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Topic: Stealth USB mail server, Stealth USB mail server

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yttrium

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Posts: 3
Joined: Jan. 2005

Posted: Jan. 12 2005,18:34

Hi all,

I haven't a clue how to do this, but this seems the most likely place to ask for help.

My supervisor (a passionate apple user--I've been working on him) and I (a PC Linux supporter) have an IT department that is completely married to MS products. They kindly forwarded a full MS-Outlook configuration file containing all of the company's contact information. Since neither he nor I use MS-outlook, this file was less than useless. It also needs to be configured on each client.

So that got me thinking: I'd like to have just a remotely-configurable and updatable email reflector/server in which we can add and subtract contact information. I.e., so that we can enter in new employees, and put them in groups so that someone can email 'marketing@company.com' and not have everyone in 'engineering@company.com' get stuff intended to go only to marketing.

We only have about 250 employees, so once it's set up, it should be relatively easy to maintain.

Here's the challenge: I'd like to put the OS on a flash drive (USB), connect it to a standard ethernet port, and hide it somewhere in the building (hence the need to remotely activate and configure it. We'd assign it an IP address (192.168.X.X) far enough out to not cause any problems.

And we don't want to let the IT department know where it is, or even that it exists. We figure that we'd let them figure it out.

We're all on one side of a firewall and router, so I don't think that security concerns are much of an issue, and as we only want to use it as an email reflector back to the mail.company.com main email server, there really isn't the need for a lot of storage.

So the scope of the project requires the following parameters:

1. OS required (disk space)

2. List of services required (mail service, etc.)

3. Hardware: 128 Mb USB Flash drive

4. Some type of connector/interface between the USB and the internet network. Is there a dongle/commercial type of product that will work?

5. Can we have it self-powered off of the etherenet cabling itself?

Any ideas on any pieces (software or hardware) required to set this up are welcome. Please post back here.

green

Group: Members
Posts: 453
Joined: Oct. 2004

Posted: Jan. 13 2005,01:12

[/QUOTE]Here's the challenge: I'd like to put the OS on a flash drive (USB), connect it to a standard ethernet port, and hide it somewhere in the building (hence the need to remotely activate and configure it. We'd assign it an IP address (192.168.X.X) far enough out to not cause any problems.[/QUOTE]

Are you saying that you want to plug a USB pendrive into an ethernet port at a desk or someplace, then 'make it run' ? You need a PC to plug the USB pendrive into. There's no way around that. The USB will not 'run' an OS, it will only store an OS, like a hard drive stores things. The PC acutally does the work.

[/QUOTE]And we don't want to let the IT department know where it is, or even that it exists. We figure that we'd let them figure it out.[/QUOTE]

There is a reason your IT department does the things they do. Whether or not you agree or understand it, is irrelevant. Besides, they would probably figure it out and then confinscate the hardware and could possibly accuse you and your co-conspirators of a security breach because you have PRIVATE company info stored on removable media, which could be easily removed from the premesis and sold to the highest bidder. Finding things on the network is fairly easy. The size of the object is of no consequence. My IT department would have HR inform you that your services are no longer needed. Also, I might even meet you outside in the parking lot inquiring why you had info about me in your possession and question you about any other possible data you might have gotten your paws on.

[/QUOTE]4. Some type of connector/interface between the USB and the internet network. Is there a dongle/commercial type of product that will work?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it's called a computer.

[/QUOTE]5. Can we have it self-powered off of the etherenet cabling itself?[/QUOTE]

No. Refer to number 4.

Now, my 2 cents.
It is the type of thing you suggest that frustrates IT staff to no end. I am not trying to dog on you, but you obviously do not understand the basics of networking (for starters) or hosting email services in a coroporate environment, or hardware platforms. You have a neat idea, but not in a company/corporate setting. I suggest you do some studying, or stay out of the IT business.

yttrium

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Joined: Jan. 2005

Posted: Jan. 13 2005,15:30

I thought it would have been obvious from my post that our IT department does not seem to be able to provide multi-platform management now.

We had slow DNS service on the half of the virtual private network that the engineers were on last week. Internet pages were taking *minutes* to access (each page). The frustration level was palpable.

The IT staff didn't have a clue that their network was not servicing the user base until I went to them and demonstrated it. Turns out that they were all configured on the *other* VPN.

The idea was to set up an email reflector and manage the mailing lists. That provides a single-point in the email process chain. That impacts the security model less than the various viruses that come around, infect machines and then start blasting emails out.

And we'd demonstrate a creative way to manage a mailing list with few resources required.

As for hardware, how about something like this commercial product:?

http://www.usbfirewire.com/Parts/rr-usb-ethernet-2996.html

SaidinUnleashed Offline

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Joined: Mar. 2004

Posted: Jan. 13 2005,16:06

That is only a network adapter. Just like any pci or pcmcia card.

It still requires a computer.

Also, let me echo Green's statement.

This is REALLY not a good idea. Your company/employer has its network set up a certain way for a reason.

If it's slow, they are probably having technical problems. Give them time to fix it.

Is this really worth your job?

I worked, for a while, for a company that did network management by contract. One of the terms of the contract is this.

<snip>Under no circumstances may an employee of <contract holder> (its a form) place a node (earlier defined as a computer, printer, or anything else that can make use of a network connection) on the network managed by <our company, edited to prevent spam> without the explicit permission of <our company name again> and <contract holder>. Any violation of this is grounds for termination of this contract, as defined in section A.5 (i think) of this document (which basicly says that we pack up and leave, and the contract holder has to pay the total amount of the contract within 180 days).

Every time someone has EVER put something on our network without telling us, they have been terminater (fired) within 30 minutes. Even a lousy sysadmin will know that there is a new node on the net within a few minutes. This is not actually part of our contract, but is in many. And it's expected with us, since most companies don't keep the capital on hand to pay off a 2 year, <insert ungodly amount of $$$ here> in 180 days. (I don't know the amount of the contracts, usually. The other guys handle that. And even half a million dollars spllit between 10 or 20 guys, after a hundred thousand dollars or so of expences isn't really that much.)

And this is NOT an unusual part of a contract. Every company in this business that I know of has something similar.

So I ask again. Is it worth your job?

Think BEFORE you act.

-J.P.

--------------
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Unleash the power of the TILDE~~~

yttrium

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Posts: 3
Joined: Jan. 2005

Posted: Jan. 13 2005,17:48

I think that people are missing the philosophical argument:

The user base should not accept poor service and design from software, hardware and configuration.

Isn't that one of the reasons why Linux is so popular and diverse? (Someone doesn't like how things are working/behaving so they rewrite the code to add the capability or imrovement).

BTW, I have suggested (tactfully) to our IT staff that maybe it would be a good idea to set up company-wide centrally managed email lists. It's been a looong while since then.

As with most places (I suspect), the user base just gives up complaining. This reduces the efficiency of the organization overall.

I'll have to think a little more on the hardware. Will require processor, of course, but still intriguing. Might generally be easier using wireless.

12 replies since Jan. 12 2005,18:34

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