Help test new frontend

robmueller · 7 Sep 2005, 11:41 PM

Hi all

We're looking for some people to help test out a new frontend IMAP/POP proxy system we're looking at using. Basically all you have to do to help out is:

1. In your IMAP/POP software, change the IMAP/POP server name from "mail.messagingengine.com" to "betamail.messagingengine.com" (don't change your SMTP server, leave it as mail.messagingengine.com)
2. Use your IMAP/POP client as normal, just noting if anything different or strange seems to occur and reporting it here

At this point, I've been using it today, and it all seems ok and working very well, but we'd like to double check with more clients and users to be sure of course

Thanks

Rob

---

For the technically inclined.

For those interested, we have been using "perdition" as our frontend IMAP/POP proxy for several years now, but are looking at replacing it with a program called "nginx" written by Igor Sysoev, the same guy who wrote mod_accel which we use as our frontend web proxies. The main advantage of nginx is that rather than using a "1 connection = 1 process" model, it uses a small pool of processes with high-performance multiplexing and buffering. This should significantly reduce the resources required to do the actual proxying work and make things a bit faster as well, though that won't be immediately obvious because it'll be running on the same servers as perdition at the moment during the test phase.

FYI, I think this is a good example of where we can give back to the open source community as well. We use a lot of open source software, and have been very happy. Where we've need custom stuff, we've either done it ourselves, or paid people to do it for us. In almost all the cases where we've paid external people to modify open source software, we've just got them to include it in the software for all people to use in the future.

For instance in this case, nginx was originally designed as a HTTP proxy, but after talking with Igor, he was happy to work on it to add IMAP/POP support, and we were happy to pay him to support and encourage that. When it's all done and tested, it'll just be part of the standard nginx distribution.

Another example, our support for features add to cyrus 2.3

http://asg.web.cmu.edu/archive/messa...yrus&msg=36365

And we've created patches for software like postfix (though this particular one hasn't been accepted)

http://www.irbs.net/internet/postfix/0406/0431.html

Anyway, just a digression there...

**Sherry** · 8 Sep 2005, 07:28 AM

Ok, I'm using the mailbeta with my most active FM IMAP account with OE. I, of course, got the cert warning and after saying OK on that I did a new send/receive and it doesn't ask anymore. (yes, I understand the cert err is just for the beta) ...

Sherry

**Sherry** · 8 Sep 2005, 08:27 AM

Rob,

I was wrong on the cert err. After closing OE and reopening it again asks for the ok on the cert. FastCheck doesn't need an OK for the cert. It still shows when incoming mail arrives and the cert comes for OE to get it. (I'll just keep ok-ing it for the testing. Just posting so others may expect this behavior if they test.)

Sherry

nbarr · 8 Sep 2005, 08:56 AM

I also got the certification warning on first accessing my mail with Mulberry. But I do not receive it again after closing and reopening Mulberry and further accessing mail as Sherry did with OE.

robmueller · 8 Sep 2005, 08:59 AM

Yes, I should have mentioned that, most clients will warn you about the cert each time you restart them. I'm just using the "mail.messagingengine.com" cert for the testing, so just OK the warning.

FastCheck will still use the existing servername/web-protocol.

Rob

grs100 · 8 Sep 2005, 09:21 AM

Got it running in thunderbird. other than the cert. error (incorrect site or something) it works fine. I'll run this for a week and see if anything happens.

n5bb · 8 Sep 2005, 02:17 PM

I changed my Thunderbird settings to the betamail server, and everything seems to work fine with IMAP. Here are some of the tests I performed:

Sending email from Thunderbird (uses SMTP through my ISP's SMTP server, so nothing new tested).
Receiving email to normal Inbox.
Receiving mail to folder using folder addressing (folder@myaccount.fastmail.fm).
Idle command seems to work (very fast indication of new messages).
Sending reply message.
Marking READ or UNREAD in web interface changes appropriately in Thunderbird.
Marking READ or UNREAD in Thunderbird changes appropriately in web interface.
Adding new IMAP folder in Thunderbird adds folder in web interface (after normal Folders screen rebuild).
Deleting IMAP folder in Thunderbird deletes folder in web interface (after normal Folders screen rebuild).
Dragging messages between folders in Thunderbird also moves messages in web interface.
Dragging messages in web interface moves them in Thunderbird.
Purge (expunge) or compact folder works from Thunderbird or web interface.

davidbstanley · 8 Sep 2005, 03:58 PM

Works fine with the IMAP client on my SE P910i mobile phone.

