Oh, central IT...

[goose-entity.livejournal.com]

We are a federated IT support dept in our humongo academic institution. We have a nice little server running CentOS and a free trouble ticket system which includes email logging functionality.

When the mail servers got switched around, email logging stopped working due to requirements for encrypted POP.

Our free trouble ticket system is a bunch of CGI scripts - they aren't designed for POPS, so I had to ask for an exception for our server (which sits happily on a static IP address).

So, central IT moved the email account from server $FOO to server $BAR. Super.

... email logging still not working. Drat.

I took my eye off this due to being busy with other stuff, and had another look at this earlier today. Went back to central IT to find out why our server was still not able to log tickets submitted by email.

1. They had moved account onto different server. They didn't mention the server *name*. Or that the server had to be mentioned by *name* in the CGI script, rather than naming the server farm name. (OK, my bad - should maybe have thought about this.)

2. They never poked a hole in the firewall to allow our server to talk to their server.

.....


*sigh*


Still... at least it's working now. That's something....?

Comments

[trixtah.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, you're still using POP?

Also, if you're using CentOS, why not run up Postfix on your box and send your tickets directly to that? Postfix can relay the mail to the (presumably) central mail server your regular accounts are on, given the appropriate alias mappings (assuming the big cheeses will allow port 25 connections from your server). Mind you, SMTP AUTH should get around any wibbles they have.

[goose-entity.livejournal.com]

sadly Central IT have decreed NO MAIL RELAYS and we no longer have our own email server. I don't have the spare time at present to look into postfix, and my line management are only just getting used to the whole "using an OS which is not *gasp* Microsoft" - taking baby steps just now :)

In time I will get the time and the training to do this - which is my longer term goal - but in the mean time I would rather get the server off the antiquated HP and onto a nice shiny Dell pizza box!