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I want to host my own email server?
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I want to host my own email server?

Hello guys,

I want to host a email server for few clients local, i was thinking about windows server with hmail server. yet as i experienced before almost every email going to spam folder on gmail, yahoo etc etc. can you help me how to prevent this?

I hope you all will help me :)

Thank You in advance!

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Comments

  • ViridWebViridWeb Member, Host Rep

    Maybe the domain or server IP blacklisted already!!??

    Thanked by 1Lahiru_M
  • @ViridWeb said:
    Maybe the domain or server IP blacklisted already!!??

    no mate this is all new domain.. i tried several time with several ip's and domains(also checked with blacklist).

    i am thinking mate why are those being spam with gmail and yahoo like big email services.. it works really find with local exchange

  • What I read here on LET and on other forums, running own mail server is no joke. It's a constant pain in the ass fighting spam and trying to deliver mail to big boys like Google, Microsoft etc. You are better off buying some service and let them handle this headache rather than running your own mail server.

    Thanked by 2Lahiru_M MrPsycho
  • @alilet said:
    What I read here on LET and on other forums, running own mail server is no joke. It's a constant pain in the ass fighting spam and trying to deliver mail to big boys like Google, Microsoft etc. You are better off buying some service and let them handle this headache rather than running your own mail server.

    mm

  • i can vouch for mxroute . even thought i am on self hosted using mailcow but what others say is mxroute and it has best support.

    Thanked by 1Lahiru_M
  • uptimeuptime Member
    edited September 2019

    I_Maks_Web_Hosting said: this is all new domain

    well ... a new domain might also have no established reputation (something like not having any credit record and then applying for a loan) ...

    It might be helpful to give a bit more context here about what you are trying to do (specifically - why? Is there some particular business or personal objective that you are trying to achieve with your DIY approach?)

    Also - have you setup DNS records for SPF and DKIM details?

    EDIT2:

    Thinking about this request for help just a bit more - if you are doing this for clients as a business - don't.

    You will really need to know what you are doing.

    It's fine if you want to learn on your own, with personal experiments.

    But it will only end in tears if this is some attempt at a professional service. Just don't go there - focus on what you already know how to do, and learn the rest on your own time - and on your own dime.

    Good luck.

    Thanked by 1Lahiru_M
  • @amsaal said:
    i can vouch for mxroute . even thought i am on self hosted using mailcow but what others say is mxroute and it has best support.

    are they good?

  • @uptime said:

    I_Maks_Web_Hosting said: this is all new domain

    well ... a new domain might also have no established reputation (something like not having any credit record and then applying for a loan) ...

    It might be helpful to give a bit more context here about what you are trying to do (specifically - why? Is there some particular business or personal objective that you are trying to achieve with your DIY approach?)

    Also - have you setup DNS records for SPF and DKIM details?

    EDIT2:

    Thinking about this request for help just a bit more - if you are doing this for clients as a business - don't.

    You will really need to know what you are doing.

    It's fine if you want to learn on your own, with personal experiments.

    But it will only end in tears if this is some attempt at a professional service. Just don't go there - focus on what you already know how to do, and learn the rest on your own time - and on your own dime.

    Good luck.

    mm it's like this we have some clients here who need emails account like 5 or 10 just other professional services like gmail, zoho too much cost per them as well as for us..

    Cpanel emails also being spam like i said before.. so we are trying host all those domain may be around 10 or 15 with our own server.. and handle them also looking for better solution or way to prevent spam

    Thank You mate..

    Thanked by 1uptime
  • All MXRoute plans come with unlimited domains and unlimited email accounts.

    Thanked by 1Lahiru_M
  • uptimeuptime Member
    edited September 2019

    I_Maks_Web_Hosting said: are they good?

    They get the job done for a low price - so in many ways they are great. But I think they're probably not for everyone - would not expect much in the way of hand-holding. Support is currently only via Slack and a Question/Answer forum. You'll have to do a bit of work to figure things out. But the people involved tend to be friendly and interested in getting new users up to speed. So, all that said, I would guess that for many people (but not everyone) it could work very nicely after maybe a small learning curve.

    And (as far as I can tell) it seems to be most suitable mainly for ensuring delivery of low-volume transactional emails (hourly limit of 300) - and personal or business correspondence too I suppose. "Unsolicited commercial email" (aka spam) is definitely not allowed.

    There is a $15 per year offer still available, would definitely recommend giving it a try if what I described above sounds copacetic for you and your clients.

