Ebox email server setup

[kjurkic]

howdy all

Ebox V1.0 is looking really good now. I have even managed to create a user that can log into egroupware & send email to external addresses...successful send to my yahoo account, but other rejected by a receiving server due to reverse domain lookup (non-existent domain; still playing)

I was wondering what I still need to do; I have an existing domain & other servers, I just need to register the new email server (ie mailserv.mydomain.com), and also the MX record for my domain.

Are there any configurations on the ebox server that I need to double-check?

Does anyone have a drooling idiot's guide to building a full email server on ebox?

regards
Ken

[sixstone]

I was wondering what I still need to do; I have an existing domain & other servers, I just need to register the new email server (ie mailserv.mydomain.com), and also the MX record for my domain.

Hi,

Is this DNS information spreaded through Internet? Have you added to your DNS server the PTR register to do inverse name queries, ie (IP Address? -> domain name)?

Best,

[c4rdinal]

Hi,

Sorry for hijacking your post.

I was also looking into configuring ebox as a mail server but failed to send email to external address. I would be very thankful if you will share your notes on what you did to have your mail server up and running.

Thanks in advance.

James

[kjurkic]

Hi,

Sorry for hijacking your post.


Thanks in advance.

James

No worries bout the hijack; I think that this is an opportunity to get some documentation regarding email server(s) configuration on ebox.

I didn't document my tinkering, but I recall that I had to enable mail service, create a virtualdomain, create a user, give that user an email address (username plus select a virtual domain from drop-down list). When I first tried to login to egroupware, I received an LDAP connection error, but I rebooted the server, and was then able to access egroupware, use the felalimail client to send a test message. The email arrived at my yahoo account (apparently they don't do reverse lookup) but I received a rejection notice from my work email server, with the message that "message rejected, sending domain does not exist". Hence my posting here.

Sixstone: I haven't got my DNS entry yet; I know that's an issue - I will have to do that part through my ISP, or another agency. My question is what needs to be configured locally on my email server to ensure that once fully registered, the messages get through in both directions.

The problem I am trying to solve is that our current email server is on its last legs (%$$#% Mac Xserver....Apple may be building good desktops, but the server group should be lined up against a wall) Sorry about the rant =8D.

I need to be sure that when I switch the ebox server over to our actual domain, that not too much time/effort/messages lost due to a local misconfiguration.

Hope that helps explain....

FWIW, I am trying to use Ebox for this because it will simplify things such as user account creation, which I can foist off on front-desk staff. Many other distros & derivatives have great admin tools, but are not easy to delegate mundane tasks with.

Regards
Ken

[sixstone]

Sixstone: I haven't got my DNS entry yet; I know that's an issue - I will have to do that part through my ISP, or another agency. My question is what needs to be configured locally on my email server to ensure that once fully registered, the messages get through in both directions.

The problem I am trying to solve is that our current email server is on its last legs (%$$#% Mac Xserver....Apple may be building good desktops, but the server group should be lined up against a wall) Sorry about the rant =8D.

The DNS problem is when you are doing incoming mail since external MTA (yahoo for instance) don't know which MX server is responsible for your messages. Regarding to outcoming mail, apart from reverse lookup error, your mail server must have domain name resolvers (in eBox Network->DNS) configured to get the required mappings.

I think that's all...

[kjurkic]

Howdy Sixstone

so you are essentially saying that since I have the user/domain sorted on my ebox server that once I get my FQDN resolving properly (eg mail.myowndomain.com) through a DNS server, that I should not have to perform any further configuration of email services on ebox?

Since this is intended to replace an existing server, I just want to make sure I have crossed my "T's" and dotted my "I's" before I make the DNS change.

regards
ken

[c4rdinal]

I didn't document my tinkering, but I recall that I had to enable mail service, create a virtualdomain, create a user, give that user an email address (username plus select a virtual domain from drop-down list). When I first tried to login to egroupware, I received an LDAP connection error, but I rebooted the server, and was then able to access egroupware, use the felalimail client to send a test message. The email arrived at my yahoo account (apparently they don't do reverse lookup) but I received a rejection notice from my work email server, with the message that "message rejected, sending domain does not exist". Hence my posting here.

Hi,

Thank you so much for your immediate answer.

Sorry for my ignorance, but how can I login to egroupware and use felalimail client to send a test message? I was browsing the net but can't find information leading to answer.

Would you mind guiding me on how to do it? Please?

I will greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks so much!

