can't connect to mail server

hi
First i will admit to being a newbie to linux.( but love the H*LL out of e-smith)
Second i'm using e-smith because it was recommended to me to help make the switch from being a windows slave.
Have setup esmith using private server gateway mode ip adresses are as follows
192.168.0.1 assigned to e-smith lan nic, second nic assigned dhcp(verizon dsl)
192.168.0.2 assigned to win2k workgroup server using build in dns server
domain name =nextstepinfo.com(domain registered through easydns) web site being hosted on tripod.com for now (http://nextstephelpdesk.tripod.com) e-smith web server won't allow me use www.nextstepinfo(since this is internal domain name)
1 xp pro client, 1dell laptop, 1 win2000 client all can connect to the web but can't connect to mail server or when pinging the e-smith server it's times out.

1.how do i setup e-smith to us dns does it use win2k or it's own?
2.been trying to setup ez-ipupdate when i check to see if it's started it says it's running but how do you select easydns when do a dyn ip setup during installation
being that easydns isn't listed.

would like to use e-smith for my clients but as i said before i'm a newbie to linux

all help is appreciated and welcome

kbracey