Setting up Ubuntu server to send mail

Question

Can anybody point me in the right direction on how to set up my webserver so that the sites can send mail via phpmailer?

I have installed postfix using sudo apt-get

Then during the installation I selected internet site (which I think is the correct one)

If I select local only, will I still be able to send emails to say for example gmail.com, outlook.com addresses?

It then asks me for domain name, and this is the part I am struggling with as the server is connected to our work network and the sites on the server can only to be viewed by typing the ip address (for now) e.g. 192.168.0.223. what should I put here?

I have looked at a few other posts but none have helped me so far.

If you need any info from me about the server, just ask and I'll let you know. As not sure what you would need.

Answer 1

IIRC the email server Ubuntu uses by default is exim4 and it's probably already installed. Use dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config from a root terminal.

From this (section 8.5.3):

If you would like your system to also handle external e-mail, you will need to reconfigure the exim4 package[22]:

# dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config

After entering that command (as root), you will be asked if you want split the configuration into small files. If you are unsure, select the default option.

Next you will be presented with several common mail scenarios. Choose the one that most closely resembles your needs.

and the text describes a couple options:

internet site

Your system is connected to a network and your mail is sent and received directly using SMTP. On the following screens you will be asked a few basic questions, like your machine's mail name, or a list of domains for which you accept or relay mail.

mail sent by smarthost

In this scenario your outgoing mail is forwarded to another machine, called a “smarthost”, which takes care of sending the message on to its destination. The smarthost also usually stores incoming mail addressed to your computer, so you don't need to be permanently online. That also means you have to download your mail from the smarthost via programs like fetchmail.

In a lot of cases the smarthost will be your ISP's mail server, which makes this option very suitable for dial-up users. It can also be a company mail server, or even another system on your own network.

mail sent by smarthost; no local mail

This option is basically the same as the previous one except that the system will not be set up to handle mail for a local e-mail domain. Mail on the system itself (e.g. for the system administrator) will still be handled. local delivery only

This is the option your system is configured for by default.

Since you are at a workplace, it sounds like you won't have an issue SMTP'ing email out of port 25. So you can select "internet site." Please note, however, you put your company at risk of being put on a blacklist should your PHP applications get misused for spam, etc. So, for an added layer of protection, you might want to set up an email account somewhere and use it as a smarthost during testing. Exim will then send outgoing email via this smarthost.