Topic: direct specific users mail to different server

[timlza]

Hi All

i have a scenario of multiple branches spread throughout the country. Some of these branches will have their own servers (Exchange).

At head office will be an SME server that will receive all the mail for the domain.

many users will simply connect via POP to pull down their mail from this server.

For the other users who require Exchange, i would like to push their mail on to the various Exchange servers (WAN in place, Static IP's).

Is this possible with SME server?

Thanks

[idp_qbn]

Consider setting the various Exchange servers to collect mail for their users from the SME server.

Good luck with this.
Cheers
Ian

[hawk]

hi i have a situation working that might be similar, all the mail comes to the sme, then to those using exchange we push that users email to the exchange server. setting in server-manager, user, email delivery, forward email to address below
last time i checked exchange can't pull mail or use pop. it does get a bit dirty as you will have to have the domain names of the exchange box different to the sme but also able to use the same domain name. so each email account on the exchange box must use 2 domains, so local mail on the exchange works, but users on the same domain name but on the sme box gets their mail.

 this xmas i have dumped the exchange box on a few of these sites and replaced them with sme. everything runs much sweeter, thrown out outlook and put in thunderbird using imap

bit complicated and messy but it does work
hope it helps
thanks
john

[timlza]

Thanks for these.
Will check out both options.

[janet]

timlza

Just forward specific users mail in server manager User panel

[timlza]

timlza

Just forward specific users mail in server manager User panel

Please can you elaborate?
Forward to what? An email address? that would then have to be to a different domain as mentioned by Hawk. The same domain would cause a loop on the SME box.

[janet]

timlza

Yes I meant forward to an external email address. I assumed you had different domains for the Exchange servers.

How are the Exchange servers configured re domain name ?
How or for what, are you using the Exchange servers now ?
By your comment you only have the one main domain that is on the main sme server.

[timlza]

Hi

No such luck; all must run on the same domain.

The exchange servers are in place at various branches and service clients at the branch. Im not sure how they get they integrate at the moment as we've just taken over the sites. It may be they simply pull down individual boxes via POP3.

I'm going to test Postfix with Transport Tables; seems that may be a solution.

[guest22]

If you are responsible for the 'taken over' new branches, I suggest you inform your MT that you need to visit those sites and talk the the local team how do 'do' things. Once you have harvested all details including local wishes, you combine that into a corporate strategy. Then, as Mary correctly indicated, it is a 'domain puzzle'.

guest

[timlza]

An update for anyone who is interested.
Postfix does the job perfectly; am able to collect mail and push specific mail account to any server across the same domain.
Have since discovered that this is what many ISP's use.

thanks to all who offered assistance.

[Stefano]

Postfix does the job perfectly; am able to collect mail and push specific mail account to any server across the same domain.
Have since discovered that this is what many ISP's use.

postfix is not part of SME, so I guess you are not using SME

[timlza]

correct. i dont know if its possible to install Postfix on to SME, but thats not too serious right now.

[Stefano]

i dont know if its possible to install Postfix on to SME

no, it's not

[mmccarn]

Exchange includes a "fetchmail" function that can be configured to pull email for local users from the SME server on a regular schedule.

If that is not acceptable, I would do something like this:
1. Add a different secondary domain to each regional exchange server
2. Setup the required MX records for each secondary domain
3. Configure each regional exchange user account on the SME server to forward the email to user@<secondary domain>
(you may not need mx records - I think qmail will deliver to an A record or an IP address if there is no mx record)

With fetchmail or secondary domains, you need to configure each exchange server to "deliver email for unrecognized users" to the SME server, so that email from joe at office a (joe@tld.com) will be relayed to Mary at office b (mary@tld.com).

If you need centralized control of the email, I would also configure all of the Exchange servers to use the SME server as their outbound SMTP smarthost, preferably using an SSL connection - this would allow all internal emails to be encrypted from end to end.

You will probably also improve the security of your system and reduce the overall spam traffic if you configure each exchange server to allow smtp traffic only from the sme server.