Infrastructure
Postfix
Hardened Postfix installations for API-driven, transactional and general-purpose outbound email. Configured, monitored and operated by engineers who have run Postfix in production since the mid-2000s.
Overview
Postfix is a mature, well-understood MTA that fits many sending profiles better than PowerMTA. For transactional traffic, per-user notifications, low-to-medium marketing volumes, and general outbound relay, Postfix delivers the same inbox placement at lower cost and complexity.
Northbound operates Postfix installations with the same discipline we apply to PowerMTA: version-controlled config, monitored queues, rotated DKIM keys, feedback loop routing, and per-transport tuning where it matters.
Benefits
- Open-source, well-audited, no license overhead
- Fits transactional and API-driven traffic patterns
- Simple to reason about; fewer knobs to misconfigure
- Excellent Postfix-native TLS and SASL support
Technical specifications
| Postfix version | 3.7+ on hardened Linux |
|---|---|
| Signing | OpenDKIM with per-sender key selection |
| Queue management | Per-transport pinning, custom back-off |
Use cases
- — Transactional senders: receipts, password resets, notifications
- — SaaS platforms sending per-tenant notifications
- — Internal relays for corporate email
Questions
When would we choose Postfix over PowerMTA?
When per-VMTA policy and PowerMTA's specific accounting are not required, Postfix offers a simpler operational surface at a much lower cost.
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