Two qmail-smtpd servers on one host?

Is it possible to run two qmail-smtpd servers, listening to different
ports, on the same host?

My dial-up ISP seems to be blocking outbound port 25 traffic, to make me
use their SMTP server for outbound mail. I guess this is an attempt to
control spam. I think it's misguided, but that's another issue. I
doubt if I can convince them to change their minds.

I considered switching ISPs, but then I thought maybe I could get around
the problem by running another qmail-smtpd daemon listening to a
different port, and configuring my email client (Eudora) to send through
that port.

So far, it seems to work. But I wasn't sure if there were any
contention or integrity issues with 2 servers using the same spool, etc.

Matt Simpson <msimpson@uky.edu> writes:

> Is it possible to run two qmail-smtpd servers, listening to different
> ports, on the same host?

Sure.

> My dial-up ISP seems to be blocking outbound port 25 traffic, to make me
> use their SMTP server for outbound mail. I guess this is an attempt to
> control spam. I think it's misguided, but that's another issue. I
> doubt if I can convince them to change their minds.

You could use your ISP as "smart host": forward all remote mail to it
for delivery using control/smtproutes:

:mail.example.net

(substitute the name/address of your ISP's mail host)

> I considered switching ISPs, but then I thought maybe I could get around
> the problem by running another qmail-smtpd daemon listening to a
> different port, and configuring my email client (Eudora) to send through
> that port.

That will let your Eudora talk to your qmail server, but aren't both
on your local network? And that won't do anything to get around your
ISP's port 25 block, which will block all outgoing mail.

> So far, it seems to work. But I wasn't sure if there were any
> contention or integrity issues with 2 servers using the same spool, etc.

You don't need two qmail installations in order to run qmail-smtpd
daemons. Just set up another qmail-smtpd service listening on the
alternate port. But I still don't see why you need to do that.

--
Dave Sill Oak Ridge National Lab, Workstation Support
Author, The qmail Handbook <http://web.infoave.net/~dsill>
<http://lifewithqmail.org/>: Almost everything you always wanted to know.

Thanks for the response. You basically answered my question, even
though I guess I wasn't really clear about what I was trying to do.

In article <wx0iruq3qxh.fsf@sws5.ornl.gov>,
Dave Sill <MaxFreedom@sws5.ornl.gov> wrote:

> You could use your ISP as "smart host": forward all remote mail to it
> for delivery using control/smtproutes:

I could, but I don't want to. I like having my own server that does
what I want it to.

>
> That will let your Eudora talk to your qmail server, but aren't both
> on your local network?

No. Here's where I wasn't clear. I have a domain hosted by a hosting
site, which allows me to run my own web/email servers, and whatever else
I want. At home, I connect to that server, and the rest of the world,
via dial-up access (no broadband out in the boondocks) provided by a
different ISP. They provide a fairly standard package (a couple of
email addresses which I don't use, etc). All I want from them is
connectivity to the net. I don't want/need any of their other services.

> And that won't do anything to get around your
> ISP's port 25 block, which will block all outgoing mail.

Again, I was unclear. They're (apparently) blocking port 25 outbound
from their dial-up clients to all servers EXCEPT their own. I guess
this is an attempt to keep their users from pumping out spam. I don't
want to pump out huge volumes of mail from my home computer; I just want
my normal amount of outbound mail to go through my server instead of
theirs.

>
> You don't need two qmail installations in order to run qmail-smtpd
> daemons. Just set up another qmail-smtpd service listening on the
> alternate port.

Yeah, I figured that part out. When I asked the question, I was
concerned about the fact that both services would be using the same
spool files, etc. Then it occured to me later that it's really no
different than allowing multiple concurrent SMTP connections on port 25.
All the necessary logic has to already be there to keep multiple
connections from trashing each other; it shouldn't matter if some of
them come in via a different port.

>But I still don't see why you need to do that.

Because I want the mail client on my home computer to route my outbound
email via a server far far away, instead of the one my dial-up ISP
provides and thinks I should u se.