1.0.0 Released: Recommended fixes for mailserver IP blocks

Sam Tuke Nov 25 2020 Share

Note: a follow-on release, 1.0.1, includes SSL certificates from Alpine in the Docker image. Please use that instead of 1.0.0.

Lightmeter Control Center 1.0.0 combines recommended fixes for mailserver IP blocks with many usability improvements. This 10th major release unites many features into an all-in-one monitoring system for Postfix mailservers – read the release announcement for details. Check the Roadmap to see what features are coming next.

47 Merge requests and 155 commits went into this release.

Note that Lightmeter is still in early development and intended for small scale deployments. Known issues are documented in README.md. Share your feedback using the dedicated button on every page of the application – we’re listening!

Advice on getting IPs unblocked

Millions of servers make up the global decentralised email network, most of them use specific criteria to block in-bound mail, and most of those have a unique and custom process for requesting blocks me removed. Lightmeter already detects IP blocking behaviour from the largest hosts like Google and Microsoft, and now it provides advice for getting unblocked too.

Insights which support this feature now include an additional ‘Info’ button which links to relevant advice and instructions in the new Lightmeter Knowledgebase. So far RBL check and Host blocklisting Insights are implemented, with fixes for mailserver IP blocks being offered depending upon the block detected.

Respond to IP block reports faster

New designs for both RBL check and Host blocklisting Insight details have been applied — click “view details” on any such Insight to see the difference. Cleaner grouping of lists and response messages, and automatic linking of included URLs, make starting the unblocking procedure more convenient for those RBLs which include them in their responses.

Changes

Features

• Introduction of recommendations for problems identified by Insights
• Two insights currently supported: RBL check, and Host blocklisting
• Links to articles in the new Lightmeter Knowledgebase
• Automatically refresh insights and graphs every 30 seconds
• Print the URL of the web interface in terminal output for convenient access

Fixes and tweaks

• New design for host response in case of email blocklist detection
• New design for list details and messages in case of RBL detection
• Local mailserver IP address is now requested as an option during first-run to make it easier to find
• Automatically convert URLs to clickable links in RBL details for more convenient following of unblock links
• Show correct version information on the settings page
• Fix application disruption when invalid logs entered via CLI input
• Disable some chart interactivity to prevent misleading displays
• Internationalization (translation) string handling:
  • New gettext engine adopted
  • Settings page gains newly translatable strings
• Refactoring of CLI logging and local mailserver IP setting storage
• Postfix parser package merged into ControlCenter (the parser is no longer a separate package)

The full list of merge requests and commits is on GitLab.

Contributors

Committers to this release: Leandro Santiago, Marcel Franke, Suela Palushi, and Sam Tuke.

Download

• Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/lightmeter/controlcenter/tags
• Binaries & source code: https://gitlab.com/lightmeter/controlcenter/-/releases

Missing your favourite packaging system? Tell us in the comments.

Supported by

This release was funded through the NGI0 PET Fund, a fund established by NLnet with financial support from the European Commission’s Next Generation Internet programme, under the aegis of DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology under grant agreement No 825310.