James,

A few thoughts about the three items you posted yesterday:

1.  First sounds like a DHCP choice.  We're using NetworkMaine to do DHCP.  One advantage of that is that when it does DHCP, it looks at the MAC address, and if the MAC address is in the address table, it gives it the matching IP address.  I'm not sure if the JoeBox is the tool for the job there.

2.  I know that smarthost.msln.net has a list of devices that are allowed to send mail within each network.  The behavior you are describing sounds as though it is working as designed.  If you change the setting in the Options to Disable outgoing SMTP connections, the IP addresses for outgoing mail MUST be in that list.

3.  Is this client based mail or web based mail?  I'd try that out.  Sounds like a software issue to me instead of a firewall issue.

Hope that's helpful,


Vincent Vanier, Technology Coordinator
Madawaska School Department
[log in to unmask]
(207)728-3371x408



On Mon, Sep 12, 2011 at 11:20 AM, James Jalbert <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

I am wondering if anyone has seen or has any information on any of the following issues my district has seen now that we are using the Joebox as our router/firewall/filter.


1. The old firewall that we were using, I was able to go into the firewall settings, and block a single IP address completely. We have had issues with students hard coding IPs into their personal devices, and using them on our network. I have in the past been able to trace the IP address to an unknown device(one that is NOT ours), then go to my old firewall(PFSense) and set a rule to block all traffic to or from this IP address. I have tried this with the Joebox but have been unsuccessful at doing so. I even tried it with the IP address that my machine uses, and I was still able to get out to the net.


2. I know that the Joebox has an exception area for mail servers. This just started to happen about 2 weeks ago. Our mail server has been in this exception list forever, and has worked fine. Just a couple weeks ago, I noticed that machines sending mail out THROUGH our mail server stopped sending mail. Also the 3 or 4 ipods that we use in the Tech Department, could receive mail, but could not send mail. Once all these IPs were added to the mail exception area, they started working again. What changed? I have only had to have our mail server in the list from July till now, and everything worked great. Now I have to add any IP that passes mail through our mail server to this list also?


3. And last, we have now had a few reports of staff members trying to get to web-mail from home and not being able to. We are using Novell Groupwise 8 for a mail server. The complaint we are hearing is that when staff go to the web mail site, they get the login page. Once they login all they get is a blank white page. The issue right now seems to be with Windows 7, but I have not fully verified this by testing my self yet.


Any thoughts, insight, or information on any of these question will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance.


James Jalbert
Network Administrator
Eastern Aroostook RSU #39
Phone: 207-493-4246
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]