mail server issues

[branden_burger]

Hey there.

We've had this complete bungler manage our departmental network all this time, so we decided to sack him and let us students manage it. Now we've been doing fine for a while, so we've gotten *****ious and want to set up a mail server, now that we've successfully been able to set up NFS, DHCP, etc.

However, there's a lot of stuff to read up as I find. Now what do I need to read up on if this is what I need to do -

1)Get incoming mail from a server on the internet onto our own mail server at a specific intervals. This is the mail server we are to create.

2)Distribute this mail to people who use evolution, outlook, pine, mutt, or whatever they like.

3)Use our own mail server to send outgoing mail.

[jme]

www.qmailrocks.org

[Leigh]

Postfix or sendmail for incoming/outgoing mail.
Courier-IMAP or gnu-pop3d for delivering to the end user.
Don't forget an MX record so the rest of the internet knows where to send your mail.

[branden_burger]

We've decided on either qmail or sendmail - qmailrocks.org seems quite detailed, so we might just go with that. I've been following it without a hitch, but here's where I get stuck - the DNS MX records....so help me figure this out, given:

Now this is what I have -

1)Two IP addresses from the people we've hired the server from. Apparently, the server is configured as both a primary and secondary name server.

2)A domain name

So how do I make the DNS MX record for the domain point to my server? What do I have to edit and where?

thanks

[thaddaeus]

you need to add a MX record toyour DNS records of the domian name you wish to use as the mail address. this varies depending on the software used for your dns stuff, it sounds like you are your own name server which then you'd have to figure out if you use bind for dns. Google.com/linux and run a search for bind dns server, or if you'd rather cheat and use a web interface, there are plenty of free and pay dns services wich make changing dns records fairly easily

[branden_burger]

wait - I'll do my homework on bind/dns and bombard you with more questions......just a matter of time....

[Leigh]

MX Stands for Mail eXchanger. Essentially, it is a record in the DNS which tells the rest of the world what machine is responsible for recieving mail for that domain.
Note that MX records must be names, not IP addresses.
Simply have whoever hosts your DNS add a name of mail.yourdomain to the DNS and then an MX record pointing to that name. From the moment that happens, the world will be sending mail to that particular machine.
If you have a pre-existing MX record for your domain, either remove it or use a lower priority on the new record.

[branden_burger]

yes - thaddeus, I am my own nameserver and am using BIND - because I just checked that the named service is running.

And now leigh, I think I understand the requisite amount to proceed with this. I have to add the MX record in the zone file I'm using - if my understanding is correct.

however, I have to make a query or two again - in the /etc/named.conf , for the zone mydomain.com I have to specify a secondary DNS server IP using

allow-transfer {xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx;};

now I have a self managed server from the hosting company running Fedora Core 1. Since this is self managed, their tech support sucks to a ridiculous extent. They think I know everything, and their FAQs also seem expensive!

What I want to know is this - I have an email from them saying that my machine is configured as its own primary and secondary nameserver, I'm given these two IPs and am told that these are the only IPs I'm authorized to use.

Well and good. But can I have both my primary and secondary nameservers running off the same host??? Also, when I ping the secondary nameserver IP, I get nothing. What do I give the domain registrar when he has to update his DNS entries for my domain to this host?

And finally, there's no way ssh is impacted if I mess up with named right??

I know that's a lot of questions, but I'd greatly appreciate any assistance!!

[Leigh]

Well and good. But can I have both my primary and secondary nameservers running off the same host??? Also, when I ping the secondary nameserver IP, I get nothing. What do I give the domain registrar when he has to update his DNS entries for my domain to this host?

Looks like it's one server with two IP addresses. No problem there.
Assuming that your domain is already registered and delegated appropriately, you don't need to get your registrar involved at all. Just update the DNS and the rest of the world will catch up fairly soon.
Don't worry too much about not being able to ping the secondary IP address, some firewalls prevent ICMP from getting through. ( I know a lot of mine do.).

Named shouldn't affect SSH.

If you have appropriate access, webmin is your best friend in a situation like this.

Do you have a server on your own premises with a permanent connection to the internet? And a static IP? If so, I suggest you build your own mail server and, ultimately, move your DNS etc. as well. That way everything is in your own control. It makes it much easier than dealing with hosting companies who have their own agendas and their own ideas on how things should be done.