Using SORBS with MagicMail® (utilizing the BMS System™)
SORBS is supported by default in MagicMail servers, all you do is select whether you wish to use it or not. Informaton is updated hourly from the SORBS database.
MagicMail makes using SORBS simple and easy. The MagicMail system utilizes the BMS™ (Blacklist Master System) to perform local lookups against BlackList data, instead of the more traditional form of DNS queries, for both performance and flexibility, and also ensures that lookups can be performed even in cases where traditional DNS lookups may be interrrupted or not possible.
And lookups can be performed both globally, or used at the SMTP level. Globally will provide the advantages of lowering overhead, while performing the checks at the SMTP level, allow for simpler management, and the ability for more flexible management, such as whitelisting and quarantines, and checking to see if the RELAY flag is set, so as to indemnify your own customers when they are sending from locations that might be on the SORBS database..
Support for SORBS occurs at the global level via TCPSERVER hooks to the 'blsmtpd' daemon. SORBS is one of the default lists available.
Enabling SORBS updates on your server
You choose which lists you wish your server to update hourly by the control file:
/etc/bms/control/lists_to_update
Most people update all lists, and selectively choose which lists to honour, however you can exclude some lists from being updated, if you are sure they will never be used, for performance reasons by removing entries from that list.
All lists are indicated by their registered list identifiers, eg the SORBS-DNSBL consolidated list is known as registered list # 17.
Enabling SORBS at the TCP Server Level
To choose which lists your server will use at the global lists, you should update the control file:
/etc/bms/control/lists_to_use
Remember, this works at the TCPSERVER level, and as such you can create whitelist entries in the traditional style, by editing:
/etc/tcp.smtp
An example entry to whitelist in that file would be:
127.0.0.1:allow,RELAYCLIENT="",RBLSMTPD=""
For more information on using TCPSERVER, see the TCPSERVER documentation.
Enabling SORBS at the SMTP Level
If you wish to use SORBS at the SMTP Level, MagicMail supports the SORBS list directly via the management interface. SORBS is shipped as 'available' by default in the MagicMail system, so it is as simple as acccessing the management console, selecting 'IP Block Lists' from the menu, and enabling SORBS. Remember, if you have enabled your users to 'Customize Rules' then SORBS will also be selectable on a per email address basis. Also, all 'whitelisting' techniques of MagicMail will be honoured when checking against the SORBS database.
To check if an IP is listed on SORBS, you can use the built-in BMS Checker Lookup tools, both in the administration interface, and the command line tool ('bmslookup').
