[comp.unix.sysv386] SMTP port not listened

petem@sdipl.oz (Peter Mason) (10/25/90)

We're trying to use the default of MMDF with SCO UNIX, and our machines
are ethernetted. Seems that we can happily use mail locally, and that a 
mail is able to be sent out to a non-SCO UNIX system, but the SCO UNIX
machines are unable to receive mail via TCP/IP. If the SCO UNIX machine does a
"netstat" then we see nothing listening to the SMTP (port 25). Mail gets
bounced after 3 days with a "Connection refused" message.

Which process in the SCO system is supposed to be monitoring this port,
and how do we get it started up?

rvdp@cs.vu.nl (=Ronald van der Pol) (10/26/90)

petem@sdipl.oz (Peter Mason) writes:

>machines are unable to receive mail via TCP/IP. If the SCO UNIX machine does a
>"netstat" then we see nothing listening to the SMTP (port 25). Mail gets
>bounced after 3 days with a "Connection refused" message.
	Try if the command

your_machine% telnet your_machine 25

	works. It should connect you to the smtp daemon.
	If you get a message "connection refused", you don't have a
	(inet) daemon running on port 25.

>Which process in the SCO system is supposed to be monitoring this port,
>and how do we get it started up?
	This is the Berkeley Internet Daemon.  The inet daemon (/etc/inetd) 
	listens to the port. When a connection is setup, inetd searches for 
	a free socket and starts the local smtp daemon on that port. Your 
	inetd configuration file (/etc/inetd.conf) should have a line like:

"smtp    stream  tcp     nowait  mmdf    /usr/mmdf/chans/smtpd smtpd 
			/usr/mmdf/chans/smtpsrvr smtp"
(this is ONE line!).


--
		Ronald van der Pol  <rvdp@cs.vu.nl>

david@twg.com (David S. Herron) (10/30/90)

In article <471@sdipl.oz> petem@sdipl.oz (Peter Mason) writes:
>Which process in the SCO system is supposed to be monitoring this port,
>and how do we get it started up?

smtpsrvr handles the SMTP protocol and can be started directly
	from inetd, if you like
smtpd (if it's there) comes in two slightly different flavors.  One
	does inetd-like things (waits on a connection and starts
	smtpsrvr with the incoming socket/connection attached
	to std{in,out}).  The other is meant to be run from inetd.


From one of our SCO systems here, a line from /etc/inetd.conf:

smtp   stream  tcp     nowait  mmdf    /usr/mmdf/chans/smtpd smtpd /usr/mmdf/chans/smtpsrvr smtp


The fields are as follows:

"smtp" 		name of service
"stream tcp"	type of socket to do
"nowait"	don't wait for the daemon to finish before continuing
		to listen to connections (?)
"mmdf"		user ID to run the command as
"/usr/mmdf/..."	the command

/usr/mmdf/chans/smtpd is the program to run, and 'smtpd' is argv[0].
The arguments are: program to run when a connection starts, and the
channel through which the mail is to enter the system.

This is on an SCO/ODT system -- I dunno what it looks like on
an SCO/Unix system but assume it's more-or-less identical.

The arguments to smtpsrvr are (in case you feel like bypassing inetd)

smtpsrvr them us channel[,channel,channel,...]

"them" and "us" are the names of the remote and local ends of
the connection, respectively.  
-- 
<- David Herron, an MMDF & WIN/MHS guy, <david@twg.com>
<- Formerly: David Herron -- NonResident E-Mail Hack <david@ms.uky.edu>
<-
<- Use the force Wes!