postfix aliases configuration error

[xiphias]

Hi,

postfix seems to be ignoring my aliases file. There are no errors output when postfix starts, nor any errors logged while it is running. I'm pretty sure I will have an error somewhere but can't see the wood for the trees.

main.cf:

queue_directory = /var/spool/postfix
command_directory = /usr/local/sbin
daemon_directory = /usr/local/libexec/postfix
data_directory = /var/db/postfix
append_dot_mydomain = no
mail_owner = postfix
myhostname = coppermine.abcdef.co.uk
myorigin = $myhostname
inet_interfaces = 172.16.1.1, localhost
mydestination = $myhostname, coppermine, coppermine.intranet.abcdef.co.uk, localhost.        $mydomain, localhost
unknown_local_recipient_reject_code = 550
mynetworks = 127.0.0.0/8, 172.16.1.0/24, 172.16.4.0/24
alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases
alias_database = hash:/etc/aliases
transport_maps = hash:/usr/local/etc/postfix/transport
smtpd_client_restrictions = permit_mynetworks, reject
message_size_limit = 52428800
mailbox_size_limit = 5242880000
debug_peer_level = 2
debugger_command =
     PATH=/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin
     ddd $daemon_directory/$process_name $process_id & sleep 5
sendmail_path = /usr/local/sbin/sendmail
newaliases_path = /usr/local/bin/newaliases
mailq_path = /usr/local/bin/mailq
setgid_group = maildrop
html_directory = /usr/local/share/doc/postfix
manpage_directory = /usr/local/man
sample_directory = /usr/local/etc/postfix
readme_directory = /usr/local/share/doc/postfix

/etc/aliases:

root:   philip@vm-lxsrv-001.intranet.abcdef.co.uk

# Basic system aliases -- these MUST be present
MAILER-DAEMON: postmaster
postmaster: root

# General redirections for pseudo accounts
_dhcp:  root
_pflogd: root
bin:    root
bind:   root
daemon: root
games:  root
kmem:   root
mailnull: postmaster
man:    root
news:   root
nobody: root
operator: root
pop:    root
proxy:  root
smmsp:  postmaster
sshd:   root
system: root
toor:   root
tty:    root
usenet: news
uucp:   root

# NETWORK OPERATIONS MAILBOX NAMES
abuse:  root
# noc:      root
security:   root

# SUPPORT MAILBOX NAMES FOR SPECIFIC INTERNET SERVICES
ftp:        root
ftp-bugs:   ftp

/usr/local/etc/postfix/transport:

.intranet.abcdef.co.uk  :
*                          smtp:relay.isp.net

coppermine# postmap -q root hash:/etc/aliases
philip@vm-lxsrv-001.intranet.abcdef.co.uk

and, finally the log output when I try to send a mail to root:

Jun  1 20:36:32 coppermine postfix/pickup[47277]: 6770E2288F: uid=0 from=<root>
Jun  1 20:36:32 coppermine postfix/cleanup[47582]: 6770E2288F: message-id=<20100601203632.6770E2288F@coppermine.abcdef.co.uk>
Jun  1 20:36:32 coppermine postfix/qmgr[47278]: 6770E2288F: from=<root@coppermine.abcdef.co.uk>, size=349, nrcpt=1 (queue active)
Jun  1 20:36:32 coppermine postfix/smtp[47584]: 6770E2288F: to=<root@coppermine.abcdef.co.uk>, orig_to=<root>, relay=relay.isp.net[xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx]:25, delay=0.47, delays=0.04/0.02/0.15/0.26, dsn=2.0.0, status=sent (250 X-ISPnet-Relay: 61607e369755bd544f3912b44ee78834)
Jun  1 20:36:32 coppermine postfix/qmgr[47278]: 6770E2288F: removed

Someone please put me out of my misery,
Phil

[J65nko]

Did you run [/usr/local/bin/newaliases to 'compile' the plain text /etc/aliases file into database format?

[xiphias]

I had been using /usr/bin/newaliases, so I checked mailer.conf to ensure it was pointing at the right version. I also ran /usr/local/bin/newaliases directly just to be absolutely sure, but it doesn't make a difference.

postmap uses the db file (even though you specify the plain text file) for lookups, so the db file is (read: should be) correct as postmap is returning the alias correctly.

[J65nko]

Last December I assisted somebody with setting up Mailman+Postfix. There were some confusing issues with aliases too, because /etc/mail also has an aliases file.

If you are really desperate you could add your root alias to the /etc/mail/aliases file and run newaliases on it.

When you alias the root account to a local user account on the postfix box itself, does the alias work then?

[polera]

You should be able to verify your alias_maps setting with:

# postconf alias_maps

That will return something along the lines of

# alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases

Make sure that's the file that your aliases are configured in. Then run:

# newaliases
          # postfix reload

That should do it for you.

If the above doesn't work, you might try aliasing root to a local user:

root:  philip

Works for me on FreeBSD 8.0-RELEASE

[xiphias]

/etc/mail/aliases is a symlink to /etc/aliases on my machine.

coppermine $ postconf alias_maps
alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases
coppermine $ ls -l /etc/aliases*
-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel   1656 Jun  1 20:48 /etc/aliases
-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel  16384 Jun  5 17:01 /etc/aliases.db
coppermine $ ls -l /etc/mail/aliases*
lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  12 Jun  1 19:29 /etc/mail/aliases -> /etc/aliases
lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  15 Jun  1 19:28 /etc/mail/aliases.db -> /etc/aliases.db

I tried aliasing root to a local user and it still tries to relay it out to root@coppermine.abcdef.co.uk, so it would seem it doesn't realise that it's the destination for it's hostname. I will leave it a few days, then rewrite the config from scratch, see if I manage any better.

By the way, I'm using FreeBSD 7.1 RELEASE p11 i386, I also have a postfix configured in a similar way on a Debian desktop and that works fine.