[Lvlug] Mail Handling Recommendations

[Randy Kramer]

Tom,

Thanks for the further response!

A few more questions. ;-)

Randy Kramer

Tom Walsh wrote:

> > Can I run Qmail in a box "behind" the gateway?
> 
> Yes, and no..  Placing a mail server on a private network address is,
> generally, useful only to the private network. If you want to be able to
> recieve mail from the Internet, you will have to "tunnel" (masquarade)
> the port number into the private network from the gateway and route that
> traffic to/from the machine hosting the mail.  While this certainly
> something that is being done in other networks, it is a sophisticated
> technique requiring a good understanding of TCP/IP networks.  I question
> the value of doing this?

Well, the value of this would be the ability to use IMAP without leaving
mail on my ISP's server.  On my own server (as you do) I could store 4
GB (or more) without impacting my ISP.  Then, as you stated, my wife,
son, and myself (all on the private network) could all access the mail
on that box via IMAP.  But, the tunneling part scares me (sounds like a
lot to learn).  Are you sure I'd have to tunnel?  

Right now we have three computers behind the gateway.  One box, my
wife's, serves as the main mail machine in the sense that the directory
that stores the mail on that machine is shared on the network (LAN) so
Netscape on the other machines can access it.  Any one of the machines
behind the gateway can surf the Internet and can download email from the
ISP, without "tunneling" -- IPRoute uses something they call NAT --
there are apparently two slightly different things related to networking
both called NAT.  (Just to finish the story, when any of the other
machines downloads the mail, it is stored on the shared directory on my
wife's computer.)  (PS:  I buy very cheap systems, way behind the price
curve -- most of the machines I have now use TX Pro II motherboards and
Cyrix, AMD, or Wintek CPUs, ranging from 120 to 300 mhz.)

Couldn't Qmail, in a box behind the gateway, send / receive IMAP email
to my ISP over "NAT", just the way my other machines send and receive
POP3 email through the gateway?

Oh, wait, <lightbulb turns on> maybe that's the same thing you are
saying, maybe the thing I call NAT is the same as (or a variety of)
masquerading?


> 
> TomW
>