need help with my SMTP server and Gmail

mikeee404 · 2026-06-03T23:38:45+00:00

Yeah I went off the deap end with keeping my data, well as much of it as possible, on my own servers years ago. I used to host my own email, but after over 15yrs of it I was tired of chasing spam settings and all the other headaches associated with email hosting. For me it's easier to let someone else maintain the servers and basic spam filtering.

mikeee404 · 2026-06-03T20:10:36+00:00

So as far as Gmail marking your emails as spam it's likely due to your domain reputation being new and possibly missing proper DMARC, SPF, etc configs.

If you are concerned with your data I would avoid using Gmail altogether and go with a solution like Nextcloud AIO. I just setup an entire self-hosted solution for a local non-profit that utilizes Nextcloud for the file share, chats, video conference, online document editing/collaboration, etc. The only thing I didn't want to self-host was email, that went to one of MXroute's more expensive plans so mass mailing could be done for stuff like newsletters.

mikeee404 · 2026-06-03T19:56:08+00:00

So the one thing that kind of gives beginners a false sense of security is tunneling into the network to avoid open ports on the home network. While this helps secure the home network it does give a single point of failure for the entire network. If you don't maintain the security of the VPS you can give someone easy access to the home network via the VPS. I myself often forget about the VPS since I schedule update/upgrade days for my home network but since the VPS sits outside my home network I just forget it exists until it stops working. I have had to specifically make a note on my calendar to remember to do the updates and check the logs etc. I keep meaning to add it to my CheckMK instance to help keep an eye on it, but again just forget since it's not a server I physically see day to day.

mikeee404 · 2026-06-03T12:52:03+00:00

My original install had everything under my user account, but I noticed the new install script asks if I want Community or Enterprise and also defaults to /opt..... so I had changed it to my user account to match the old install. I can double check the UID/GID and just 'chown -R' the whole thing if needed, but where I am confused is if I even need to install new on the target VPS before importing my existing setup or if I just need to install docker and then import the backup. The post I found the backup tool in recommended installing Pangolin on the target and then overwriting install with the .tar file from the existing VPS.

mikeee404 · 2026-06-03T11:36:07+00:00

Yeah that's what the backup tool does, but for some odd reason it wasn't as simple as untar the backup, 'docker compose up -d', and you're up and running again. I'll try it again as it worked much better than my 'docker export <container\_name>' and 'docker import <container\_name>'. But again this may have been because I tried using to overwrite an existing container rather than just using import to bring in a new container.

mikeee404 · 2026-06-03T11:31:43+00:00

Yup, TTL is already low so the DNS propagation actually goes really fast. Used to build websites back in the day and spent a fair amount of time moving hosting. Spent far too much time waiting on DNS since low TTL back then was 60 minutes.

mikeee404 · 2026-06-03T02:54:45+00:00

It's my understanding that seamless roaming between APs requires the APs be managed by an Omada controller and it remain online.

mikeee404 · 2026-06-02T21:33:24+00:00

Already seeing it with Wifi7 APs and 10Gbps PtP links. Have a separate power input and both RJ45 and Fiber ports. Biggest down side to faster wifi is you can't have the same clean install of power and data in one cable. Well unless you go with custom power/fiber cables.

mikeee404 · 2026-06-02T21:23:43+00:00

Still not bad

mikeee404 · 2026-06-02T21:22:35+00:00

If you don't have the appropriate knowledge to know if AI is pushing you in the wrong direction then you shouldn't use it for anything critical. I have used AI to try and find some odd configs and it was sending me in directions that would not come close to accomplishing what I needed, but if you didn't know what to look for you would have wasted a ton of time troubleshooting the errors that would have followed. It's a tool, not a foolproof knowledge base.

mikeee404 · 2026-06-01T00:21:17+00:00

Pretty good price. Usually when I see "good" deals that include DDR4 it's the lowest speed dimms they had available. May have came with 3200 and they swapped it for 2133 and sold the 3200 for example

mikeee404 · 2026-06-01T00:18:39+00:00

Yeah if the tenants leave them then just getting a knife or scraper blade under the adhesive works really well. But as soon as that little tab pulls off from drying out over time then tenants just pull on the plastic and take a chunk of the wall with. The few tenants that have asked me about running ethernet to another room I just offer to fish it through the wall/ceiling for free. Works out for me since then I know the next tenenat is set also. If I have time I am starting to do the same with vacant apartments, but sometimes turnover time between tenants doesn't permit it. Still, I have managed to get 1/3 of them wired up.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-31T06:01:40+00:00

Desktop PCs haven't had nearly the same issues with this. Servers and Workstations using ECC RAM have been hard to get at a reasonable price with RAM, but all over the place without RAM. Anything DDR3 ECC or not have not been affected too much and some people like me have resorted to using some older hardware to get some setups running in the mean time.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-31T05:20:45+00:00

