Thanks for the help, Jeremy. I'm 99% there and can work around the remaining details.
     FYI, you were correct in that I needed to set SMART_HOST as you described. With that change, sendmail was then attempting to relay mail to that system. However, it was all being rejected because the "sender" still appeared to be at "localhost.localdomain". Indeed, looking at the headers, I was "edski@localhost.localdomain". (Everything in the networking area appears to be correct, by the way -- I used utsname(2), gethostname(2) and so forth to verify that was all in place correctly, and it was.)
     So, I downloaded, built and installed "nail" so I'd have some source to look at for that part of the loop. "nail" was also using (by default) the same bogus "localhost.localdomain" address but, at least with "nail", I can override the originator (actually the reply) address with a command line "-r ed@flat5.net" option, and that did the trick. Outgoing "nail" mail is now working correctly and my backup scripts should be "nail"ing me their results nightly.
     I guess something is still bogus in the network configuration but darned if I can figure out what. I think this is a RedHat-ism 'cause I've set up several machines with RedHat 8, 9 and now Fedora and they all do just about the same in this area.
     Oh well, my problem is solved well enough.
     (By the way, this message is coming via "nail" as described above.)
     Thanks again!



On Tuesday 31 August 2004 18:16, Jeremy C. Reed wrote:
> On Tue, 31 Aug 2004, Ed Skinner wrote:
> >      I've got a new machine with Fedora Core II and I'd like to use good
> > old "mail" (and "nail" as well) in a script to fire off some messages.
> > Sending to local users works fine but "mail" to an off-machine user
> > doesn't arrive. Looking at /var/log/maillog, I can see that sendmail is
> > attempting to relay through "mpls-vmail.inet.qwest.net" which, I presume
> > is the problem since my outgoing mail ain't supposed to go that way.
>
> I guess that it just did a DNS MX lookup and found that mpls-vmail host.
>
> >      FYI: most email (such as this message) are going out via KMail which
> > appears to be bypassing sendmail and going directly to
> > "pop.phnx.qwest.net" which was configred (by me) into KMail.
> >
> >      Suggestions would be most appreciated as I don't want to hafta
> > become a sendmail expert...
>
> If I understand your message, I think you want sendmail to use that same
> "pop" for sendmail too.
>
> If you want "all outgoing mail to go to a central relay site, define
> SMART_HOST". (That is from the sendmail README.)
>
>    define(`SMART_HOST', `pop.phnx.qwest.net')
>
> Put that in your m4 macro file, maybe at /etc/mail/sendmail.mc.
>
> Then regenerate your sendmail.cf from that macro file using m4 or make (if
> you have a Makefile).
>
> If you don't like sendmail, you may want to try postfix or exim. They are
> easier.
>
>  Jeremy C. Reed
>
>  	  	 	 BSD News, BSD tutorials, BSD links
> 	  	 	 http://www.bsdnewsletter.com/
>
> ---------------------------------------------------
> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change  you mail settings:
> http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss

-- 
Ed Skinner, ed@flat5.net, http://www.flat5.net/
---------------------------------------------------
PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change  you mail settings:
http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss