[Bug 379882] Re: mdadm installs postfix

[Ray Link]

Even if an actual MTA is added to the d-i pkgsel/include debconf
question in the installer preseed file, setting up software RAID in the
installer will cause postfix to be installed, prompting the user for
configuration information, and then postfix will silently be replaced
with the MTA requested by the preseed file.

The whole point of preseeding is to automate stuff.  If an MTA has
already been selected and its configuration preseeded by the person who
built the custom installer, then installing a different MTA,
interrupting the person performing the install to ask them unexpected
questions whose answers are going to be discarded, and then uninstalling
the spurious MTA seems pretty sub-optimal.

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Foundations Bugs, which is subscribed to mdadm in Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/379882

Title:
  mdadm installs postfix

Status in “mdadm” package in Ubuntu:
  Opinion

Bug description:
  Binary package hint: mdadm

  When upgrading to Jaunty from Intrepid, the mdadm package installed
  postfix. I can't see why a package that manage software RAID
  partitions needs a mail transport agent, but what is worse is that my
  desktop machine is suddenly turned into a mail server. One of the
  reasons Ubuntu desktop is deemed secure is that it does not run
  unnecessary services.

  The dependency has been introduced in version 2.6.7.1-1ubuntu5; from
  the changelog:

  mdadm (2.6.7.1-1ubuntu5) jaunty; urgency=low

    * Depend on postfix | mail-transport-agent, to ensure we get the
      correct default MTA for Ubuntu.

  During the upgrade the postfix configuration was run and although I
  ticked not to configure, the postfix service was running by default
  anyway.

  I manually uninstalled postfix and mdadm runs perfectly fine. Can this
  dependency be removed?

  --

  -> mdadm should by default only install with a small local mail
  delivery system (like esmtp + procmail) but not postfix on desktops,
  laptops etc.! On servers postfix is pulled in by server tasks anyway.

  Here is how to setup esmtp+procmail:
  apt-get install esmtp procmail
  echo mda=\'/usr/bin/formail -a \"Date: \`date -R\`\" \| /usr/bin/procmail -d %T\' >> /etc/esmtprc
  (as documented in /usr/share/doc/esmtp/README)

To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mdadm/+bug/379882/+subscriptions