Mail via local network?

Recirqie · 11-10-2004, 04:47 PM

I have a local network, going out to internet via a router (WLAN and wired), then a proxy (Squid) and finally ISDN dialup. So far so good, but I cannot figure how to reach my POP mail? I use Kmail, and I have tried to tell Kinternet to use the gw ISDN connection. But I cannot really see where to configure this? (I have found P3Scan on the net, but I cannot see how my mail client shall find it.)

ToniT · 11-10-2004, 04:54 PM

can you ping any machines from inside of the lan?
eg. does

Code:

ping www.google.com

work?

Recirqie · 11-10-2004, 04:59 PM

No, I get unknown host.

ToniT · 11-10-2004, 06:23 PM

ok, so your computers have no access to the internet.

To get your mail working, eiher

Fix the connection.
or
Use fetchmail to deliver the mail from pop server of your isp to your server and configure the clients (in your lan) to access that server instead of the one from isp.

For 1:
-If you have enough ip adresses, all you have to do, is to setup forwarding to your server and that server to work as a default gateway for clients.
-If you don't have, you need to masquerade the connection. Try to search for (this forum or the tutorials and wiki section, http://www.tldp.org/, or by googling) documention about "NAT" or "masquerading" or "routing". Or try to find a friend who has set up one already.

For 2:

0. Install a MTA for local delivery (this one is probably already there).
1. Install fetchmail
2. install some of the pop servers available (eg. qpopper is trivial to setup).
(this is not required if you just want to read the mail in the server)

Recirqie · 11-11-2004, 11:55 AM

With alt.1: Do you mean forwarding as an option in the setup of my ISP? I have only ISDN dialup, so would that work?

Alt.2: Where does the pop-server come into the equation? Is that to use a pop-client to manage my mail? (As I understand it from the EXCHANGE SERVER HOWTO.)

ToniT · 11-11-2004, 03:38 PM

For alt.1:
ISDN dialup should work fine. What you need is:
-One machine (let's call it a server) that
*has a connection to the internet (eg. having that dialup ISDN modem working).
*you have root access to (you have to be able to run iptables to enable masquerading).
-LAN where machines can access that server (eg. ping it, ssh to it, etc.)

Far alt.2:
Requirements are the same.

Do you mean The Exchange Server Replacement HOWTO or something else?

That documentation seems to describe building of somewhat heavy duty system.
What I was looking for was something more lightweight: just MTA with local delivery, fetchmail and qpopper.

I don't know exact commands for setting those up in RH, but in debian that would be:
In the server end:

Code:

apt-get install exim4
## select "Local delivery only" when asked, and your user account where to deliver root mail.
## (that step is done automaticly in the installation phase (unless explicitly skipped))
apt-get install qpopper fetchmail

To /etc/fetchmailrc:

Code:

set postmaster "postmaster"
set daemon 900
poll pop.server.of.your.isp with proto POP3
        user 'popaccount' there with password 'poppwd' is 'recirqie' here options fetchall

(that makes the system to retrieve mail (every 15 minutes (=900 seconds)) from server pop.server.of.your.isp and send delivery failures to account "postmaster")

And finally

Code:

/etc/init.d/fetchmail start

In the client end:
-Instead of setting your pop server to be pop.server.of.your.isp
set it to name of your server, and the username and passwd to be recirqie
and your shell password to your server instead of the ones into the pop server in your ISP.

Recirqie · 11-20-2004, 04:45 PM

I've tried alt. 1 with masquerading using YaST. (For the moment I'm battling with WLAN as well, so the client is WinXP untill I get the Linux WLAN going.) Now I don't get any error messages, but I don't get any mail either. Are there any logs in the gateway where I can see what has (or has not as the case may be) been set up, and gone/not through?

(I'd like to keep it simple, so I would prefer this to a MTA.)

ToniT · 11-20-2004, 05:57 PM

You probably want to test something that is easier to verify, like being able to ping to outside world
or to get http protocol working. If those work, then mail should work too. If those doesn't work, then mail can't work.

ToniT · 11-20-2004, 06:00 PM

Ah, to see some statistics about the firewall, you can use command

Code:

iptables -v -L
iptables -t nat -v -L

Recirqie · 11-21-2004, 05:45 AM

Hmmm.... I'm no expert, but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of drops. And http, YOU (ftp?) and ping all work.

ToniT · 11-21-2004, 07:14 AM

They work from the client machine too?
ok. try (from the client) command

Code:

telnet your.isps.pop.server 110

(with correct your isps pop server.)
If it is working correctly, you should get a line starting with "+OK".

Recirqie · 11-21-2004, 01:52 PM

Yes, I got the response:
+OK Hello there

ToniT · 11-21-2004, 05:55 PM

Even by using the winxp client? Great. Your network is correctly configured.

Why don't you get any mail? Are you sure your inbox is not empty or fetched to an other location?

Recirqie · 11-22-2004, 05:33 AM

I rebooted the XP, and lo and behold, mail came thundering in (a veritable avalanche)! When I was a small boy we could buy "surprise packages" from the local breadvan. Win give me much of the same feeling, only the surprises are not allways pleasing.

Thanks for the help received.

mini_mike · 12-02-2004, 12:40 AM

I have the same problem. My set up is POP3 email clients (WinXP & RH9) --> eth1 --> SQUID Proxy eth0 --> DSL Modem --> ISP. How do I configure the email clients and/or SQUID so that I can access the POP3 and SMTP servers of our ISP? http browsing through Web Browsers don't have any problem. But email clients won't connect. I tried telnet your.isps.pop.server 110 from the workstation behind SQUID but I get:

Could not open connection to the host, on port 110: Connect Failed

What do I need to do from the client and/or SQUID server side?