Linux mail-server (again..)

[roeiboot]

ok, after messing around for hours & hours with little succes i want your help. i have a domain (

http://www.roeiboot.com),

the DNS stuff & all that is done by PowerDNS (the mail used to work with W2K so it must be something on the Linux box) website(s) are up & running just fine.

now for my problem, i'm trying to set-up my Linux RedHat 7.1 box as a email-server. using sendmail & qpopper.. but i'm totally clueless where to go from here. i can send mail from my w98 workstation (using Outlook) but it never arrives at the receipent. i see mail on my Linux box (with Webmin) that never ends up on the w98 pc where it should go.. who can help me fix this.

keep in mind i'm fairly new @ Linux.. thanks in advance!

 

[blizz]

Hi,

Did you install the imap rpm on your rh 7.1 box? If your going to use pop3 you will need to install the pop3 service. You can download the latest rpm from here

http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2001-094.html

Good Luck
blizzards.info

 

[roeiboot]

for some reason i couldn't locate the imap on my RH cd.. started messing around wiht other mail-progs, still nothing works, downloaded imap.. see if have more luck. thanks.

 

[roeiboot]

blizz..

well, i installed it (i think.. very new to Linux) but it ain't helping one bit. been sitting here since 7 this morning (it's now 9.30 in the evening and i'm seriously missing things, i read everywhere how easy it is and it should work 'right out of the box'.. guess my box fell over and i lost some important things :}

any tips where to start digging/testing ??

 

[fluid11]

So the mail is being delivered to the users mailboxes? Can you view the users mail using the "mail -u username" command (or pine)? If you are certain the mail is being delivered, then lets move on to POP troubleshooting.

Run a "ps -ef" to see if qpopper is started and, if it is, run a "netstat -nat" and make sure that your server is listening on port 110. If the above is okay, go to the user's machine and telnet to port 110. Do you get a response there?


ChrisP

 

[roeiboot]

i see mail for users with "mail -u".. but the mail needs to be delivered to the Windows 98/Outlook PC.

i don't see Qpopper when using "ps -ef", so i guess it ain't started as it should.

from the Windows 98 workstation i can telnet to port 25 and see this: "220 localhost.localdomain ESMTP Sendmail 8.11.2/8.11.2; Sat, 5 Oct 2002 10:22:45
-0400" that's all.. nothing happens after that.
telnetting to port 110 can't make connection.

 

[blizz]

Hi,

xinetd (Red Hat 7.x):
The service is defined by the file: /etc/xinetd.d/ipop3.
To turn the service on:
Edit the line and change from the default:
disable = yes
TO:
disable = no

You may have done this but just incase.



Blizz

http://www.blizzards.info

 

[roeiboot]

my ipop3 file located in /etc/xinetd.d:

service pop3
{
socket_type = stream
type = INTERNAL
wait = no
}
(

disable = no
flags = REUSE
socket_type = stream
wait = no
user = root
server = /home/qpopper4.0.4
log_on_failure += USERID
}

i think Webmin made those double entries.. does that matter ? anyway.. should i see Qpopper in the "ps -ef" because i don't.

thx again in advance.

 

[fluid11]

qpopper will not run as a process (ps -ef) if you are calling it from xinetd. In this case, you need to do a "netstat -nat" to see if xinetd is listening on port 110 on behalf of qpopper. When a request on port 110 is made, xinetd will "wake up" qpopper.


ChrisP

 

[blizz]

Hi,

I don't recall for sure but I think by default, xinetd.conf expects the POP3 daemon to reside in /usr/local/libexec/. Check to see if it is. If not the daemon must be copied there manually:

# cp -p popper/popper /usr/local/libexec/

You'll need to enable the following line in /etc/inetd.conf:

pop3 stream tcp nowait root /usr/local/libexec/popper qpopper -s

Good luck..

Blizz

http://www.blizzards.info

 

[fluid11]

blizz, xinetd and inetd are two separate things. Red Hat 7x uses xinetd by default.

qpopper can live anywhere you want it to. You specify this in the /etc/xinetd.d/qpopper file. I used a file similar to this when I ran qpopper in the past...

service pop3
{
disable = no
flags = REUSE
socket_type = stream
wait = no
user = root
server = /usr/sbin/popper
log_on_failure += USERID
}

This assumes that the popper daemon lives in /usr/sbin/popper.


Make sure that you restart the xinetd daemon anytime you change any of its files --> "service xinetd restart".


ChrisP