Open Zimbra & Ubuntu 8.04LTS - can't receive external emails

[phoenix]

So you're all OK now and everything is working? If it is you should change the following service in Ubuntu: mDNS/ZeroConf/Bonjour (or whatever it's called), disble or uninstall it as it's that causing the problem of the modified nsswitch.conf file. If you do remove it make sure you check the nsswitch.conf file is still set correctly.

[mbossmanh]

So far it still doesn't work. I'm going to give it another 24hours to see if that changes anything (with dns).

Otherwise, i think i have exhausted all my resources. I was thinking of trying another distribution. Which one can you recommend?

Thanks,
Mike

[Bill Brock]

As phoenix stated, for the DNS directive, "files" needs to come before "dns". This tells apps to look at the hosts file first before checking a DNS server.

Your host.conf file also needs an entry: order hosts, bind

Some software checks the host.conf and some look at the nsswtich.conf file.

Either way it is usually best for the hosts file to be queried before DNS.

[bbarrons]

I was just reading thru this thread and trying to resolve check thru my ubuntu 8.04 install to be sure it is correct. my host.conf file has no entry in it at all except for multi off.
could you post an example of a host.conf that should be correct? when I do host `hostname`
it says "Host ms2 not found: 3(NXDOMAIN)" yet I have no problems with rec or sending mail.
thanks
Bill B

[Bill Brock]

Notice it says that the host.conf and the nsswitch.conf file should be in sync for the resolver order.


# /etc/host.conf - resolver configuration file
#
# Please read the manual page host.conf(5) for more information.
#
#
# The following option is only used by binaries linked against
# libc4 or libc5. This line should be in sync with the "hosts"
# option in /etc/nsswitch.conf.
#
order hosts, bind
#
# The following options are used by the resolver library:
#
multi on

[bbarrons]

thanks for the reply Bill. I added the line to my host.conf file. I want to be sure I am running as clean as I can. I maintain a server here at home ( my test box) as well as a zimbra server at a small school.

[bbarrons]

So, when I run host `hostname`
I get "Host ms2 not found: 3(NXDOMAIN)"
but nslookup gives me
Server: 192.168.1.120
Address: 192.168.1.120#53

Name: barronsfamily.net
Address: 192.168.1.120

dig barronsfamily.net mx gives me 

; <<>> DiG 9.4.2-P2 <<>> barronsfamily.net mx
;; global options:  printcmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 24661
;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 1, ADDITIONAL: 1

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;barronsfamily.net.		IN	MX

;; ANSWER SECTION:
barronsfamily.net.	604800	IN	MX	10 ms2.barronsfamily.net.

;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
barronsfamily.net.	604800	IN	NS	ms2.barronsfamily.net.

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
ms2.barronsfamily.net.	604800	IN	A	192.168.1.120

;; Query time: 0 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.1.120#53(192.168.1.120)
;; WHEN: Fri Nov 28 12:43:09 2008
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 85

any idea what I am missing? where do I start to look? or is it not a big deal.
thanks
Bill B

[phoenix]

Post the output of your /etc/hosts file:

cat /etc/hosts

[bbarrons]

bbarrons@ms2:~$ cat /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost
192.168.1.120 ms2.barronsfamily.net
bbarrons@ms2:~$
I have up until today been running this host file with 1 exception.
this line used to read
192.168.1.120 ms2.barronsfamily.net ms2
but I changed it this morning to see if it made a difference

[phoenix]

Yes, it does make a difference as you've just found out.

It should be in the original format:

192.168.1.120 ms2.barronsfamily.net ms2