Clive T · 8 Sep 2005, 04:00 PM

Hi Rob

No problems once I realised that TLS isn't supported!

Regards

Clive Taylor

robmueller · 8 Sep 2005, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Clive T
No problems once I realised that TLS isn't supported!

Probably should have mentioned that as well. STARTTLS is not supported, and actually isn't supported on the old mail.messagingengine.com for POP or IMAP either. It's a long store I won't go into right now, suffice to say I think just having separate ports for clear/encrypted channels is probably still the best idea...

Rob

Clive T · 8 Sep 2005, 04:51 PM

Quote:

[i]Probably should have mentioned that as well. STARTTLS is not supported, and actually isn't supported on the old mail.messagingengine.com for POP or IMAP either.

I'm not clear, Rob. At present I'm connecting via TLS on port 993 to mail.messagingengine.com according to TheBat! Are you saying it's not telling me the truth or have I misunderstood you?

robmueller · 8 Sep 2005, 06:38 PM

STARTTLS and TLS are different.

STARTTLS is a way to switch from unencrypted to encrypted communication over the standard IMAP port (143) or POP port (110).

TLS/SSL uses a a completely separate port number for IMAP (993) and POP (995) and always does encrypted communication from the connection time.

We support TLS/SSL, not STARTTLS.

Rob

Clive T · 8 Sep 2005, 09:31 PM

Quote:

TLS/SSL uses a a completely separate port number for IMAP (993) and POP (995) and always does encrypted communication from the connection time.
Rob [/b]

I think it must be TheBat misbehaving here because it's set up to use TLS on port 993. Just changing the server from mail to betamail prevents the prog receiving mail. OTOH, Mulberry prompts me to accept the certificate and works fine on the beta server.

lambert · 9 Sep 2005, 12:14 AM

Betamail IMAP works fine with Evolution 2.2.1.1

dantheman · 9 Sep 2005, 01:03 AM

Works fine with Outlook 2003.

7 Sep 2005, 11:41 PM	#1
robmueller Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 6,102 Representative of: Fastmail.FM	Help test new frontend Hi all We're looking for some people to help test out a new frontend IMAP/POP proxy system we're looking at using. Basically all you have to do to help out is: 1. In your IMAP/POP software, change the IMAP/POP server name from "mail.messagingengine.com" to "betamail.messagingengine.com" (don't change your SMTP server, leave it as mail.messagingengine.com) 2. Use your IMAP/POP client as normal, just noting if anything different or strange seems to occur and reporting it here At this point, I've been using it today, and it all seems ok and working very well, but we'd like to double check with more clients and users to be sure of course Thanks Rob --- For the technically inclined. For those interested, we have been using "perdition" as our frontend IMAP/POP proxy for several years now, but are looking at replacing it with a program called "nginx" written by Igor Sysoev, the same guy who wrote mod_accel which we use as our frontend web proxies. The main advantage of nginx is that rather than using a "1 connection = 1 process" model, it uses a small pool of processes with high-performance multiplexing and buffering. This should significantly reduce the resources required to do the actual proxying work and make things a bit faster as well, though that won't be immediately obvious because it'll be running on the same servers as perdition at the moment during the test phase. FYI, I think this is a good example of where we can give back to the open source community as well. We use a lot of open source software, and have been very happy. Where we've need custom stuff, we've either done it ourselves, or paid people to do it for us. In almost all the cases where we've paid external people to modify open source software, we've just got them to include it in the software for all people to use in the future. For instance in this case, nginx was originally designed as a HTTP proxy, but after talking with Igor, he was happy to work on it to add IMAP/POP support, and we were happy to pay him to support and encourage that. When it's all done and tested, it'll just be part of the standard nginx distribution. Another example, our support for features add to cyrus 2.3 http://asg.web.cmu.edu/archive/messa...yrus&msg=36365 And we've created patches for software like postfix (though this particular one hasn't been accepted) http://www.irbs.net/internet/postfix/0406/0431.html Anyway, just a digression there...

