SMTP connect to localhost failed...

Arrrggghhhh!!! OK, I'll admit, I'm not a real savvy mail administrator (but this is how you learn, right?!?! ;-) ) Anyway, I'm running a Debian server with Exim as my server, I've set it up just using the standard configurator that runs during installation, hoping that would be enough but something has gone wrong or I don't know what I'm doing (probably the latter of the two!)

I installed "qpopper" on the server and then, from a different Debian workstation, have, unsuccessfully, tried to pull mail off of it, with no luck. I'm using fetchmail to do this and, even after I configure the ".fetchmailrc" file in my home directory, get this error when I run: fetchmail -v

SMTP: connect to localhost failed (I'm not sure why it calls the server I'm trying to pull mail off of "localhost", that's somewhat perplexing.)

SMTP transaction error while fetching mail from xxx.xxx.xxx

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be causing this or how to resolve it?

Thanks,

Jon

If fetchmail is trying to connect to localhost, then you've misconfigured it. You want it to try and connect to port 110 (for POP3) of the machine that you installed exim on. Try this:

where 123.123.123.123 is the IP of the exim box. If you get a +OK message back, you're in business. If not, then your POP3 server isn't running or is misconfigured.

Generally the "standard configurators" won't set you up with mailboxes etc. If you want to do this, then you'll have to delve further into the documentation for your mail server. If you want a simple, secure, modular mail server that works very well, then qmail is the way to go.

I decided not to use fetchmail because of the greif it was causing me (however, oddly enough, when I used the "fetchmailconf" program it gave me a working config but then I wasn't sure where it was on the local workstation trying to deliver mail to so I went with a POP configuration using Evolution instead and now, the server accepts and receives mail just fine now I can't seem to use to send mail and I haven't the slightest clue as to why.

The error I get now is: refused relay (host) to <jtelep@hotmail.com> from <jtelep@telepkids.com>

I'm using Exim 3.35-1woody2 because, for whatever reason, Debian didn't release Exim V4 yet or I can't get it for my server. I know it's probably some dumb config error but I have no idea where in the exim.conf file to look and what I'm supposed to put in so if you have any ideas, I would greatly appreciate them.

Thanks,

Jon