How to configure ports to allow Outlook access

[Pixieman]

Hi, I need some help, now i know this is probably going to be the easist thing in the world to you guys but i'm new to this so i don't know:

How do i configure my server to allow access to ports 110 and 25 (so that i can run outlook via a client machine). We have a HTTP server which controls our Broadband access which is running Linux but our main server is running NT 4.0

Any help would be very greatfully received.

Cheers, P.

 

[colners]

Your message seems confusing in parts. I assume you are saying that you run Linux with a HTTP web server installed. How does this control your broadband access?

Could your server be an off-the-shelf internet appliance?

The reason I ask the question is that if you are running the Linux server as some kind of proxy, you will need to establish if it has a POP3/SMTP server installed. If not, i'm assuming your downloading/sending e-mails straight from/to your ISP.

The PC you want to send/receive e-mails on via Outlook should also be configured with the correct IP gateway address (the IP address of the broadband router or proxy).

If your network administrator has blocked incoming/outgoing traffic on ports 110 & 25, you will need to supply me with what version of Linux you are using or the internet appliance name.

Regards,

 

[colners]

Also!!! Find out the incoming and outgoing (POP3 and SMTP) addresses of your ISP along with the account username and password.

You will need to enter this information into Outlook to download/send e-mails. However, this depends on how your business works.

Do you use Exchange or another mail system?

Regards,

 

[Pixieman]

Ok, i'll see if i can get this right.

The broadband comes in and goes to a Cisco router, it then leaves the router and goes to a server running (i think, Linux), this is a Ninaa Server if that is any help.
The output from the Ninaa Server then goes into the network whereby if anyone wants to access the internet then they have to give their own correct username and password.
All the client machines require the correct HTTP address in thier connection settings of IE in order to connect to the internet. This all works fine, however i want to use Outlook on my machine to collect my mail from a POP3 server, i have all the correct account info as far as these e-mail accounts are concerned but i can't get outlook to connect to the external e-mail servers due to (i think) the ports 110 and 25 being blocked.

Hope this is of some help. Cheers.

 

[colners]

It seems the Linux server is acting as a proxy server - an intermediate box that controls/monitors your HTTP and e-mail traffic.

To get external access to your ISP (and therefore download e-mails), you'll need to be able to get access to the outside world from your PC.

For example, can you ping

http://www.yahoo.com

from your own machine. i.e. open a command prompt and type ping

http://www.yahoo.com.

You should receive a reply if your PC is set up for external access. If it fails, then your PC cannot get out from your local network.

If you can't, then what i'd try and do is the following:

1. In your TCP/IP settings, enter the IP address of your Cisco router as the default gateway.
2. Enter an IP address of an external DNS server. Phone your ISP or go on their web site to find this out.
3. Try and ping

http://www.yahoo.com

again.

This should bypass your 'proxy' server and give you direct external access to the internet.

However, there is one drawback if this works. If you have multiple subnets on your network and your current default gateway is different to the Cisco router, you'll need to add the routes to those subnets to the Cisco router.

If you need more help, please post again...

Regards,

 

[colners]

Just checked out

http://www.ninaa.com

and this confirmed my suspicions. Ninaa appears to be an internet appliance that acts as a proxy, mail server and content filtering tool.

It is highly likely that ports 25 and 110 are blocked. Even if this is so, it is unlikely that unblocking these will help your cause. You need to be able to get direct external IP access so you can get to the external SMTP/POP3 servers.

Use the advice in the post above as a starting point. You could always check your POP3 mail account using

http://www.mail2web.com

as a last resort.

Regards,