BlueOnyx: Smart Relay feature extended

More flexible outbound mail relaying with Postfix.

Due to increasing demand for more flexible and secure outbound email relaying, we have extended and modernized the Smart Relay feature in BlueOnyx.

This update improves how BlueOnyx handles outgoing email delivery when using the default Mail Transfer Agent (MTA), Postfix, making it easier to integrate external SMTP relay services while giving administrators clearer control over security and authentication.

What’s new?

When Smart Relay is enabled and Postfix is used as the MTA, administrators can now:

• Specify a dedicated Smart Relay server and port
• Optionally configure SMTP authentication (login and password)
• Choose how TLS encryption is handled:
  • Enforced – require a secure TLS connection
  • Optional – use TLS if the relay supports it
  • Insecure – disable TLS entirely (not recommended)
• Keep outbound mail routing consistent and predictable

This makes BlueOnyx compatible with a wider range of modern SMTP relay providers, including those that require authentication and encrypted connections.

Important note about Sendmail

This enhancement applies only when Postfix is used as the MTA, which is the default and recommended configuration in current BlueOnyx releases.

If your system is still using legacy Sendmail, the Smart Relay behavior remains unchanged:

• Relaying continues to work as before
• No authentication or TLS policy controls are added
• Existing Sendmail configurations are respected

This ensures full backward compatibility for older systems.

Why this matters

Many mail providers and ISPs now require authenticated and encrypted SMTP connections for outbound mail. With this update, BlueOnyx makes it easier to meet those requirements—without affecting incoming mail handling or existing legacy setups.