Cedant Dedicated Server DNS issue. . .

[gberz3]

Hi All,

We (my company) recently purchased a $99/mo dedicated server from Cedant (http://www.cedant.com/). Their tech support is less than stellar. Basically we're having DNS issues; meaning, they don't supply DNS services to us. We were told basically to have them manage each and every domain we set up forever (total pain) , or handle our own DNS routing etc (?!?!?!?!) .

I'm completely stuck. If anyone has experience with Cedant and/or dedicated server packages of this nature, please advise.

Regards.

[gberz3]

Anyone? I've got the page serving portion up and running. Now I'm having severe trouble getting e-mail to work. Apparently there are "MX Record" issues, but I have *NO* idea where to start. Any assistance would certainly be appreciated.

Regards.

[sr71000]

hey. this is more of a networking issue than a programming issue. repost this or pm a mod and have them move it over to the networking forum. You'll get a LOT more help there I think!

[Sixpac_XP]

Well, I am confused. Are they doing your DNS serving?

[gberz3]

hey. this is more of a networking issue than a programming issue. repost this or pm a mod and have them move it over to the networking forum. You'll get a LOT more help there I think!

Well, I tried, but Rich closed that one down because it was a "duplicate" so I was stuck with this one. Perhaps you could reopen that one?

[gberz3]

Well, I am confused. Are they doing your DNS serving?

We have dedicated hardware that supposedly is capable of "all things". I now have DNS working and page serving up and running, but nothing mail related works. The *only* thing I can do is SEND from webmail. I can't receive mail, nor can I access POP. It's terribly confusing. Again, I can go to "webmail.mydomain.com" and SEND e-mail, only, but when I go to "mail.mydomain.com" I receive a generic Plesk warning that the domain isn't present or configured. I have all the proper MX information set up, it just seems to fail. My head hurts. . .

[Sixpac_XP]

Hmm.. what mail server are you running?

Are you sure you have smtp allowed into your server?

[Sixpac_XP]

This might help you test your smtp incoming:

http://www.petri.co.il/test_smtp_service.htm

[gberz3]

Hmm.. what mail server are you running?

Are you sure you have smtp allowed into your server?

Well, I can send fine (from webmail anyway), so I'm guessing SMTP isn't the problem. But it uses QMAIL.

[Sixpac_XP]

gberz3.. Smtp is a two way street.

if you can send but not receive SMTP then there is an issue with your SMTP somewhere.

did you read the article I posted? They are very simple tests to confirm you are having SMTP (receiving issues).

[gberz3]

SMTP is a "push" protocol that doesn't allow one to "pull" messages from a remote server on demand. To do this a mail client has to use POP3 or IMAP.

That said, the SMTP (sending) daemon is running fine.

UPDATE: I've got my e-mail client RECEIVING now. I had to open up SMTP on the server firewall. Now I just need to figure out client sending (as webmail sending already works). Any suggestions? I've already tried ports 23,25,587,2525. Nothing works.

[RamonGTP]

are you using your own DNS resolver and are you hosting your own email? You may need to setup the proper MX records in your DNS server settings if you are.

[Sixpac_XP]

SMTP is a "push" protocol that doesn't allow one to "pull" messages from a remote server on demand. To do this a mail client has to use POP3 or IMAP.

That said, the SMTP (sending) daemon is running fine.

UPDATE: I've got my e-mail client RECEIVING now. I had to open up SMTP on the server firewall. Now I just need to figure out client sending (as webmail sending already works). Any suggestions? I've already tried ports 23,25,587,2525. Nothing works.

uh.. you have mail server issues my friend..

do you really understand the difference between SMTP and Pop3/Imap?

[Sixpac_XP]

SMTP is a "push" protocol that doesn't allow one to "pull" messages from a remote server on demand. To do this a mail client has to use POP3 or IMAP.

and that has to do with email CLIENTS.. not email servers.

email servers only communicate with each other via SMTP (unless they are using encryption which I doubt you are using).

[gberz3]

and that has to do with email CLIENTS.. not email servers.

email servers only communicate with each other via SMTP (unless they are using encryption which I doubt you are using).

Yes, I understand that. I posted a message before that that apparently didn't post. Anyway, I appreciate your help, but I'm running on 9 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours and am just looking to solve this issue.

For the record, we're hosing *EVERYTHING* on that one box. The DNS records are properly set up, per the "Plesk User Manual" and all services claim to be running properly. I've checked that all proper ports are open (at least all of which I've been informed). I'm really at a loss as to what's next.

I have a total of nine records that look like so:

216.xx.xx.xx / 24
PTR
mydomain.com.

ftp.mydomain.com.
CNAME
mydomain.com.

mail.mydomain.com.
A
216.xx.xx.xx

mydomain.com.
NS
ns.mydomain.com.

mydomain.com.
A
216.xx.xx.xx

mydomain.com.
MX (10)
mail.mydomain.com.

ns.mydomain.com.
A
216.xx.xx.xx

webmail.mydomain.com.
A
216.xx.xx.xx

www.mydomain.com.
CNAME
mydomain.com.

Thanks for the help so far. At this point I'm pretty much willing to try anything.

[RamonGTP]

Is the server located in a datacenter/colo or are you hosting it off a home based internet connection?

[gberz3]

Colo. . .Cedant takes care of it, but it is in fact a hardware BSD server, not virtual, and we do have shell access; just fyi.