8 Sep 2005, 02:17 PM	#7
n5bb Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: May 2004 Location: Irving, Texas Posts: 8,868	I changed my Thunderbird settings to the betamail server, and everything seems to work fine with IMAP. Here are some of the tests I performed: Sending email from Thunderbird (uses SMTP through my ISP's SMTP server, so nothing new tested). Receiving email to normal Inbox. Receiving mail to folder using folder addressing (folder@myaccount.fastmail.fm). Idle command seems to work (very fast indication of new messages). Sending reply message. Marking READ or UNREAD in web interface changes appropriately in Thunderbird. Marking READ or UNREAD in Thunderbird changes appropriately in web interface. Adding new IMAP folder in Thunderbird adds folder in web interface (after normal Folders screen rebuild). Deleting IMAP folder in Thunderbird deletes folder in web interface (after normal Folders screen rebuild). Dragging messages between folders in Thunderbird also moves messages in web interface. Dragging messages in web interface moves them in Thunderbird. Purge (expunge) or compact folder works from Thunderbird or web interface.

9 Sep 2005, 12:14 AM	#14
lambert Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 9	Evolution 2.2.1.1 Betamail IMAP works fine with Evolution 2.2.1.1

8 Sep 2005, 07:28 AM	#2
Sherry Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: USA Posts: 8,687	Ok, I'm using the mailbeta with my most active FM IMAP account with OE. I, of course, got the cert warning and after saying OK on that I did a new send/receive and it doesn't ask anymore. (yes, I understand the cert err is just for the beta) ... Sherry

8 Sep 2005, 08:27 AM	#3
Sherry Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: USA Posts: 8,687	Rob, I was wrong on the cert err. After closing OE and reopening it again asks for the ok on the cert. FastCheck doesn't need an OK for the cert. It still shows when incoming mail arrives and the cert comes for OE to get it. (I'll just keep ok-ing it for the testing. Just posting so others may expect this behavior if they test.) Sherry

8 Sep 2005, 08:56 AM	#4
nbarr Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Calgary Posts: 606	I also got the certification warning on first accessing my mail with Mulberry. But I do not receive it again after closing and reopening Mulberry and further accessing mail as Sherry did with OE.

8 Sep 2005, 08:59 AM	#5
robmueller Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 6,102 Representative of: Fastmail.FM	Yes, I should have mentioned that, most clients will warn you about the cert each time you restart them. I'm just using the "mail.messagingengine.com" cert for the testing, so just OK the warning. FastCheck will still use the existing servername/web-protocol. Rob

8 Sep 2005, 09:21 AM	#6
grs100 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Atlanta Posts: 5	Got it running in thunderbird. other than the cert. error (incorrect site or something) it works fine. I'll run this for a week and see if anything happens.

8 Sep 2005, 03:58 PM	#8
davidbstanley Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 693	Works fine with the IMAP client on my SE P910i mobile phone.

8 Sep 2005, 04:00 PM	#9
Clive T Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Tunbridge Wells, UK Posts: 117	Hi Rob No problems once I realised that TLS isn't supported! Regards Clive Taylor

8 Sep 2005, 06:38 PM	#12
robmueller Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 6,102 Representative of: Fastmail.FM	STARTTLS and TLS are different. STARTTLS is a way to switch from unencrypted to encrypted communication over the standard IMAP port (143) or POP port (110). TLS/SSL uses a a completely separate port number for IMAP (993) and POP (995) and always does encrypted communication from the connection time. We support TLS/SSL, not STARTTLS. Rob

9 Sep 2005, 01:03 AM	#15
dantheman Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Hot Springs, AR Posts: 857	Works fine with Outlook 2003.