Using MAC Mail on resident email server

[dxloewen]

I have email server implemented on MAC Mini, OSX 5.3.1.

Is there anyway to access mail for one of the mailboxes while the MAC does not have an internet connection?

 

[Mikael H]

Why would you run a mail server without an always-on Internet connection? That would mean you don't receive mail while it's not connected, potentially losing important correspondence.

(And if you have a mail service running off-premises with some service provider, why not simply connect to that service instead of adding a layer of complexity and impracticality to your solution?)

That said: If you want to download mail to your own machine for perusal when you're offline, old-school POP3 is the answer. Just make sure you have good backups, because by default most POP3 clients actually download and delete all mail from the server, so your copy is the only copy.

 

[dxloewen]

Sorry for the does not make sense post, I will elaborate.

I set up an email server on a Mac mini(named fusion). Since Apple decided to quit the server business, I purchased an additional mini(named SSD) with plan to use SSD system as email server with Fusion system as hardware backup. After a year of operation, the SSD system became extremely sluggish(sometimes 12 hours to receive mail, sometimes never).

Following Apple Care's suggestion, I built the email server from scratch on the Fusion system then exported users from SSD system and imported into Fusion system. Next, I copied /lib/server/mail/data from SSD system and pasted into Fusion system. I am told that if the IDs line up correctly, I will have achieved my goal of having all existing email on a built from scratch email server.

I attempted to simply move my ethernet cable from SSD system to Fusion system to verify mail was valid, but ran into connection problems. The SSD system has a SSL certificate installed. If I ask for a SSL certificate for the Fusion system, the one on the SSD system will be cancelled.

In a normal read/write mail process, the mail client will send a message to a DNS server where the domain name gets translated to the server's IP Address, setting up communication between client and server. Since I can create a client at the same IP address as the server, I was hoping for some how write the client's data directly into the server's message received port....just to verify that the mail I copied did line up with the correct user IDs.

Thanks for any ideas,

Don

 

[sevoneone]

Setup the Mail app on the SSD system using localhost or 127.0.0.1 for the server address?

 

[HenryAZ]

Setup the Mail app on the SSD system using localhost or 127.0.0.1 for the server address?

That's how I do it. I use Postfix on the Mac for sending mail only (I receive via POP from my ISP). I set Postfix to be local only. The actual Postfix config in main.cf is inet_interfaces = loopback-only. Postfix is included with the OS, just needs to be configured.