> > > yes I have a zoom router which is 10.0.0.1 in this system. it is > > connected via PPPoE to my ISP. The details of that connection are in the > > above. The primary dns server is right on this machine or on 10.0.0.12 > > when it's running. it's a split dns system whereas I have an outside > > zone that is the only thing public to the world and I have my private > > "inside" zone that handles my lan. Split DNS is not, how to say, "off > > the wall" but fully documented in the bind manual. the config word is > > "view" that does the splitting... so much for dns. Both this server and > > the problem server 10.0.0.12 call out 10.0.0.1 as the gateway. > > Just as a side note: yes, I know what bind views are. > So you have a router. I don't know how you expect it to work. But it > must contain a forwarding rule that says that traffic coming in to port > 25 has to go elsewhere, i.e. IP 10.0.0.10 or 10.0.0.12. I said that > already early in conversation: you will have to correct that setting > each time you switch the 2 hosts. That has nothing to do with any DNS > setup. It happens on a lower layer. Or how do you think the packages > will find their way to the LAN hosts with private block IPs? Too you > must run NAT, what Bob already asked for. > > Alexander No Alexander, I would not call that a side note but rather the whole root of the problem. I am writing this msg in the machine that was such a problem; 10.0.0.12. you 2 guys got me thinking bout it and I went into the router config and it hit me between the eyes! It's not really NAT but rather this zoom 5X router calls Virtual Server. ok here's what it looked like: ID Public Port Private Port TCP/UDP Private Address 1 53 53 TCP 10.0.0.10 2 80 80 TCP 10.0.0.10 3 25 25 TCP 10.0.0.10 4 21 21 TCP 10.0.0.10 5 20 20 TCP 10.0.0.10 6 53 53 UDP 10.0.0.10 That is what was in there originally. I added those same ports pointing to 10.0.0.12. This is all just temporary. ...just to see the server work and receive mail etc. I had explained this in another msg I wrote early on. ok...mail does work in this machine now thx to u2 guys alerting me to this. one thing that bothers me thru all that. My Dns worked...it received communication from the slave server etc...showed in the log like all was normal... I can't figure why that was so. oh well... In my previous msg I explained what I have/want to do. you will see it and I hope you do comment on that as well. I appreciate you man! John Rose -- rado <rado@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>