Topic: static IP and email

[Anonymous]

I have been using a static IP supplied by my ISP with e-smith 5.6 for nearly a year now without any major problems, which is great.  However in the last few months some of the emails have been rejected by various other servers.   It has been suggested that I route my email through my ISP, but that seems to defeat the object for me.  I really want to understand and sort these problems out myself.  So can anyone help shed some light what’s wrong, I have been searching other newsgroups without much luck,  I am certainly not that technical, that’s why I choose the e-smith.  I have a domain name registered and pointing to my static IP which works fine for hosting our website, and most emails are fine, but when it comes to setting up other stuff if MX records  and reserve DNS lookups etc I am a bit lost.

Could anyone help or point me towards some other resources.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

You need to "legalise" your sme server for mail. Assuming that your domain name is mydomain.com ask your ISP to register mail.mydomain.com and associate this name with your static IP address. To check if this is in place, use from the command line: dig -x myipaddress, you should have as an answer mail.mydomain.com  Now you exist as a mail server and you will be able to send mail direct without any problems . You will still need to use your ISP to receive mail unless you arrange for delegation of your mx records - do: dig mydomain.com mx to check your status.

[psc]

Hi,

first of all .... read the mails carefully ..
normaly the reason for rejecting is inside of the message.

You don´t need an "official" mail-server for outgoing mail.

Last but not least ... the Virus MyDoom send out virus mails with the subject:
     Mail Delivery System
or   Mail Transaction Failed.

Peter

[doc]

I use the free zoneedit nameservers, and my mailserver (mail.mydomain.com), webserver (www.mydomain.com) and ftp serverver (ftp.mydomain.com) are all registered on my free zoneedit account at:  http://www.zoneedit.com

Now, you can use your e-smith mailserver to directly receive all email addressed to user@mydomain.com .  You can also use your e-smith mailserver to send all mail directly to their destination email adresses ... However, with so much spammed, spoofed, virus-infected email flying around, receiving mail servers now often use software programs which try to cull out the rubbish - and email which you send directly from your mail server addressed with your little-known sender domain name may well be culled by the receiving mail server thinking that this is spam with a spoofed sender address.  This problem is reduced by sending your email from your e-smith mailserver to your ISP's mailserver.  This should only delay the transmission of your email a few minutes, but it will be more likely to get through to its destination.

At least, that's what I been told.

-- doc

[chris burnat]

This is also my experience.  Without DNS pointing to your mail server (i.e. mail.mydomain), the box will send mail alright - whether it is accepted by some ISPs is another matter... When querying the subject with one particular provider, It was confirmed that they would bounce all incoming mail issued from a box operating on IP address alone as protection against spams, spoofing et al.  Signs of the times...Get DNS and all will be fine.  

As regards receiving mail direct, you absolutely have to arrange for delegation of your MX records, or it will not work.  Arrange for some back-up also if your box goes off line for a reason or another.  The alternative is to pop3 from your ISP, AND send mail direct under your own DNS.  A reasonable compromise.