IMAP Login fails

[Rick Stevens]

Karl Pearson wrote:
> I have a couple webmail applications: Squirrelmail and Hastymail (for 
> WAP browsers, but it has a few bugs, but it's good to have it to test with)
> 
> Since provisioning a new server, they won't authenticate. They did at 
> first, but in fixing things, apparently I broke something. Since I did 
> so much during the first hours bringing the server up, I have no idea 
> what could have changed things to the point they are now.

Which "new server" did you provision...a new web server running the
Squirrelmail and/or Hastymail or a new IMAP server that the web server
is trying to authenticate against?

> In either one, I enter my user name and password, and they respond, SQM: 
> You must be logged in to access this page, and HM: Login failed.

Did you verify the firewalls permit IMAP service (TCP/UDP port 143) or
IMAPS (TCP/UDP port 993) if you're using IMAPS?  Did you verify the web
server can actually ping the IMAP server (you don't have a bogus route
in there somewhere, do you)?

Can you get on the web server via a terminal and use telnet to log into
the IMAP service?  If you don't know how to do that:

1. On the web server, enter "telnet name-of-IMAP-machine 143"
2. Eventually the IMAP server will respond "OK"
3. Enter "1 login yourusername yourpassword"
4. The IMAP server should respond "1 OK User logged in"
5. Enter "2 logout"
6. IMAP server should respond "2 OK User logged out" and the connection 
should break.

If you don't get a response at item 2 above, then either the IMAP server
isn't running an IMAP service or your firewall is blocking port 143. 
You can see if IMAP is live by getting on the IMAP server and doing
the same 6 things, but using "telnet localhost 143" at step 1.  If that
works, then you've either got a firewall or routing issue.

> I'm suspecting Dovecot or Apache, but can't see anything that might be 
> causing it. I compare this setup to my previous (old HD mounted in an 
> external USB housing)

Well, let's try the things I listed above first and see where that gets us.
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- Rick Stevens, Systems Engineer                       rps2 at nerd.com -
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