How do I set up a mail server?
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Where do I start? Is the learning curve too much for someone who doesn't have any special knowledge about computers?
Someone told me that I would need a static IP, and that most ISPs don't give their customers those. Is that correct? Is it a problem?
I don't have a computer for it yet; I'd like to find one that uses little electricity.
Hi muhammed!
It isn't that complicated. I was able to set up a postfix instance in one day without any previous knowdlege. You can find good tutorials on the Postfix help web pages.
Regarding static IP address I walked around the problem by using free dynamic DNS service.
A problem that you might have is if your ISP blocks port 25. You can check for yourself at: http://www.canyouseeme.org/
I am able to run a small webserver at home eventhough my ISP blocks port 80 (I use a non standard port instead). However, I haven't found a way to run a mail server if port 25 is blocked :(. There may be ways (see http://www.noip.com/managed-mail) if you're willing to pay, though.
I get this error message, for port 25, at canyouseeme.org:
"Error: I could not see your service on 99.226.32.158 on port (25)
Reason: Connection timed out"
Dynamic DNS makes mail work with a dynamic IP for most of the time,
while mails could be misdelivered or lost when the address changes [0].
Port 25 being blocked by many ISPs and many mail providers using RBLs to
drop mail from "consumer" ISP users are other reasons to have a relay
with a static IP. (An SMTP relay, or a host forwarding its ports via
VPN to your local server: the second solution might be more secure in
some cases.)
[0] http://www.arschkrebs.de/postfix/postfix_why_dyndns_does_not_work.shtml
I would also be very interested in how to do this, however it seems that even if you do manage to get an e-mail server going - 90% of the internet corporations (e.g. yahoo/gmail/hotmail) will block you as a sender with Error 550 because it is coming from an unapproved sender. I have heard adjusting SPF records may solve this problem but I haven't had any luck, it seems to me they are just blocking any residential ip range and saying "you must be spam, forget you". Similar to what Michal said above.
Though I would love an infographic or video tutorial on the VPN/relay solution - it sounds incredibly technical for most users...
Michal's post is blank on the forum
Hmm, I think this is a bug. For forum users:
http://listas.trisquel.info/pipermail/trisquel-users/2013-November/029793.html
Edit: bug report here: https://trisquel.info/en/issues/6436
Thanks andrew
Would the big email providers block my address even if their customer emailed me first? Would asking others to email me frist solve this problem?
On 06/12/13 08:29, adel.afzal wrote:
> Would the big email providers block my address even if their
> customer emailed me first? Would asking others to email me frist
> solve this problem?
My experiences with blocking:
- Hotmail has no issues.
- Gmail blocks emails sent from your mail server UNLESS you have your
reverse DNS pointing to your domain. Easy way to test this is to go into
the terminal and type "host x.x.x.x" where x.x.x.x is the IP of your
mail server, it should point to your domain.
- Some small providers (e.g. Earthlink) appear to automatically block
emails from new IPs until they are manually whitelisted, i.e. as an
administrator you have to contact them.
Receiving an email from the recipient first hasn't solved the issue in
my limited experience so far...
Andrew.
I called up a local DSL provider; they told me:
Static IP: available for a small fee
Port 80: open
Port 25: available, but must opt-in with my own router
MLPP: they have "multi link point protocol" ...I'm not sure what this means
Do I need any other ports to run OwnCloud?
Is opening port 25 from a router easy? I have a D-Link Dl-524 wireless router.
>Is opening port 25 from a router easy? I have a D-Link Dl-524 wireless router.
Probably, here's a guide http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/Dlink/DI-524/defaultguide.htm
If blocking becomes a problem a "smart host" can be the only recourse.
I opened a few new pages in the Documentation to help regular users set up their own server. I got things started by scraping together some info from this topic.
This group of pages are at the bottom of the Aplhabetical List of Manuals for now:
how com you removed some of it lembas?
LinuxHomeNetworking.com has simple, useful tutorials on all topics.
How to configure mail servers - http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/wiki/index.php/Quick_HOWTO_:_Ch21_:_Configuring_Linux_Mail_Servers
You may prefer Postfix rather than SendMail, for reasons discussed in this Mail Server tutorial -
http://www.linux.org/threads/mail-servers.4224/
I use SSL on ports 587 and 993. ISP blocking of port 25 is not an issue.
Thanks for the links islander. I think that Postfix might be the better choice,after reading your article, and also drtan's recommendation.
What are the mail transfer agent options, other than Postfix and Send Mail? Is Postfix probably the best choice?
Are there any good ones that are easy for beginners? Or that have easy-to-follow documentation?
seems that postfix isn't free software, from islander link:
Most major Linux distributions offer the possibility to install Postfix, though in my experience, it is not the one installed by default. Debian prefers to install software that's licensed under the GPL. Postfix is not (it carries the IBM Public License), so you need to tell Debian's dselect installer that you want it instead of Exim, which is Debian's preferred MTA.
It's free software but incompatible with GPL. https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#IBMPL
It is free [0].
GPL-incompatibility is a practical issue when reusing code in other
programs. It's not a problem for running the program. The FSF uses and
recommends GPL-incompatible programs like TeX ("[w]e will use TeX as our
text formatter" [1]).
I use Postfix, it might be easier to configure for what I need. I don't
have much experience with Exim.
[0] http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#IBMPL
[1] http://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.html
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