Question

Postfix will not relay email to other domains through our smtp service

Asked by: PlazaProp

I have linux box that monitors the network and needs to be able to send out emails.  The monitoring software does not include a mail transport so I setup postfix/sendmail.  Postfix will deliver (relay) mail, but only to our domain.  I have the need to be able to send to other email addresses outside our domain.  Our email service is hosted by a 3rd party and requires smtp authentication.  I believe that i have the smtp auth setup correctly otherwise I wouldn't be able to send any emails from the linux box (i use the sendmail command to test).  When I try to send email to another domain, gmail for example, I get the bounced back message below:

This is the mail system at host linuxbox.localdomain.local.
 
I'm sorry to have to inform you that your message could not be delivered to one or more recipients. It's attached below.
 
For further assistance, please send mail to <postmaster>
 
If you do so, please include this problem report. You can delete your own text from the attached returned message.
 
                   The mail system
 
<joe@gmail.com>: host mail.plazaproperties.com[64.26.60.153] said: 550
    <jjoe@gmail.com>: Recipient address rejected: Invalid recipient (in
    reply to RCPT TO command)

                                  
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Asked On
2009-10-16 at 06:47:00ID24818023
Tags

postfix

,

linux

,

sendmail

Topics

Postfix

,

SendMail Email Server

,

Linux Administration

Participating Experts
3
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Comments
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Answers

 

by: JetPacPosted on 2009-10-16 at 07:55:56ID: 25590141

Is mail.plazaproperties.com your third party email provider?

 

by: PlazaPropPosted on 2009-10-16 at 09:14:48ID: 25590821

yes, that is correct.  I tried using smtp.plazaproperties.com:25 and just smtp.plazaproperties.com but those didn't work.  Only  using mail.plazaproperties.com:25 works.  I am not sure if it is the domain that is blocking the email or if it is postfix actually blocking the email.  Maybe I have a setting in the main.cf file set incorrectly or not set at all.  I have looked for something that might point to that but not that I see.  

 

by: PlazaPropPosted on 2009-10-16 at 09:15:34ID: 25590830

All I am trying to do is use postfix to relay email from the linux box to our email provider.

 

by: bevhostPosted on 2009-10-16 at 13:30:51ID: 25593076

Do you have

smtpd_recipient_restrictions =
      permit_sasl_authenticated
...

 

by: PlazaPropPosted on 2009-10-16 at 13:43:07ID: 25593149

No I didn't.  I added it to the end of the main.cf file, did posfix stop then postfix start.  did test message and the same issue is happening.  Here is what I have at the end of the config file:

smtp_sasl_auth_enable = yes
smtp_sasl_password_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/sasl_passwd
smtp_sasl_mechanism_filter = login
smtp_sasl_security_options = nonanonymous
smtpd_recipient_restrictions=permit_sasl_authenticated

 

by: bevhostPosted on 2009-10-16 at 15:03:06ID: 25593715

Perhaps gmail is blocking you because you have an invalid hostname.

.local is only for internal servers and should not be used on the internet.
Your server name should ideally match the reverse DNS lookup for your public IP address.
And there should be a matching forward DNS lookup as well.

But at the very least, make sure that the name you give your server can be found in the DNS.

 

by: PlazaPropPosted on 2009-10-16 at 15:36:34ID: 25593847

The error appears to be coming from our domain email servers. Its not just gmail that gets bounced back, its anything that is not plazaproperties.com. I am trying to send all mail from the linux box through the domain email servers. I have been able to do it with windows boxes via smtp relay and setting up an alais. I will have to see if there is a way to set up an alais in postfix. Keep in mind that I am trying use postfix/sendmail as an email client for the monitoring software. The linux box is an internal server.

 

by: bevhostPosted on 2009-10-16 at 17:17:36ID: 25594258

Is the external IP address for linuxbox.localdomain.local listed as a permited client (perhaps in mynetworks) on mail.plazaproperties.com?

I notice that mail.plaza... resolves to a different IP address to smtp.plaza....  Are they meant to be set up the same?

 

by: PlazaPropPosted on 2009-10-16 at 20:14:57ID: 25594646

no. The ip address is not listed with the mail service. However, windows boxes on our network can relay mail to the smart host at mail.plazaproperties.com.

We don't control the ip addresses for the mail servers. So I guess I would have to answer no. I tried configuring postfix using smtp.plazaproperties.com but the mail sent to plazaproperties.com  would fail and stay in the postfix queue. The only way they would go out was if I used mail.plazaproperties.com in the main.cf file. I know what I am trying to do has got to be possible, its just figuring the correct configuration settings.

 

by: stanimirpPosted on 2009-10-19 at 00:07:35ID: 25603049

smtp_sasl_auth_enable = yes
smtp_sasl_password_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/sasl_passwd
smtp_sasl_mechanism_filter = login  (try to remove this line)
smtp_sasl_security_options = nonanonymous (try to remove this line)
smtpd_recipient_restrictions=permit_sasl_authenticated



sasl_passwd file shoud be something like this
out.your.domain.com     username:password

when u make changes to sasl_passwd file u need to run
postmap hash:/etc/postfix/sasl_passwd

 

by: bevhostPosted on 2009-10-19 at 22:58:28ID: 25611323

Since you don't control the boxes I assume that someone is providing them to you as a service?

Have you tried asking them for assistance, as they will be most famliar with the requirements for correct operation.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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