Mail serving through blocked ports...
 

I'm running Kerio Mail Server on Red Hat 9. My ISP blocks all ports below 1024. So far I have everything working, except for receiving in-bound mail. I know it's possible through some round-about process to make it work, using a secondary email address, but I'm not doing something right. Any help on this would be appreciated.

Chris,
if your ISP blocks all ports below 1024, then how would a regular mail client talk to the internet? (i.e. if you were running kmail, connecting to a corporate mail server).

It also seems you are a little confused (or maybe its just me). The title of your posting is Web Serving, and yet the topic is mail serving.

Either way, it seems to me the smartest thing to do is ask them to open up the ports you need (probably 110 and 25) for your mail server, or port 80 for your web server. I still think its unlikely they block everything below 1024, coz that would also break your web browser.

Regards
Jo
(Disclaimer - I know nothing about linux)

Jo,
I'll be honest that I don't know exactly how they do it without messing up regular internet connections, but running a server through the standard ports is not possible. It's $250 per month to open the ports. Somehow in-bound

Thanks anyway...

Chris

Inbound vs Outbound
 

Chris,
it sounds like they are preventing all inbound connections on the ports (which is spastic!!)

It sounds like complete BS that for 1 one time exercise of changing the portblocks to a specific IP address that they would charge $250 a month.. how bogus. Who is your ISP?

One simple answer would be to run all your services at 2000+ the regular port

i.e. 2080, 2025, 2110 ??

Just a thought

Regards
Jo

Jo,
I know about using higher ports. Like I said originally, I have everything else working - even outgoing mail. My problem is how to set up the mx record to send to a port other than 25. The standard methods of port forwarding with web forwards is not working.

Chris,
and now we get to the nub of the question - and I know absolutely nothing.

Other than the fact I didn't think the MX record specified the port? I would imagine thats a mailserver config?

Cheers
Jo

Jo,
The port is specified through the software itself. However, the server sending the email has to somehow know to use that port. The default is 25. That's what I can't seem to get by because the MX record doesn't specify the port.

Thanks for trying to help.

Goodluck
 

Chris,
good luck getting the answer.

Who is your ISP? Maybe you can convince them to allow you to serve on the regular ports?

Let us know how you get on

Cheers
Jo
Disclaimer : I know nothing about Linux

Update -

My zone is managed through ZoneEdit.com. I talked to one of their technical reps and they're adding an update to their service that will allow for forwarding mail to a port other than 25. I'll post the results once it's available and I get a chance to test it out.

port forwarding
 

So your ISP will alter port frowarding rules, but just won't open up the port in question? Thats smart!!! LOL!!!

Zone Edit is not my ISP. They're just a company that offers free domain management. My ISP won't know about the forwarded ports.