    Thanked by 2ITLabs Lahiru_M
  • Mr_TomMr_Tom Member, Host Rep

    As has been said, it can be a pain in the rear, but it is doable with some work. Stuff liike mailcow, etc, all help with the initial setup and management, but ongoing blacklist monitoring, spam filtering is the fun bit.

  • IMO your best bet will be MXroute. The only thing that may hold you back is minimal support as uptime suggested.

    If you really want to use a selfhosted solution, use a smtp relay to send emails (e.g. Mailchannels, @Jamie_DreamIT is also working on one). Amazon SES is also great (except for changing the Message-ID and have to manually add each domain on their panel). You could also make your own SMTP relay, but if you don't know what you're doing, you probably don't want to do that.

    Thanked by 2uptime Lahiru_M
  • @I_Maks_Web_Hosting said:

    @amsaal said:
    i can vouch for mxroute . even thought i am on self hosted using mailcow but what others say is mxroute and it has best support.

    are they good?

    yes :) not good but very very good :)

    Thanked by 1Lahiru_M
  • i use Google Apps, like 10$ for unlimited domains and unlimited drive plus ability to use Google Drive File Stream instead of just the Drive app. No interest in self hosting at that prices.

    Thanked by 2Lahiru_M vimalware
  • alentoalento Member, Host Rep
    edited September 2019

    I too highly recommend MXroute. Their solution is perfect. It is true that they have had support issues in the past, but honestly, how much support does one need for mail beyond the initial set up? The initial set up is easy if you have half a brain and can follow simple instructions. If you do have an issue down the line, support is easily obtained on Slack or within their Discourse forum.

    If you do still want to self host the mail for your clients, I recommend Mail-in-a-Box IF you are planning to administer the accounts for your clients (add / delete users, etc.). But you are not going to come close to what MXroute can offer for price or deliverability.

    Thanked by 1Lahiru_M
  • jarjar Patron Provider, Top Host, Veteran
    edited September 2019

    Landing in the spam folder isn’t too bad, there’s worse fates. You can recover from that, most likely. Google doesn’t do much with IP reputation, they typically treat each email individually.

    SPF, proper PTR record that matches your HELO statement, and DKIM can help a little (not a ton, but maybe you need every point you can gain). SSL for the outbound connection can be a plus.

    Also consider content and sending domain, these can have their own reputations with Google and there might be nothing you can do to change it.

    Thanked by 1Lahiru_M
  • SunriseFoxSunriseFox Member
    edited September 2019

    I just set up a mail server myself and found that even though my IP reputation is quite good and have all records(spf, dkim, rDNS... all), rank 10/10 on https://www.mail-tester.com/, even joined Google and Outlook's anti-spam project, my emails are still rejected by outlook and thrown to junk folder by google.

    I made a complaint to outlook and they got me back very quickly and said it was solved… But in fact, though mails are reported accepted by them after that, still no one could receive my emails…

    So I don't think it could be solved…

    Thanked by 2uptime Lahiru_M
  • CrossBoxCrossBox Member, Patron Provider
    edited September 2019

    @SunriseFox

    It doesn't matter if you score 10/10. Usually, you'll need to wait a couple of weeks for their systems to build up a reputation for the mail traffic coming in from your mail server.

    Thanked by 2SunriseFox Lahiru_M
  • @CrossBox said: It doesn't matter if you score 10/10.

    Couldn't one say that scoring 10/10 is a desideratum, even if it's not a guarantee? I imagine that those mail servers that score 5/10 will have more problems than those that score 10/10.

    Thanked by 1Lahiru_M
  • @William said:
    i use Google Apps, like 10$ for unlimited domains and unlimited drive plus ability to use Google Drive File Stream instead of just the Drive app. No interest in self hosting at that prices.

    what is that pricing?

  • @alento said:
    I too highly recommend MXroute. Their solution is perfect. It is true that they have had support issues in the past, but honestly, how much support does one need for mail beyond the initial set up? The initial set up is easy if you have half a brain and can follow simple instructions. If you do have an issue down the line, support is easily obtained on Slack or within their Discourse forum.

    If you do still want to self host the mail for your clients, I recommend Mail-in-a-Box IF you are planning to administer the accounts for your clients (add / delete users, etc.). But you are not going to come close to what MXroute can offer for price or deliverability.

    thanks mate, i like to go with mxroute but they have limited disk space that's the only problem i am with there packages. thanks for your advice

  • CrossBoxCrossBox Member, Patron Provider

    @angstrom

    It is important but won't matter in a case when their systems haven't seen enough mail traffic originating from the IP/domain/mail server.