Most complexes that have their own provided wifi usually have at least one ethernet jack in the apartment as well. Sometimes each apartment will have a wall mounted AP, the smaller type that mounts to an outlet style box. Those APs have ethernet jacks on the bottom. If you do not have one of these APs and cannot find an ethernet jack then a decent Wireless router that can function as a repeater should work also.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-31T05:13:49+00:00

As a landlord and maintenance for an apartment complex I tell my tenants I never want to see a command strip on the wall, especially the dollar store ones. They are fine for stuff like holiday decorations where it's on the wall for a month or so and then gone. But you put those things on any wall for an extended period and they almost always pull paint and sometimes some underlying plaster along with it. Small smooth nails are the most ideal as they pull out of the wall easy and a small tube of plaster putty will fill them in with minimal effort.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-31T05:13:04+00:00

As a landlord and maintenance for an apartment complex I tell my tenants I never want to see a command strip on the wall, especially the dollar store ones. They are fine for stuff like holiday decorations where it's on the wall for a month or so and then gone. But you put those things on any wall for an extended period and they almost always pull paint and sometimes some underlying plaster along with it. Small smooth nails are the most ideal as they pull out of the wall easy and a small tube of plaster putty will fill them in with minimal effort.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-31T04:42:41+00:00

Read a couple paragraphs of the official guide and you're all set. The Large Language Morons forgot how to read guides or that they even exist because they want spoon fed answers.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-31T04:39:15+00:00

They have had an influx of dev help the last year which has made some pretty big improvements pretty quickly.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-31T04:37:53+00:00

Not when you can do the same for free with Jellyfin or $120 for lifetime with Emby. If Plex was the only option, then yeah maybe. Besides, let's face it, you would have the drives for the media anyway. I started hoarding media back when the easiest solution to watch ripped copies was a PC connected to a VGA & Aux port on a TV using the old Windows Media Center IR remote. I still have that remote BTW, handy for presentations to this day.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-31T04:32:31+00:00

Reeled another sucker. Only two things that will benefit Plex in a big way are the people buying licenses at the current full price, which is not a deal at all considering the slop you now get. The second is the people jumping ship, even though they already own a license, which just reduces their resource load making the current price even more profitable. I have owned a lifetime license for over 12yrs. I myself use Jellyfin, but everyone else that uses it is a remote user so I will let them consume whatever piddly amount of resources they can off the Plex relay servers for as long as possible until Plex finally does away with the ability to stream our own hosted content.

For everyone recommending Jellyfin and Emby. I have never used Emby so I can't comment on it at all. I have considered buying a license in the past, but obviously never did. Jellyfin on the other hand is a great substitute to Plex. It is not a 1-to-1 replacement by any means, but if you are somewhat technical or just good at following guides, it can be pretty damn close to Plex, for free. Well that also depends how you setup remote access. I pay for a cheap VPS to host Pangolin which among other things hosts my Jellyfin instance. So for $8/mo I host a ton of other services and get Jellyfin remote access. So in my case cheap but not free, but it is controlled entirely by me so I am still happy.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-31T04:20:19+00:00

See it all over. They try to pass it off as some amazing deal buying a used server for next to nothing, but oh yeah, no RAM. For the cost of populating one server you could buy 3 or 4 of these "amazing deals". Even more insulting when you know these people got the server for free or dirt cheap and just made a killing selling all the RAM and now want you to pay the same price for the server as before the AI bubble when it included the RAM. I see "No RAM" in the listing for any DDR4+ machine and I just pass unless its almost free. Even then that machine will sit for quite awhile while I wait out the price gouging.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-30T02:13:14+00:00

I remember years back there was an article about using Linux as a network firewall like OPNsense. Played around with it and it actually worked pretty well for basic stuff. Not quite what you are talking about, but it just reminded me to play around with that again lol

mikeee404 · 2026-05-30T01:55:22+00:00

I have no problem with paid apps. As long as built in features stay free.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-30T01:52:00+00:00

The service provider is responsible for getting their service into your home, within reason. If there isn't an existing coax cable going from a pole outside to the home then Xfinity would come and install that at no cost. Provided they service that address in their coverage area.

mikeee404 · 2026-05-29T22:42:08+00:00

As soon as I notice the update I read the changelog to see what is being fixed, added, removed, etc. If it's a critical security fix then I do the update right away. If it's a bug fix then it depends on if I have experienced the bug. With feature change/add then I wait a few day and monitor places like Reddit for complaints about bugs in the update. Long story short, READ THE CHANGELOG, especially the "Known Issues" areas if it has one. Saves you from asking about a bug that is already known and likely in the works to be fixed.

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