iis smtp nntp: Is it necessary for the SMTP or web server to be set up as a domain
controller? I am currently running a local server that hosts several public
websites as well as my internal DNS server. It is not set up as a domain
controller as it started life as a file server and I just don't have to time
redo it right now. Everything seems to work OK except I would like to use
the SMTP server to send email from some web pages. Currently I am using
ASP.net, CDOSYS, and authenticating to a remote SMTP server on my upstream
provider. This works but I would like to have it all internal. I have set
up the SMTP server that comes with Windows Server 2003 several times but I
always find my mail stuck in the queue. I suspect it is a DNS error causing
a mail loop of some kind but am not sure what I need to do to fix it. Can
someone direct me to a tutorial on MX and A records and how they interact
with SMTP servers and public and private DNS servers? I would sure
appreciate the help.

Regan White

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Not at all.

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Do you have the same queue backlog regardless of whether you send to your
local domain (which does indeed have to be set up properly in the SMTP
service config) or to remote domains (which take no domain-specific
configuration in the SMTP service, and whose DNS you obvs. do not control,
and thus cannot change)?

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MX records have nothing to do with outbound mail except in very special
circumstances not worth contemplating here.

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To ensure delivery to the widest range of remote systems, your outbound
mail server needs to have a PTR for its public IP. That PTR needs to have
a corresponding A record pointing back to the same IP. The SMTP HELO/EHLO
greeting used by your server should be that same A record, the canonical
hostname of your mail server.

HOWEVER, although all of the above are best practices, not following them
cannot cause _all_ of your outbound mail to be backed up. The most likely
explanations for the _complete_ backup are that (a) your mail server
cannot resolve other domains' MX records using its configured DNS server
(the configured resolver is broken), or (b) your mail server cannot
connect to those MXs on TCP port 25 (blocked by firewall ACLs at your site
or at your provider).

Sandy,
Tell me if this is a possible solution. I don't want necessarily to put
this SMTP server on the public net. As it is set up now, it will not
resolve a PTA-A-IP address and I don't think I want it to. I think this
would be a good place to use a Smart Host for my remote mail delivery. The
question I have is how do you authenticate a smart host? My ISP SMTP server
requires authentication and I can't figure out where to put in my username
and password. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Regan White


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Virtual Server-Properties-Outbound Security.

This makes all outbound connections authenticate. Since, with a smart
host configured, all outbound conns go to the same place, you'll be
logging into the SH.

Would I use integrated windows authentication or plain text basic
authentication?


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Woops, never mind. My test e-mail just arrived. Thanks for your help.


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