Topic: {Solved} Backup MX server

[ReetP]

Hi,

I have a bit of a situation and wondered if I could pick some brains.

I have a SME box sat online which receives mail for a couple of domains. All is well, except for when some idiot cuts your telephone cables...... long story short is that they will be off line for some while.

The SME box hangs off Router1.

So I have a backup wireless system installed PDQ so I at least get some internet access to work. This is connected to WAN2 of Router 2 (complicated I know - I have two lines, one for data and the other exclusively for VPN/VOIP and it was better to put the wireless system on this router). The router handles the failover from WAN1 to WAN2 and all is well with the world. Except I can't get mail cos the server has a static IP and isn't online.

What I wondered was whether I could build a temporary SME backup MX server (http://www.schirrms.net/sme/MXBackup.php) on the second router, get it to receive on the external IP and then forward it on via the local IP ?

Sounds a bit mad but I can't think of any other way of getting my email. It's not work stuff, but it is damn annoying not to be able to receive it !

Alternatively, I could get another server of mine to run as MX to pickup the mail, but again, it is pushing it on that is the trick - I did wonder about adding a 'known host' with a local lan address so it can push it across the VPN.

Maybe that is the trick - if the MX server is given a local IP for the primary mail server, it won't have to look it up I guess ??

Any thoughts or advice appreciated (don't need to tell me I'm mad.... I have all boxes ticked in that department) !

B. Rgds
John

[ReetP]

Hmm. A bit of sleep and a few more thoughts for the record.

The new WIFI is DHCP and not static so I got it a dyndns name so I could find it.

I'm wondering what would happen if I put the server onto a DMZ on the new IP with the dyndns and added this domain name as a secondary MX server ?

I guess it would reject the mail if it didn't know what to do with it ?

Any suggestions appreciated !

B. Rgds
John

[ReetP]

Well, for the record I :

Mangled my routers around a bit (slapped the Wifi connection on WAN2)
Added a dyndns domain name for the WiFi connection
Added it as a MX server with a higher number than the main hostname
Stuck said server on a DMZ for that domain

Away it went.

There were probably other more elegant solutions, but this worked.

I had considered building a complete MX server, but the trick is that the main server is set to accept mail for my domain. And it doesn't really care where it comes from ! You can hang it on any old IP address so long as there is an MX record for that IP.

B. Rgds
John