The server build continues, with a working copy of Ubuntu server after much dicking about: the default kernel for server doesn’t work with the Celeron CPU in a laptop, so a quick

apt-get install linux-generic

and an edit of the bootloader file from ‘rescue mode’ on the CD fixes that. There’s enough RAM now for Spamassassin now, I reckon, and as Ubuntu supports the latest SA I don’t have to bodge together an install: apt does it for me.

With this server I’m moving back to Postfix, because it’s easier to configure than Exim, which should mean I can tweak it better so it doesn’t fall over if a load of mail arrives at once (like it does with Fetchmail), and delivers mail a bit more promptly. Exim is the default with Debian-like distributions, but I’ve never got on with it: Postfix is simpler.

There’s also a move to Dovecot for an IMAP daemon: this is a good thing, ever since uw-imapd started insisting on SSL-encrypted connections: this is on my LAN: no-one will be sniffing my passwords, and having to use a self-signed certificate causes an irritating warning each time you connect.

I’ve got most of it together now: Fetchmail fetches mail, Postfix accepts it, and thanks to this handy guide, Spamassassin scans it, and it ends up in an inbox. next on the list: Samba. No, I’m not dancing.