[ubuntu-za] Connectivity issue for Ubuntu 16.04 VM under Parallels on iMac

[Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC)]

Hi,

I have had a quote on this from clug-work and wonder
 if  it might also suit ubuntu-za?

I currently have a local IMAP Dovecot Maildir 'server'/mailstore with
Postfix and Fetchmail that stores over 150k of email messages for a
single user in over 200 folders. Fetchmail retrieves from a Gmail
account who in turn retrieves from my domain email address.

I have a GUI login to Linux, if needed, as well as a sudo password
which I use to keep the Ubuntu system updated ie 1. Use ssh to log
into server from Mac Terminal then run apt update && apt upgrade.

I only access the mail store using Thunderbird on the Mac. In
Thunderbird I have created filters to sort the email into the 250+
folders but some of the filters sometimes do not run. To rectify this
I thought of moving the whole store to iCloud as the iCloud Mail app
apparently does server mail filtering. I decided to get the local
connections working first and enable the existing IMAP store I have to
sync with Thunderbird, before moving forward.

My issue is that the VM refuses to connect to the same network on
which the Mac is located.

I had the VM setup to use the Wifi network adapter and the Mac to use
the Ethernet cnx. If I unplug the Ethernet cable I can browse the net
with the Mac yet the VM just wont connect to the same subnet, despite
being DHCP.

If the VM 'server' cannot connect to the local network or Internet, I
cannot send email from Thunderbird as adding the message to the Sent
mail store fails as the server mailstore is unavailable. I could set
it up to retrieve from Gmail but then that would put the VM 'server
and my local copy in Thunderbird in disarray, and I do not want emails
I send to disappear into the ether without a record of being sent.

What I seek is a remote, or possibly onsite, support session via
TeamViewer or Logmein to
get the VM connected to the net adapter based on the Mac. This will
enable me to send waiting email and update local Thunderbird offline
store.

Future enhancements include moving entirely to iCloud so that the mail
can be sorted by the server and accessed by either Thunderbird, Mac
Mail or iOS Mail.
The mailstore/server also needs updating to 18.04, without the loss
the current mailstore, with the configuration of Getmail and initial
Procmail. If I can use gvim to add recipes to the procmail file, this
would be great, as would a commented out recipe example, I wont have
to pay for iCloud Mail hosting for the 20Gb Mailstore.

The VM is on Parallels installed on the Mac using Wifi to
'communicate', Dovecot is installed on Ubuntu 16.04 VM,  Thunderbird
is installed on the Mac as it Mac Mail and that uses Ethernet on same
network. Mobile devices have WiFi cnx's and Mail installed but not
configured to reach mailstore.

Please advise rate per hour for support as I am based in Tokai, Cape
Town on a 1Gb fibre line.

All the work/enhancements do not need to happen in one session and
will be decided by your affordability/likeability and what you think
the number of hours required would need to be involved. You would
probably be my Linux go-to person and get paid a mutually agreeable
value per hour.

Regards
Hylton
If you know and are confident you can help, I can be reached on
telephone at 0871507959 OR 0829608215 from 09h00->18h00 most days to
schedule a session time.