Frank Tarczynski writes:
> I'm going to be traveling for an extended period of time and will
> need a rugged SMTP server to collect my mail with minimal heat
> generation/power consumption that I can cable-up directly to my
> cable modem.
>
> I've got a net4801 currently serving as an astlinux box that I can
> use. I can add a hard disk to my net4801 and plug it in to a large
> UPS for power back-up.
I've used both net4801 and WRAP boards to do this kind of thing. Works
very well. One thing I'd suggest you consider is how reliable your
network connection is. If you're going to be away from your box for a
considerable period of time, you may want to consider some kind of
redundant setup. Also, make sure you enable the hardware watchdog
timer and have a reliable watchdog daemon (I have one that probes the
SSH port for a response, so that in case SSH dies, the box will
reboot). Also have monitoring on your network link (I've seen PPPoE
links choke after a while, so I have a monitoring script that kills
the daemon and restarts after a prolonged period of inactivity).
On the redundancy side, I have 3 MX servers, each of which is a
delivery point (i.e. they don't forward the email). I then
periodically download my email from all pickup points, so that if any
of the servers goes down I've only lost access to a small number of
emails on the spool directory on the bad server. This scheme gives
great uptime and prevents the dreaded "mail undeliverable for 4 hours,
still trying" bounces that can get you kicked off some mailing lists.
I use a modified version of mail.runner (originally written by Tridge)
that is much, much more efficient than something based on POP/IMAP
(it's basically rsync on top of SSH with a wrapper script).
For redundant servers, some options you might want to consider are
renting a LVS (Linux Virtual Server). These can be had for $10/month
and give you a virtual machine with your own IP and root access. Other
options are to join a community hosting colo, or having a reciprocal
home hosting arrangement with a friend. If you and your friend both
have spare, fully routable IP's, that's a good way to have your own
Soekris or WRAP box hosted elsewhere for a second MX server. I don't
use a hard drive, I just use a Compact Flash card. Don't believe the
horror stories about how you'll kill the flash really fast. I've run
this way for a couple of years and haven't seen any errors yet, and if
I do, I'll just replace the card. These things are consumables. With
CF, I don't have to worry about the box getting kicked or hit by the
vacuum cleaner.
Regards,
Richard....
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