[PLUG] E-mail server?

[Carlos Konstanski]

> I'm not sure if this is what I want, and I've never done it before. Anyhow, here's what the problem is: I have a Qwest DSL account, without pop mail, but I wish to use pop mail. My Hevanet account, which included pop mail, has not yet expired. I can still receive such mail, as before. However, when I attempt to SEND smtp mail, it does not go through:
>
> "The message could not be sent because one of the recipients was rejected by the server. The rejected e-mail address was 'koppr at hevanet.com'. Subject 'subject', Account: 'pop3.hevanet.com', Server: 'mail.hevanet.com', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '550 5.7.1 <koppr at hevanet.com>... Relaying denied', Port: 25, Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 550, Error Number: 0x800CCC79"
>
> I guess Qwest does not forward it. What do I need in order to accomplish this?
>
> Robert "Tim" Kopp
> http://analytic.tripod.com/

I have a comcast email account (expired for a year+) that still
receives mail, but I cannot use it to send mail.  I think it's common
practice for ISPs to terminate accounts in this fashion.

If you cannot send mail through the account via a telnet session or
other reasonably clinical means, you're probably out of luck.  At this
point, your choices are to secure an email account with some other
provider, or set up your own email server.

Some possibilities for email account providers:

     - web hosting service
     - private linux geek who is set up already
     - yahoo, gmail

To run your own email server, you will need a domain name and a static
IP address.  The static IP address must be obtained from Qwest, and
your monthly fee will go up.

If you use Qwest DSL, your modem is probably an Actiontec modem/home
router.  These stink for the home linux nerd who wants to run his own
firewall and stuff.  There are other modem options, but you'll have to
buy the modem yourself (and probably support it yourself too).  I'd
bet there is good modem choice advice to be found on this very list.

I found setting up my own email server to be a fairly extensive
project.  But it was fun and rewarding, and I became proficient in
many areas as a result of my efforts: firewalls, DNS name servers,
mail servers, imap servers, SSL and SASL, to name some.  For the true
linux nerd, setting up a mail server is like playing arpeggios on the
violin; an essential technique-building exercise.  I wouldn't hesitate
to dive into the task, but I'd plan a month of Sundays worth of time.

I went with postfix and courier-imap for my mail server, with a
postgresql backend, and postfixadmin for account administration.  Once
I finally got it all working, it has been running like a champ.
postfixadmin makes account administration a breeze.  It's just a web
GUI that wraps SQL queries.  You can get the same result by issuing
the right SQL queries from a psql shell, but it's more laborious that
way.

Being a gentoo user, I went to google and typed in "gentoo wiki
postfix postgresql" and got these links:

     http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Email:_A_Complete_Virtual_System_-_Postfix_to_Postgres
     http://gentoo-wiki.com/Postfix

Carlos Konstanski