James

[cl0s]

I didn't document my tinkering, but I recall that I had to enable mail service, create a virtualdomain, create a user, give that user an email address (username plus select a virtual domain from drop-down list). When I first tried to login to egroupware, I received an LDAP connection error, but I rebooted the server, and was then able to access egroupware, use the felalimail client to send a test message. The email arrived at my yahoo account (apparently they don't do reverse lookup) but I received a rejection notice from my work email server, with the message that "message rejected, sending domain does not exist". Hence my posting here.

Hi,

Thank you so much for your immediate answer.

Sorry for my ignorance, but how can I login to egroupware and use felalimail client to send a test message? I was browsing the net but can't find information leading to answer.

Would you mind guiding me on how to do it? Please?

I will greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks so much!

James

Just go to http://yourserver/egroupware - as long as eGroupWare is enabled in eBox this should work. You'll see the web based mail client in there so you can send/receive e-mail, etc.

[sixstone]

so you are essentially saying that since I have the user/domain sorted on my ebox server that once I get my FQDN resolving properly (eg mail.myowndomain.com) through a DNS server, that I should not have to perform any further configuration of email services on ebox?

Since this is intended to replace an existing server, I just want to make sure I have crossed my "T's" and dotted my "I's" before I make the DNS change.

I will test with another mail virtual domain first. For instance, test.domain.com to test if the incoming and outcoming mails are working properly in your mail server.

Best,

[poundjd]

Guys,
    this is treading on several areas that I am greatly in need of instruction, and I'd like to look to you all for help in that instruction.....


I also have a domain, I'd like to set up a sub domain for my home called home.mydomain.com and then have e-box registered as the mail server for the mydomain.com domain and be the DNS server for the home.mydomain.com.  the only IP i want exposed is the one that the ebox gets from my cable supplier.  A good HOWTO would be wonderful, to include the actions needed to take with the registar of the domain....    does this make sense to anyone, or am I blowing smoke???
-jeff

[kjurkic]

I have to ditto with jeff

I also want the ebox server to host a virtual domain (I can hopefully skip DNS config as I am using easyDNS service)

What I need to know is how to get ebox to perform on the internet as "mail.my_temp_domain.com" (a fully registered domain) for a virtual domain.

I have the users, I have the primary mail domain config'd (but not in use) but need this to work so I can run some tests before comitting ebox as the primary mail server for my real domain, which is in use and cannot be upset for any extended time. As a test, I set up a user with an email on the virtual domain, but I cannot get Thunderbird to successfully login to that account to fetch anything.

If someone has a link to an EBOX "how-to" for email hosting, that would be great.

regards
Ken

[kjurkic]

OK now I really messed it

I decided to change the primary domain from my original config to the test config name, and now I can't find where to make that change, so that users can also use egroupware (when you create a user, you get notice that user must be assigned email in primary domain to use egrouware)

I would like to set all my mail/dns back to square 1, and setup the system with ONLY my one test domain, so I can start sending & receiving. I cannot seem to find where this control is located. The user documentation provided on the ebox website does not have a secition on email server setup, that I can find.

regards
Ken

[sixstone]

Every user has his email account configurable through Edit user --> Configuration and you may change the virtual domain in mail module.

Best regards,

[kjurkic]

To correct my earlier error,

I DID find a short couple of paragraphs on email setup on the on-line user documentation.

SIXSTONE: Perhaps on the email management page within ebox, a few lines clarifying each the controls for the terminally stupid like me (in ebox 1.1)?

regards
Ken
PS EBox has really impressed me with the server management tools as compared to Apple's XServer (nice GUI's that still need to be by-passed on command-line to actually get anything done). There are a lot of folk out here like myself, who have to support a heteregeneous network with very limited funds, and no special expertise in things like email, LDAP, SMB etc, so an easy to configure server is a blessing. I don't need eye-candy, I just need clear/simple controls

[sixstone]

To correct my earlier error,

I DID find a short couple of paragraphs on email setup on the on-line user documentation.

SIXSTONE: Perhaps on the email management page within ebox, a few lines clarifying each the controls for the terminally stupid like me (in ebox 1.1)?

regards
Ken
PS EBox has really impressed me with the server management tools as compared to Apple's XServer (nice GUI's that still need to be by-passed on command-line to actually get anything done). There are a lot of folk out here like myself, who have to support a heteregeneous network with very limited funds, and no special expertise in things like email, LDAP, SMB etc, so an easy to configure server is a blessing. I don't need eye-candy, I just need clear/simple controls

We hope to have a better documentation soon in time. I apologise for not reading that you're not an expertise...

Thanks anyway for your feedback!