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Javier's SBS Wonderland » Switching from POP3 to SMTP

Switching from POP3 to SMTP

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Many people has asked in the past how to switch from using the POP3 connector for retreiving mail to use SMTP instead. Switching to SMTP has many advantages like:

-Mail is received in realtime (no 15-min delay)
-You have control over which servers can send mail to you (control spam)
-You have total control over your mail servers, accounts, etc.

Most people think that a static IP is required for using SMTP, but that is not correct. Although it is convinient to have a static IP, you can overcome this by using Dynamic DNS service. In fact, even if your ISP is blocking (incoming) port 25 you still could be able to circumvent this by subscribing to a redirector service. The only real requirement for using SMTP is that you own your domain. So, here is how to do it...


With a static IP-

  1. Ask whomever is hosting your DNS (probably your web hosting service) to create an "A" record (mail.yourdomain.com) that points out to your static IP address.
  2. Also ask them to create an MX record that points out to the hostname created on step #1 and to remove all other MX records.
  3. Rerun CEICW and make sure you set it up to receive mail using SMTP. You can test if your server is ready by running “telnet x.x.x.x 25” from a PC outside the local LAN (where x.x.x.x is the public IP of your SBS box) if its working you will see Exchange "answering".

With a dynamic IP-

  1. Choose the Dynamic DNS provider of your choice (www.dyndns.org, www.tzo.com, www.no-ip.com) then create an account there (i.e.yourdomain.dyndns.org).
  2. Download their DDNS client (or a 3rd-party) and install it on the server (if you have a router that supports Dynamic DNS updates I would use it instead). Make sure the records get updated.
  3. Follow the same procedure on steps 2-3 in the previous section... but instead point the MX record to whatever you created on step #1 here (i.e. yourdomain.dyndns.org).

You might want to ask your ISP if they could host a backup mailserver for you (most would do this for free). If so, they can add their backup mailserver with a lower priority to your MX records.

One final note-> In case the people hosting your DNS are uncooperative my first suggestion would be to change to another provider. However, this is not necessary. You can get DNS hosting with the DDNS providers that I mentioned earlier. You could even get free DNS hosting with Zone Edit or by registering your domain with GoDaddy. In many cases these services are a better alternative since you will have total control over your DNS.

Posted Oct 25 2004, 11:59 AM by Javier
Filed under:

Comments

Javier wrote re: Switching from POP3 to SMTP
on 12-13-2004 11:30
I have a static ip and have asked my domain hosting service to set it up as directed above. I can also telnet in to my SBS03 server, but still cant receive or send email using the external domain suffixes. I have added these external email domain suffixes to my users accounts.
Javier wrote re: Switching from POP3 to SMTP
on 12-13-2004 11:52
You may want to post this on a Newsgroup if you want more detailed help.

However, the sending issue might be an improper Smarthost configuration problem or maybe (if you are using DNS) your ISP is blocking smtp traffic. The receiving mail problem might be as simple as waiting for the records to propagate or it could be a misconfiguration on the settings. If you want, you can email the domain name and the IP of your SBS box to me and I could check it out for you.
Javier wrote re: Switching from POP3 to SMTP
on 02-15-2005 19:02
I have done this at a couple of sites. Mail comes in OK from most places. A couple of places though have said that the mail they send to these sites is rejected with the following message.
554 5.7.1 This message has been blocked because the HELO/EHLO domain is invalid
Is this something to do with the way the senders mail system checks our mail servers? Thanks. Marty
Javier wrote re: Switching from POP3 to SMTP
on 02-15-2005 20:32
This is most likely to happen on SBS2k than in SBS2k3. I believe the problem lies on the greeting that your server gives the other one. I suggest you test this by running Telnet x.x.x.x 25 (where x.x.x.x is your server). You should get a response from Exchange that has the Exchange version and the domain name. If you see a .local address there (or any non valid TLD) then this is certainly the problem. Another good way of testing this is on www.dnsreport.com.

The greeting should always match the MX record of your domain. To change it go to Exchange System Manager-> Servers-> %servername%-> Protocols-> SMTP-> Default Virtual SMTP Server-> Properties-> Delivery tab-> Advanced-> Fully Qualified Domain name: and change it to your real domain name exactly as it is on the MX record.
Javier wrote re: Switching from POP3 to SMTP
on 02-16-2005 3:40
Thanks. This is a SBS2K3. The virtual SMTP server had the companies domain name but not prefixed by mail. as per the MX record. I have changed this and will get it tested.
TrackBack wrote re: What's the best POP connector?
on 04-10-2005 10:41
TrackBack wrote re:Switching from POP3 to SMTP
on 04-15-2005 17:20
^_^,Pretty Good!
TrackBack wrote re:Switching from POP3 to SMTP
on 05-18-2005 22:03
^_~,pretty good!csharpsseeoo
Javier wrote re: Switching from POP3 to SMTP
on 06-22-2005 15:33
RE: Backup mailserver

I need a little clarification on this. Am I correct in assuming that if my webhost, who is currently offering POP3/IMAP4 e-mail for my domain, follows the steps outlined above, they will receive my domain's e-mail if and only if my SBS2k3 box cannot receive it? Also, how would I retrieve that e-mail in the case that the SBS2k3 box goes down...and/or is there a way to get all the e-mail that has accumulated to go back through the SBS2k3 box?

Thanks!
Javier wrote re: Switching from POP3 to SMTP
on 08-17-2005 15:03
Very interesting final question here :-)

What happens if the server goes down? Could someone please elaborate on this?
Javier wrote re: Switching from POP3 to SMTP
on 08-17-2005 22:01
Actually, this question is complicated because it depends on how your ISP handles this. Definitely leaving your POP3/IMAP provider as a backup mailserver is not the best option because for retreival you would need the POP3 connector.

Most ISP will just try to redeliver to the first MX record on a periodic basis. Others requires an ETRN command (which the SBS can do) to release the mail queue. These are the kind of backup mailservers you would prefer (I normally use ZoneEdit.com for such purpose, for only $12/yr).
E-Bitz - SBS MVP the Official Blog of the SBS "Diva" wrote Private versus Public DNS...
on 03-06-2006 0:20
http://blogs.technet.com/canitpro/archive/2006/03/05/421256.aspx
Between the arguments over &quot;IT&quot;, and...
oriolrius lifestream » Switching from POP3 to SMTP - Javier's SBS Wonderland wrote oriolrius lifestream &raquo; Switching from POP3 to SMTP - Javier&#39;s SBS Wonderland
on 07-02-2007 7:16

Pingback from  oriolrius lifestream &raquo; Switching from POP3 to SMTP - Javier&#39;s SBS Wonderland

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