Postfix SMTP relayhost configuration

Recently I was working on setting up SMTP Authentication to send mails through there ISP's mail server.

I first tried with perl MIME::Lite program which i found very hard to work with SMTP Authentication. So I decided to configure Postfix to relay mails to ISP mail server ( with SMTP Authentiction).

Postfix main configuration file: /etc/postfix/main.cf

myhostname = localhost
alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases
alias_database = hash:/etc/aliases
mydestination = localhost, localhost.localdomain, localhost
relayhost = smtp.isp.com
mynetworks = 127.0.0.0/8
mailbox_size_limit = 0
recipient_delimiter = +
inet_interfaces = loopback-only
smtp_use_tls = yes
smtp_sasl_auth_enable = yes
smtp_sasl_password_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/smtp_auth ## **
smtp_sasl_security_options = noanonymous

To check postfix config.

#postfix check
#postconf


** smtp_auth is the file we store Authentication information
smtp.isp.com sheeju@isp.com:mypassword

smtp_auth is in this format
***:password

*** - Depending on your provider this can be username or useremail.

Next create hash DB of smtp_auth.
#postmap hash:/etc/postfix/smtp_auth

otherwise you get the error..

postfix/smtp[nnnnn]: fatal: open database /etc/postfix/smtp_auth.db: No such file or directory

Restart Postfix

# /etc/init.d/postfix restart

Testing Postfix:

echo testing | mail -s Bla sheejuec7@gmail.com

This is used to send test mail to sheejuec7@gmail.com. Next to check whether the mail relayed through ISP use

mailq
tail /var/log/mail.log

Asterisk Installation

Here is Good Resources to start installing Asterisk,


http://www.automated.it/guidetoasterisk.htm
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk+installation+tips

Video tutorial for understanding Asterisk better..

http://revision3.com/systm/asterisk

Asterisk PBX created by Mark Spensor of Digium Inc..
http://digium.com
http://asterisk.org

How Teleconferencing works?

Who has not heard of teleconferencing, today's fast-rising manner of exchanging data between people found in different geographical locations as well as time zones This is more famous among agencies and firms, big and small, to make possible quick and effective swapping of concepts. This is a lot more convenient than having to set up conferences, or even trainings, at a certain place with many participants who may or may not be attend at that scheduled time and location.

Conference calling can range from a simple three-way call to a comprehensive conference call as well as virtual meeting with up to numerous attendees all in one setting, communicating and interacting with each another through a system. A lot may find this somewhat complicated or believe this could be more than their budget. Yet at close observation, you would discover providers that give affordable teleconferencing services. You may use the internet to look for and identify various conference call costs for better comparison and you might be surprised to learn that some even give free teleconferencing options.



So how does teleconferencing work This is simply the process of connecting individuals or groups of persons by using a server called a bridge that serves as a phone that may answer numerous calls at the same time. The teleconferencing service that would host the meeting would give the bridge if you do not presently possess one. When you have a VoIP software, you may host your own conference call using VoIP network. If you want more interactive communication, you may maximize the utilization of internet technology by utilizing audio as well as video streaming with the use of webcams then headphones, instant messaging for quick interchange of text data, using a common whiteboard as you would in a regular face-to-face conference, and other relevant programs.

Asterisk: Give a Try

Asterisk is an open-source project sponsored by Digium. The primary maintainer is Mark Spencer, but numerous patches have been contributed from the community. As of this writing, it runs only on Linux for Intel, although there was some success in the past with Linux PPC, and an effort is underway to port Asterisk to *BSD. Digium also sells various hardware components that operate with Asterisk (see Resources). These components are PCI cards that connect standard analog phone lines to your computer. Asterisk has its own VoIP protocol, called IAX, but it also supports SIP and H.323. This leads us to one of Asterisk's most powerful features: its ability to connect different technologies within the same feature-rich environment. For example, you could have IAX, SIP, H.323 and a regular telephone line connecting through Asterisk


Asterisk provides Voicemail services with Directory, Call Conferencing, Interactive Voice Response, Call Queuing. It has support for three-way calling, caller ID services, ADSI, IAX, SIP, H.323 (as both client and gateway), MGCP (call manager only) and SCCP/Skinny. Check the Features section for a more complete list.

Resource:
www.asterisk.org
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/index.php?page=Asterisk

Jaxtr Free calls to India

jaxtr link you phone is a unique VoIP service which works with all landlines and mobile in the world. In its beta version, it is offering 100 jaxtr mins per month (equivalent to 14-16 min of per month free calls to India)

The method to do it is little bit complicated, but I hope this blog will simplify it and help you to make free calls...

1. Resister yourself at jaxtr (click here)
2. choose a proper screen name (login name), that name will be used to call you.
3. Skip next two pages (see at the bottom of that page)
Now, You will see your home page, Now you can add up to three numbers, but add only one number, the number you wish to call in India

4. On the top of the page, you will see the option to "Add your phone"Click to add your phone
5. Now Select country as India and then add Indian number that you want to call
6. Then click on the "Click me to verify"

After you click, the number you have written will ring and also You will see a two digit code on the screen that one has to enter to verify the phone Try your self 2-3 times without entering the code (because you are not at the phone) and check your home page if the phone is listed at the send calls to or not. if you are lucky enough, your phone will be verified automatically, if not (This is the problem, you have to think, how you can verify your Indian phone for eg, you can take help of online chat or you can tell your family of friend in India to do this process)

After number verification, you also have to verify you e-mail, check your mail.

Once everything is done successfully, you will see a link as "your phone link" http://www.jaxtr.com/alex

After Clicking on the link, you will see jaxtr widget
1. Now click on the call me free
2. Dial your country code and number from where you are calling
3. After you dial, you call will be connected to the Indian number and you can talk for the 14-16 minutes for free.
4. Once you disconnect the phone, jaxtr will give you a local number that you have to Dial when you wan to call India again. This time you have to pay for the local phone charges and ISD part would be taken care by the Jaxtr, but if you working in the office or university, the local part is also free. so call is free to India

Jaxtr gives 100 jaxtr free mins per month, and the call to India is 6-7 jaxtr min per month, once you finish your jaxtr mins, you have to wait for the next month, but generally everybody has 2-3 phones/cellphones , you can add all with different ID and enjoy more free mins.

Jaxtr service works from India also and the local access number is from Mumbai but I am not sure about its efficiency. I tried to be called from India but it was not success full, in this case one can get 100 mins of talking if one is using landlines in US and EU.

Please live your comment if you have any query, I would be happy to answer you.