I just set up my first ever email server and I’m proud of myself! 😊 Do you have any advice to avoid common problems? I mean something beginners often do that they shouldn’t. Thanks!
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Congratulations! A mail server is quite demanding in terms of initial setup, but it’s also very rewarding !
Here are a few pointers I can give you:
- Using a good domain is important, some provider block entire TLDs for cheap domains (eg. .tk or .pw). I learnt it the hard way…
- Set your MX records to A records, not CNAME
- Ensure your PTR records match your A records for the mail server
- Learn about SPF and DKIM
- Set them up, and verify with mxtoolbox
- Use the
ip4:<ipv4>and/orip6:<ipv6>selectors for SPF - Setup a spamfilter (I like spamassassin)
- Leave it all running for a few weeks/months
- Publish a DMARC policy on your DNS, and verify with mxtoolbox
This should limit a lot your likeliness to end up in spam folders (which is usually the hardest part about running your mail server)
What’s the reason for using IPs instead of domain names for SPF and MX?
Try using this and sent it a test mail: https://www.mail-tester.com/
It’ll check blacklists, configuration, DNS and mail content itself for any issues
