SuSE 9.2 Pro: can read but not send email
 

The system described in a previous message is able to read email (with both Thunderbird and Evolution) but can't send it. WHen I try, it simply puts up the "sending" box - I think it says it's contacting the host - and after a few minutes, announces that it timed out waiting for a reply. This is true of two different providers' hosts. The host names are correct and both pointed at port 25. I'm not seeing anything in logs, but I could be looking in the wrong place.

This would be normal behavior if you were on a LAN at work.

Sounds like either your ISP or work LAN has port 25 blocked. One way to test this is to telnet net the mail server:

"telnet <server> 25"

This will help you to determine if you can reach the mail server.

Not on my planet.

I mail regularly from other computers, both Linux and Windoze, through the two mail servers in question. One of them is a server I rent at The Planet, and it does not allow telnet; however I ssh (and puTTY) to it several times a day, and as mentioned email it from other comnputers.

I'm thinking it's probably the router at home not letting traffic out on 25... but I know it lets traffic out on 22, because I ssh from home quite a bit. The more I think about it, the more I think it must be the router - this computer's been at home most of the time, and when I'm at the office I use other computers for email, and haven't tried it there... be easy to check, anyway...

Thanks!

Mail receival happens on port tcp/110. SSH on 22, telnet on 23, and smtp (how you send email) on 25. The command

"telnet <server> 25"

Attempts to connect to your mail server on port 25, not the usual telnet port (23). If port 25 isn't blocked, you will get connected. If 25 is blocked it will eventually timeout.

Most ISP's these days block port 25. This stops spammers from setting up their own mailserver to send out spam on their networks.

Your planet must not be business or government agency with an IT department or perhaps you use web mail which normally operates through HTTP on port 80. Port 25 is customarily blocked so that spammers can't hijack it using basic SMTP. These entities mostly use some enterprise mail server, like MS Exchange or Novell Groupwise, for sending LAN user email.

Must not. My planet uses SonicWall in office, home, and client offices; only services are ftp (no anonymous), ssh. Net services offered from offsite system in rack farm. See other message - #4 Son set up SonicWall at house, guessing he didn't allow outgoing 25. Personally I almost never use web mail (except on the aforementioned rack farm server) - can't stand the bloody shite. #4 Son uses web mail almost exclusively, so probably never noticed.

You live, and you learn... well, okay, you live...

Yes, you're right, I wasn't thinking about telnet and 25 versus 2... but... as I said elsewhere, outgoing (smtp) mail works from other locations to the mail, so the blockage is on this end - either the new improved SuSE box, or the router... it looks like the router at this point. I'm at a client's site for a few days, so won't be able to check until I get back... but called #4 Son, who set up the router (actually, I think the problem is in the SonicWall, which he also set up) and told him to check it.

Thanks for the pointer!