Re: [Dovecot] need to block user by IP address (tried denyhosts, xinetd, iptables etc)

I'm not a proponent of fail2ban as I think going straight to the horse's mouth is wiser (keep it all in iptables in the first place). I agree with Stan that your VPS provider is on the wal-mart list. If no other solution avails, code up a quick little ditty that does the actual socket listen. If the incoming IP matches an allow list, hand it off to dovecot as an exec(), if not, deal with it as you see fit - normally, dropping the packet on the floor.

-david