email and webserver

[fenris]

My company is currently looking for new webhosting services as they are unhappy about the current setup.

What they require is webhosting services and email forwarding.

I was thinking that I could setup a couple of linux boxes to take care of this, one that would run apache for the webserver and another that would receive email (in the form of username@myCompany.com) and forward the email to the user account on their ISP (username@ISP.com).

I am fairly advanced and would have no problem doing this. I just need some pointers and advice on how to proceed.

I think a box running apache with the latest patches would be easy to run. In fact I have been using apache to host my own website for awhile now. Is there anything that I should be wary? Books or tutorials that I should read? (I have never had DNS resolution for the webserver, so I am not sure how it works)

As far as the email goes, I am not sure how to proceed. I have setup a mail server (pop3 and smtp) on my own local network, but nothing that has to be reliable or used for a large scale. The part that puzzles me is how to set up the mail server to forward email.

Would these servers be setup in a DMZ or behind a firewall? I currently use a linux box as a firewall/router for my current setup. Would it be better to hide the web and email servers behind the firewall? The connection to the internet would be through a cable connection.

What would be the best way to provide the clients access to the servers, telnet, SSL or FTP? What would be the best way for me to access and configure the servers?

The nature of my day job allows me access to the internet, for a short time, during everday. Unfortunately it is not with the same computer (different ip, different software setup, etc.).

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.... Troy Williams B.Eng.
fenris@hotmail.com

 

[fenris]

The other thing that I am not sure about is how local lan users access the email server and where is the email sent, if it is in the DMZ and they are behind a firewall?


(internet)---(isp)----(switch DMZ)----(Firewall)---(local lan)
|
-email server
-router
Troy Williams B.Eng.
fenris@hotmail.com

 

[marsd]

Are you using NAT?
Do you have two public addresses available?

If so, in front of the firewall and running modest
firewall sets and some form of ids(port sentry, snort)
with tripwire or aide installed.

If not, then I would put the machines behind the firewall and configure PAT only for their services, either through
iptables REDIRECTS, or rinetd. I would still secure these machines pretty tightly.

SSH is pretty safe for shell access. PAT will allow
access to vital services(web/mail)-a ssh vpn could be arranged for more convenience.