On Sun, Mar 25, 2018 at 01:48:05PM +0000, Tom Browder wrote:
> I'm in the process of setting up a new server and want postfix.
>
> My question is: should I install from source or use the debian
> packages?
>
> I have installed fro source before, but I would like to ease my
> maintenance burden as much as I can, but without sacrificing
> security.
A Debian list could better tell you the benefits of staying within
the Debian packaging system, but I'll talk a bit about living with
Postfix from source code.
It's not bad at all. In fact I have upgrades basically scripted; the
only thing I have to feed to it is the new version number.
I keep a "BUILD" file in the source which is copied from the previous
version's source directory ("postconf -h mail_version" tells the
script where to find it) which has my "make makefiles" command. The
"make upgrade" procedure is sure and painless. I have been doing
this for many years, never had a problem.
A really nice benefit sometimes is that you can get the awesome new
features without the wait. There have been numerous times I have
seen a new feature discussed here on the mailing list, and I get to
play with it right away. (Yes, I use development snapshots.)
By leaving the Debian packages you might also have issues with the
Debian init scripts, but those can be worked around.
You also get a vanilla Postfix without Debianisms. Something to be
said for that, as the Debian chroot is probably the largest single
source of problems for new users on this mailing list and in IRC.
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