Mail Server Help

[alex190304]

Hi so I have a domain with 123-reg and I have a Windows Server 2012 server. Can someone please tell me the step-by-step procedure to get the mail server up and running. In the past I have experimented with hMail but no luck. Thanks

[manikyath]

so... one of the tasks for OS class i had to do was set up a windows mail server.

 

it took the combined effort of all students a few months to get it sorta figured out.

[Kiyuubi]

Read me.

[alex190304]

so... one of the tasks for OS class i had to do was set up a windows mail server.

 

it took the combined effort of all students a few months to get it sorta figured out.

 

 

Read me.

Ok I will give these a try tomorrow and I will get back to you tomorrow. Thanks

[Jarsky]

Before you go configuring your own server, have you got a dedicated IP address with a PTR record setup?

Theres no point in configuring your own SMTP if you havent got that. If you don't then you should configure it as a Smarthost or Relay to an intermediate mail server, or you're just going to struggle with constant delivery issues.

 

Also you may need to setup an SSL so you can configure it with TLS on a secure port, most ISP's will block Port 25 mail

 

Bare in mind if you don't setup your security properly, you're going to get on blacklists pretty fast - with many of the providers on MXToolbox.

 

Also what kind of mail are you setting up? An Exchange Server? IMAP?

[alex190304]

What type of mail server is best. My ISP Does not block port 25 and I have a static public ip address

[omniomi]

First, in regards to the replies above: An SMTP server is not "a mail server." The SMTP server component is simply the mail transport agent and can do one thing which is move mail around. The Windows SMTP server role doesn't have mailboxes, IMAP, pop, or any kind of storage it is simply an MTA. Generally speaking a mail server needs both an MTA and an IMAP/POP server so for example a standard Linux mail setup will be at minimum Postfix (the MTA) and Dovecot (the IMAP/POP server.)

 

The Windows mail server setup is typically Microsoft Exchange which is both an MTA and a storage server rolled into "one." (The roles can be split between servers.) Note: It also requires Microsoft Active Directory. hMailServer is another option as you mentioned but you won't find much support for it because on Windows it's 99% Exchange for mail. 

 

I do not recommend setting up AD and Exchange for small mail projects and to be honest I wouldn't recommend setting up a Linux environment either. Not only would you want more than just the MTA and IMAP server you'll want Anti-Virus, Spam Protection, a better storage method for user than *nix users so probably MySQL, Stats, Webmail, Backups, and a host of other things when running your own mail. My personal mail server for example is running Postfix, Dovecot, MySQL, PolicyD, ClamAV, Roundcube, Awstats, SpamAssassin, and Apache... It is also all SSL so I have a purchased cert which is also installed. At work it's even more complex due to volume, HA, and a combination of Exchange and Linux mail clusters. 

 

On top of the technology running your own mail requires you to understand DNS (especially MX and SPF records,) DMARC, how to check and deal with blacklists, how to train SpamAssassin or ProofPoint or whatever filtering you're using, what greylists are and how they work, how to trace and troubleshoot mail flow, and a host of other things most people don't think about.

 

It is almost always worth it to just pay $5/mailbox to a company like Rackspace or $9/mo to a company like DreamHost to host all of your mail because they worry about all of that stuff. I am saying that as someone who hosts their own email and works with Exchange and Linux mail in a professional capacity... Mail hosting is not a "hobby." Consider these scenarios:

 

• Bob sends an email to someaddress@gmail.com and it never arrives even though it says sent.
• Joe says a friend emailed him something be he never got it.
• You send an email to yourself from your gmail address and it takes 10 minutes to show up.
• You setup an address to forward to another email address and the remote server rate limits you because it says you're spamming.

Do you know where to begin troubleshooting those issues? Do you care to learn?

 

If you're dead set on it I highly recommend you use Linux and look at a simplified mail solution like Mail-in-a-Box (https://mailinabox.email/.) You'll have less granular control over the server but it makes it way easier if you're new to mail. You'll still want to look into SPF and possibly DMARC but it will be a lot easier overall. 

 

As someone else mention you may also be unable to host email at all if you're doing this out of your home on consumer internet as most ISPs block standard mail ports to curb spam abuse. 

[alex190304]

I am trying to setup Exchange 2013 now. Will get back to you with the outcome