td> <td>
543 <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_local_transport">address_verify_local_transport</a> </td> </tr>
545 <tr> <td> <a href="postconf.5.html#virtual_alias_domains">virtual_alias_domains</a> </td> <td> (not applicable) </td>
546 <td> (not applicable) </td> </tr>
548 <tr> <td> <a href="postconf.5.html#virtual_mailbox_domains">virtual_mailbox_domains</a> </td> <td> <a href="postconf.5.html#virtual_transport">virtual_transport</a>
549 </td> <td> <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_virtual_transport">address_verify_virtual_transport</a> </td> </tr>
551 <tr> <td> <a href="postconf.5.html#relay_domains">relay_domains</a> </td> <td> <a href="postconf.5.html#relay_transport">relay_transport</a> </td> <td>
552 <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_relay_transport">address_verify_relay_transport</a> </td> </tr>
554 <tr> <td> (not applicable) </td> <td> <a href="postconf.5.html#default_transport">default_transport</a> </td> <td>
555 <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_default_transport">address_verify_default_transport</a> </td> </tr>
557 </table>
559 </blockquote>
561 <p> By default, the parameters that control delivery of address
562 probes have the same value as the parameters that control normal
563 mail delivery. </p>
565 <h2><a name="forced_examples">Forced probe routing examples</a></h2>
567 <p> In a typical scenario one would override the <a href="postconf.5.html#relayhost">relayhost</a> setting
568 for address verification probes and leave everything else alone:
569 </p>
571 <blockquote>
572 <pre>
573 /etc/postfix/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>:
574 <a href="postconf.5.html#relayhost">relayhost</a> = $<a href="postconf.5.html#mydomain">mydomain</a>
575 <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_relayhost">address_verify_relayhost</a> =
577 </pre>
578 </blockquote>
580 <p> Sites behind a network address translation box might have to
581 use a different SMTP client that sends the correct hostname
582 information: </p>
584 <blockquote>
585 <pre>
586 /etc/postfix/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>:
587 <a href="postconf.5.html#relayhost">relayhost</a> = $<a href="postconf.5.html#mydomain">mydomain</a>
588 <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_relayhost">address_verify_relayhost</a> =
589 <a href="postconf.5.html#address_verify_default_transport">address_verify_default_transport</a> = direct_smtp
591 /etc/postfix/<a href="master.5.html">master.cf</a>:
592 direct_smtp .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. smtp
593 -o <a href="postconf.5.html#smtp_helo_name">smtp_helo_name</a>=nat.box.tld
594 </pre>
595 </blockquote>
597 <h2><a name="forced_limitations">Limitations of forced probe routing</a></h2>
599 <p> Inconsistencies can happen when probe messages don't follow
600 the same path as regular mail. For example, a message can be
601 accepted when it follows the regular route while an otherwise
602 identical probe message is rejected when it follows the forced
603 route. The opposite can happen, too, but is less likely. </p>
605 </body>
607 </html>