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How to check what Message Transfer Agent is used on the server with Plesk and how to switch it?

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Marc Vidal
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Plesk for Linux kb: how-to

Applicable to:

  • Plesk for Linux

Question

How to check what Message Transfer Agent is used on the server with Plesk and how to switch it?

Answer

Starting from Plesk version 9 only two Message Transfer Agents (MTA) are supported - QMail and Postfix. Only one of them can be used at a time.

Check the installed MTA:

Click on a section to expand

Via Plesk GUI

  1. Log in to Plesk GUI

  2. Go to Tools & Settings > Services Management:

  3. Find SMTP Server line. Depending on the installed MTA it will be:

    SMTP Server (Postfix)
    OR
    SMTP Server (QMail)

Via CLI

  1. Connect to the server via SSH

  2. Execute the following command:

    # plesk sbin mailmng-server --features | grep SMTP_Server

    Depending on the installed MTA, the output will be:

    # plesk sbin mailmng-server --features | grep SMTP_Server
    $features['SMTP_Server'] = "Postfix";
    $features['SMTP_Server_package'] = "postfix";

    OR

    # plesk sbin mailmng-server --features | grep SMTP_Server
    $features['SMTP_Server'] = "QMail";
    $features['SMTP_Server_package'] = "psa-qmail";

 

Change the installed MTA:

Click on a section to expand

Via Plesk GUI

Note: Before switching the MTA, it is recommended to wait until all queued emails are delivered.

  1. Log in to Plesk GUI

  2. Go to Tools & Settings > Services Management

  3. Stop the service SMTP Server

  4. Go to Tools & Settings > Updates and Upgrades > Add/Remove Components > Mail Hosting > SMTP servers.

  5. Select the necessary SMTP server - QMail or Postfix.

  6. Click Continue > Install

Via CLI

Note: Before switching the MTA, it is recommended to wait until all queued emails are delivered.

  1. Connect to the server via SSH

  2. Stop the Mail service:

    # plesk sbin mailmng-service --stop-service

  3. Make sure that there aren't processes binding port 25:

    # lsof -i :25
    (Empty Output)

    In case any process is returned by the previous command, run the following command to kill running processes:

    # lsof -i :25 | grep LISTEN | awk '{print $2}' | sort | uniq | xargs kill

  4. Install the necessary SMTP server:

    • Postfix

      # plesk installer --select-release-current --install-component postfix

    • QMail

      # plesk installer --select-release-current --install-component qmail

    Also, it is possible to run Plesk installer and select the necessary SMTP server in Mail Hosting section:

    # plesk installer

Additional Information

To flush the Mail queue:

Click on a section to expand

Via Plesk GUI

  1. Log in to Plesk GUI

  2. Go to Tools & Settings > Mail Server Settings > Mail Queue tab > Clear

Via CLI

  1. Connect to the server via SSH

  2. Clear the mail queue according to the installed MTA:

    • For QMail:

      # kill -ALRM pidof qmail-send

    • For Postfix:

      # postqueue -f

Comments

6 comments

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  • Avatar
    Arnaud (Edited )

    [Plesk Onyx 17.8.11] > Unknown Plesk command-line utility: "mailmng-server"

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  • Avatar
    Ivan Postnikov

    Hello @Arnaud, such behavior was not reproduced on a test server, the command worked without issues.

    # plesk sbin mailmng-service --stop-service
    # plesk -v
    Product version: Plesk Onyx 17.8.11 Update #8
    Update date: 2018/05/24 18:04
    Build date: 2018/05/17 15:37
    OS version: CentOS 7.4.1708

    What OS do you use and what mail server do you have installed?

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  • Avatar
    Arnaud

    weird ...
    here are the same commands, 
    no clue about the mail server installed (or maybe no mail server installed, I was trying to setup external smtp but realized a mail server might be mandatory for relaying .. ?)

    root@platform:~# plesk sbin mailmng-service --stop-service
    Unknown Plesk command-line utility: "mailmng-service"
    root@platform:~# plesk -v
    Product version: Plesk Onyx 17.8.11 Update #8
     Update date: 2018/05/26 06:27
     Build date: 2018/05/17 10:37
     OS version: Debian 8.10
     Revision: c3fb546fb867ac424d65da14d8b023f11ec0d150
     Architecture: 64-bit
    Wrapper version: 1.2
    root@platform:~#
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  • Avatar
    Ivan Postnikov

    @Arnaud, sorry for late response, have you tried this article to achieve the goal?

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  • Avatar
    Arnaud

    Hi, perfectly fine now, my postfix was disabled, and so was mailmng at the same time

    thank you 

    - Arnaud

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  • Avatar
    Ivan Postnikov

    Hello, @Arnaud.

    Thank you for the answer.

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