    For example, we've seen cases where the mail server is poorly configured but still Gmail and Microsoft deliver mails to inbox. This is because their reputation systems have learned that users read/interact with those emails. Users marking emails as "not spam" also affect delivery greatly.

    Thanked by 1angstrom
  • I did it a few years ago for my private mail server.
    It wasn't fun at all, especially when it came to sending mails to Outlook/Live.
    I was fine with DNSBL only for my private stuff, maybe it's different now, but I doubt that the issues with deliverability of outgoing mail is any better than back then.

    Technically, I like the idea to shift towards decentralization, but email feels like it is a broken technology by now and if you want to use it properly, it's better to have it from some 3rd party.

  • ViridWebViridWeb Member, Host Rep

    @I_Maks_Web_Hosting said:

    @ViridWeb said:
    Maybe the domain or server IP blacklisted already!!??

    no mate this is all new domain.. i tried several time with several ip's and domains(also checked with blacklist).

    i am thinking mate why are those being spam with gmail and yahoo like big email services.. it works really find with local exchange

    As few users said new domains doesn't means you are reputable
    Sometimes new domains to gives you the same results..

    I would recommend to use MXRoute

    Please not all traffics or mails should be legal. Do not send emails for unauthorized purposes..

  • JamesFJamesF Member, Host Rep

    mxroute
    Web hosting using SpamExperts
    Own server - use MailChannels
    Microsoft Office 365
    Gsuite

    Those would be my recommendations.....

    Thanked by 1Lahiru_M
  • jbuggiejbuggie Member
    edited September 2019

    The requirements for hosting your own mail server are pretty straight forward:

    1. Ensure your IP isn't blacklisted (check with mxtoolbox or something similar). If it is, you can usually get off the blacklist simply by following their procedures for removal
    2. Do not be an open relay - it is the quickest way to get your server blacklisted
    3. Set up domain spf, dkim, and rDNS - this will let you talk to the big boys, even if your domain is new
    4. Postfix screen with spamhaus and rspamd will keep most spam out
    5. Set up fail2ban jails for your postfix/dovecot/sshd/postfix-sasl to keep script kiddie at bay
    6. Find a back up MX just in case your server is offline
    7. Monitor your server logs for potential problems (i.e. pflogsumm, logwatch)

    A simple 512MB with sufficient disk space would be enough to host a *nix-based postfix/dovecot/vpn combo. Email is very tolerant of high network latency. I suggest something like Hetzner CX11. If you don't have the skill to set it up all, use a docker-based stack such as mailu or tomav/docker-mailserver. Windows is a resource hog and very limited when it comes to server hosting.

    Thanked by 1uptime
  • jbuggie said: The requirements for hosting your own mail server are pretty straight forward:

    Agree with @jbuggie, It's easier than others make it out to be.

    I have been running a simple multi-domain postfix+dovecot+spamassassin mailserver on a BuyVM 128MB OpenVZ machine for at least 7 or 8 years now with no issues and plenty of RAM to spare. IP is clean, no open relay, SPF and rDNS set up and I don't have any deliverability issues to gmail, hotmail, att.net, yahoo, etc.

    I'm not saying that all mailservers will be this easy, but I certainly think for a simple and straightforward setup, it can be easy

    Thanked by 1Lahiru_M
  • AmitzAmitz Member
    edited September 2019

    Isn't it bizarre? The big boys blocked our self-hosted eMails and wore us down until they had us on our knees. Now we have to pay for their solutions to get our eMails delivered to their mailboxes. Fucktards.

  • alentoalento Member, Host Rep
    edited September 2019

    I_Maks_Web_Hosting said: thanks mate, i like to go with mxroute but they have limited disk space that's the only problem i am with there packages. thanks for your advice

    Hmm, with "a few local clients" I have a hard time imagining 100gb being 'limited disk space' ... and there is no reason one could not purchase a second (or more) packages if really needed. :smile:

  • jarjar Patron Provider, Top Host, Veteran

    @Amitz said:
    Isn't it bizarre? The big boys blocked our self-hosted eMails and wore us down until they had us on our knees. Now we have to pay for their solutions to get our eMails delivered to their mailboxes.

    If they didn’t block SMTP on their cloud servers I’d have a really damning accusation on it too.

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