E-Mail Server .. Feedback on a Idea I have

[Zero-0-Effect]

My work blocks such E-Mail access like sbc, yahoo, etc.. but I can get to like a exchange server and look at there mail. So I assume its only blocking certain ports.

What I would like to do is somehow set up a email server to dl my email from my sbc account and have it sent to a mail server similiar to exchange so I can access it from work.

Not sure where to begin or if this is at all feesable.

[DoctorDan]

Or you can set up a squid proxy server and use that to go to any webmail (or website, for that matter) that you choose. Your idea may work, but I have no real experience with email servers.

-Dan

[Roxoff]

Sounds like what you want is:

- Your own email/server box sat at home on your ADSL line, using fetchmail to read mail from your sbc and dumping into local mailboxes.
- Dovecot or similar IMAP package to give you access to your email on that machine.
- Maybe consider Squirrelmail too, to privide a web-based access to your email accounts on that machine.

[pwfd2135]

DO you have any documentation or tutorials on squirrel mail. Because I am trying to set it up on my machine but i am not sure if my have IMAP running or if i set up squirrel correctly. Thanks

[Roxoff]

One step at a time, do it this way:

- Set up your mail server for local mailbox deliver, then
- put your IMAP server on, check its operation with a client such as evolution or thunderbird, then
- get squirrelmail to work, knowing that the underlying system is fully functional.

I set squirrelmail up reasonably quickly using the docs of their own website. You'll probably want to run the ssl module if you're opening your webmail out over the internet.

[Zero-0-Effect]

I went with qmail for the mail server and having a few problems setting it up.

Heres some relevant files:

cat /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1 localhost
192.168.1.1 GenGate.GenNet GenGate

hostname --fqdn
GenGate.GenNet

hostname
GenGate

cat /var/qmail/control/me
GenGate.GenNet

cat /var/qmail/control/defaultdomain
GenGate.GenNet

cat /var/qmail/control/plusdomain
GenGate.GenNet

cat /var/qmail/control/locals
GenGate.GenNet

cat /var/qmail/control/rcpthosts
GenGate.GenNet

I can ping both GenGate and GenGate.GenNet just fine (locally).

There errors Im getting back at first was
Sorry, I couldn't find any host named GenGate.GenGate.

So I added GenNet as my domain figureing it must need a domain and not seeing one it just doubled up on my hostname. After fixing all the above files ith .GenGate I tried a few more test e-mails and now get this message:


Return-Path: #@[]
Delivered-To: zero@GenGate
From: MAILER-DAEMON@GenGate
To: postmaster@GenGate
Subject: failure notice

Hi. This is the qmail-send program at GenGate.
I tried to deliver a bounce message to this address, but the bounce bounced!

<zero@GenGate.GenNet>:
Sorry, I couldn't find any host named GenGate.GenNet.


These messages were sent as e-mails back to zero, which is who sent the test emails by:
qmail-inject root << EOF
test root e-mail!
EOF

Did one to root,postmaster,zero .. got all 3 back saying the same. User zero is listed as the qmail-postmaster qmail-root qmail-daemon.

[Zero-0-Effect]

Looking over my post and this just kinda hit me.. If I getting the mail failure notices as e-mails.. wouldnt that mean the mail server is working fine??

Is this what I should be receiving back?

[Zero-0-Effect]

Well.. turns out that little problem was actually my dns server.. forgot to restart it. Restarted the mail server as well and that cleared up all remaining errors.