The Modern Postfix Handbook: Deploying Secure SMTP & IMAP Gateways with Dovecot and Rspamd, The Complete Reference for Virtual Users, TLS Hardening, and Email Reputation

Stop Building 1990s Mail Servers. It’s Time for a Modern Architecture.Are your emails landing in the Spam folder? Are you tired of wrestling with outdated tutorials that teach you how to configure SpamAssassin and system users?The email landscape has changed. In an era dominated by centralized giants, running an independent mail server requires more than just opening Port 25. It requires a fortress. You need a system that is secure by default, cryptographically authenticated, and capable of filtering millions of messages without breaking a sweat.The Modern Postfix Handbook is your blueprint for building a production-grade, self-hosted email infrastructure using the latest industry-standard tools.This is not a theoretical textbook. It is a hands-on engineering guide that takes you from a fresh Linux installation to a fully functional, secure email gateway.Inside, you will learn how to:Ditch the Legacy Stack: Replace heavy, outdated filters with Rspamd—the high-performance, event-driven spam filter used by high-volume senders.Master Virtual Users: Stop cluttering your OS with system accounts. Learn to architect a scalable MariaDB/MySQL database to manage thousands of domains and users dynamically.Achieve Perfect Deliverability: Implement the "Deliverability Triad" of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Learn not just how to generate the records, but how to enforce policies that protect your domain reputation.Automate Security: Set up Let's Encrypt with Certbot to automatically renew your TLS certificates, ensuring your server never serves an expired key.Enhance User Experience: Configure Autodiscover and Autoconfig so your users can set up Outlook and Thunderbird instantly, without manually typing port numbers.Filter Like a Pro: Implement server-side Sieve filtering to automatically sort spam into Junk folders, keeping inboxes clean across all devices.Why this book?Most Postfix guides stop at "sending an email." This book goes further. It covers the operational realities of running a server, including log analysis with Queue IDs , backup strategies using rsync , and handling IP blacklists.Whether you are a sysadmin looking to upgrade your infrastructure, a DevOps engineer building a private gateway, or a privacy advocate reclaiming your digital sovereignty, this is the reference implementation you have been waiting for.Take back control of your data. Build a server that delivers. Read more