Topic: ISP blocking access from my SME server??

[cgetty]

Hi

New to linux & SME

I have SME Server 7 0pre1 release 4.2

I was running a website out of my house on a windows PC.
It was working ok. Then I switched ISP from Dslextream to Verizon.
My website stopped working. I said No big deal right now as I am going
to try the SME server On a Linux box.

So I loaded SME Server 7 0pre1 release 4.2 in Server & gateway mode.
I also have one of these free domain names from Dyndns .
Its sgetty.ath.cx.

On the SME server I set my primary domain name to sgetty.ath.cx to
match the one at  Dyndns. Is this correct?

The SME server-manager, webmail, phpBB2 & logging with ssh on the local
network seem to work ok. There is no access from the outside in.

I scanned this forum  and I'm thinking that maybe my ISP is
blocking my access (from the outside in) also the fact that the server running
on windows stopped working after I switched ISPs.
                                           
From the ISPs modem to one of the nic cards in the server.        
From the SME server the other nic card feeds the WiFi

What I want to know is how should I configure the SME server for a work around?

Do I need to mess with the port forwarding ?  If so How?

Thanks
Clark

[byte]

I have SME Server 7 0pre1 release 4.2

I take it you mean SME Server 7 0pre1.

IIRC - you need to disabled http & smtp proxy with that ISP?! disable the settings from the server manager and give that a go

[mackayr]

Been there ... done that.  Switched ISP.

You problem is most likely port blocking by the ISP.  They often with block ports 80, 21, etc... for residential internet customers.  I found that my local ADSL company did that, but my cable company didn't (although cable seems to be somewhat less reliable).

Back to your problem.   There is a work around that I'd used before.  Essentially, there's a way to make SME to listen on port 10080, which is probably not blocked by your provider.  This worked for me, but I found that certain people, especially those at Educational institutions, were not able to access my server.

See: http://mirror.contribs.org/smeserver/contribs//mblotwijk/Contribs/httpd10080/

Good luck!

Rob

[cgetty]

Hi byte

I hope its that easy. I did what you recommended.

Now I need to figure out a way to see if my home page
https://sgetty.ath.cx/ can be reached from outside my network.

Thanks

[CharlieBrady]

On the SME server I set my primary domain name to sgetty.ath.cx to
match the one at  Dyndns. Is this correct?

The SME server-manager, webmail, phpBB2 & logging with ssh on the local
network seem to work ok. There is no access from the outside in.

Before you jump to conclusions you should verify that those trying to access from the outside are using the correct address. Hmmm - when I look up  sgetty.ath.cx I get 192.168.126.249 - that's not a valid Internet address, so it's no wonder your site is unreachable.

[mackayr]

Sorry for omitting a rather important part of the solution (assuming it's the port blocking that's your problem).  You'll also need to forward the domain to that particular port on your server.  With dyndns you can do this in two ways ... first, you can always type that particular port (eg. http://sgetty.ath.cx:10080) or setup a webhop and forward it to that address (ie. http://sgetty.ath.cx:10080).

As Charlie pointed out though, in order for this to work at all, you'll need to point to your internet ip address.  The ip address starting with 192.168 is your local address.  If you're not sure what your public ip address is, go to http://www.whatismyip.com and it'll tell you!

Good luck!

Rob

[CharlieBrady]

Sorry for omitting a rather important part of the solution (assuming it's the port blocking that's your problem).

We've seen no evidence of port blocking.

As Charlie pointed out though, in order for this to work at all, you'll need to point to your internet ip address.  The ip address starting with 192.168 is your local address.

The question remains as to how a local address would end up in DNS. The SME server's dyndns client should never do that. If SME server's dyndns client put that address there, that would be a bug. Bug tracker links are to the left.

[mackayr]

With regard to evidence of port blocking, I'm speaking partially from experience with my own former ISP, and the fact that cgetty's problem started after switching ISP's before SME Server was utilized.

[mackayr]

On another note ... you may want to confirm that your modem is not filtering.  A friend of mine was with BellSouth for a while (in Florida) and they have some filtering in the modem.  He had to log onto his modem and open the ports he needed.

Aside from the port issue, I'm out of ideas.

Good luck!

Rob

[cgetty]

Hi Charlie and mackayr

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

On my windows set (before switching to SME) the Linksys wifi router was updating the http://www.dyndns.com/ site. I stopped it from doing that this morning. Seems like the reason for the local address showing up there.

I went to the http://www.dyndns.com/ site and manually updated sgetty.ath.cx to reflect the ip adderss from verizon 71.109.57.6.

I had a friend try to access http://sgetty.ath.cx/. He said he could not reach the web site.

Not sure how to proceed.

Clark

[p-jones]

A ping of your domain reveals the IP as 192.168.1.1 !! Have a real good look at your Dydns settings. When you friend can ping and resolve your domain to a public IP and not a private IP then you are in a position to do some more experimenting.

[brianr]

On my windows set (before switching to SME) the Linksys wifi router was updating the http://www.dyndns.com/ site. I stopped it from doing that this morning. Seems like the reason for the local address showing up there.

On the contrary your router modem is most likely to update the dyndns name correctly (it knows your external ip, and also when the ip is changed).  Check that is was using the correct login etc for dyndns.org, and re-instate the facility.

The 192.168.1.1 (which I am also getting) is probably created by the dyndns faclity in the SMEServer which does not work if you behind a NATing router modem.  192.168.1.1 will be the Ip of the WAN side of the SMEServer I expect.  You should turn this off in the console configuration.

[cgetty]

Hi brianr

When I ping the address sgetty.ath.cx I also see 192.168.1.1. This is what is being feed to the SME server from the ISPs modem.  Dose that mean the modem from the ISP is a NATing router modem??

thanks
Clark

[cgetty]

Ok I have a westel 6100 moden from my isp.
Cruising the web I figured out how to access the
westel 6100 from my isp.

Now I need to come up with the settings that
will work with the SME server.

Ok I changed one setting on the westel 6100, Now my IP from the
 web should be "Your IP Is 71.109.57.6"
am I on the right track?

Any ideas
Clark

[dcniki]

You changed your DNS record and then seconds / minutes later had someone check your web site??? WOW, your DNS provider is fast    

Mine takes a few hours to change    

Good luck!!! [/i]