[NTLUG:Discuss] Home Mail Server Questions

[Rick Matthews]

I'd really appreciate some advice on configuring my home network. 

The Linux server on my LAN spends most of its cycles providing shared
disk space (via Samba) to windows clients, but it also handles a few
email chores for the family.  Fetchmail retrieves email from the 
individual account providers, Sendmail is my MTA, and Dovecot provides
POP3 access to the network.  This has worked well for us.

The users' email clients are configured to use their respective 
provider-specific SMTP addresses (e.g. 'outgoing.verizon.net').  I 
decided against using a local SMTP server because I do not have a 
domain name here at home (so no reverse dns) and I figured I'd 
have a tough time getting our outgoing mail delivered.

I would prefer, of course to have local mail (e.g. From: Mom at verizon.net
To: Dad at 1and1.com) delivered locally (without ever leaving the house),
but I had scratched that idea because of the issues mentioned in the 
previous paragraph. The thought has occurred to me, however that if 
I could use sendmail "invisibly" (much like my use of fetchmail), 
the problem goes away.

Fetchmail picks up the mail by doing the same thing the email account
owner does; it doesn't cut any corners or take any short-cuts. As far
as the email provider is concerned, the _user_ is personally picking up
the mail.  

Using a local SMTP process (without having a reverse DNS) would be a
non-issue if I could simply strip off the local mail and then deliver 
everything else to the provider's SMTP address (the same place the 
users' email clients are delivering it today), instead of looking up
the recipient's MX record and attempting to deliver it there. 

Have I described a reasonable and workable solution to the problem?
If so, I would appreciate a broad-brush overview of what would be 
needed to accomplish this.  Is there a better way? 

I've learned a lot from you guys, and I greatly appreciate the time
you spend here.

Rick