domain double parked - need key! 1

[yamy]

Hi All,

Two computer-independent branch offices have inadvertently EACH parked the companydomain.com at their choice of host.

The branch that uses an exchange server was mis-informed during configuration, parked the companydomain.com on the server and is now not able to resolve the calls for mail or website pages because the exchange server believes (wrongly) that it is the host for the companydomain.com. In actuality the domain was parked months earlier, by us, with an outsourced webhost.

This is a hot issue in the company, as you may well imagine. Meanwhile the poor working staff in this one office cannot view their own company's website and must have all their companydomain.com mail forwarded to another address.

We meet resistance whenever we assert our belief that the solution lies in the configuration of the server.

We're not Exchange savvy and so come to you for suggestions that we hope to gently toss over the fence. No matter what might be required, just knowing what IS required will sure help us towards a solution.

Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

Regards,
Yamy

 

[ShackDaddy]

Yamy, this is actually a DNS, issue, not a mail issue. What you need to do is configure DNS on the Exchange server properly to forward requests for the website URL out to the website and then make sure that you sort out the MX records used. It sounds like the site with the Exchange server is NOT the site that the root domain servers recognizes as authoritative for your domain. You need to configure the DNS at the other DNS provider to reference your Exchange server's public IP in its MX record.

The best way to find out which DNS servers are authoritative for your domain is to go to

http://www.geektools.com/whois.php

and put in your domain name. It will tell you, at the bottom of the page, who your DNS servers are. Those are the ones that need to be configured with a proper MX (mail) record.

The DNS server that your Exchange site is depending on is a lame duck right now--no one is interested in what records it has except for your clients in that network. You should probably work on getting that MX record set properly ASAP.

Let us know if you have more questions.

ShackDaddy

 

[yamy]

Hi Shack,
Thanks for the reply.

I need to clarify that we do NOT want the Exchange server to host the MX records.

We have the MX records correctly pointed to the mail host of our choice.

The Exchange server has to get the mail without being the host. We believe that because they believed they were going to host the domain and the mail, that the exchange server was configured that way and therein lies the problem.

I think they have to rebuild the whole thing.
Maybe you know where to go change one or two settings to fix it instead of a rebuild.

Does that help you to help me?

Regards,
Yamy

 

[ShackDaddy]

Could you clarify what you mean by "being the host" and "getting the mail"? What's the difference, in your mind, between "a mail host" and a server that "gets the mail"?

I can answer your questions, and there is a way to do whatever you want with Exchange, but I'm still unclear on what your preferred outcome looks like. Try and separate the mail delivery issue from the MX record issue. I understand the DNS part.

Do you want your mail host to forward mail to the Exchange server? Is the server an SBS server using the SMTP connector? Do you want your server to just send out mail? Are your two offices connected via VPN?

ShackDaddy

 

[yamy]

Hi Shack,
I really appreciate your willingness to help me help you understand my dilemma.

US branch (me) outsources domain and mail hosting. We run our accounting, MRP and CRM software on our own servers and DO NOT SHARE resources with UK branch. (we are owned by the same people and stock and sell the same stuff but maintain individual P&Ls, use different software)

UK branch (them) uses an MS Exchange server to do whatever it is people do with Exchange servers. When this exchange server was set up, it was configured to believe that companydomainmail.com resolved at that location.

But it doesn't because the MX records are controlled by me and are 'pointed' somewhere else.

I understand MX records can't point to more than one location.

How do I tell this branch how to 'unpoint' the MX record?

The only way they get any mail is because we set up forwarding addresses that go to a differentcompanydomainmail.com.

Neither can they get to the url companydomain.com because the domain is, again, hosted here in US. But they've got their server believing that IT is the host.

My IT guy, who is NOT an Exchange Server guy, still contends that the server must be rebuilt from scratch. This suggestion always meets resistance!

I'm even less of a server savvy person, but I can still wonder if it is only necessary to change settings or code or preferences somewhere without the need to start from scratch.

Certainly the costs associated with any fix are to be considered and it may well be that a rebuild is not only necessary but over budget. I can fight the budget battles. But I really need first to understand exactly what it is we are fighting over/for!

And maybe it is all completely political and they are dragging their feet until such time as the owners give in and say that UK can run/host the domain and MX records on this Exchange server.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for all!

Yamy

 

[dennisbbb]

Q: How do I tell this branch how to 'unpoint' the MX record?

A: If they do not use their own DNS server, they should talk to their DNS registra. (i.e. NetworkSolutions.com)

Dilemma: But they've got their server believing that IT is the host.

A: Sounds like they (UK branch)configured a DNS server and has been pointing internally. If using MS servers, look for DNS service on a Windows server and redo the A host record for the website, and while there, take off the MX record as well. (Maybe this is the source of the problem.)


Quote: "The only way they get any mail is because we set up forwarding addresses that go to a differentcompanydomainmail.com."

My question to you is, is this still working? Are you still able to forward to them?

 

[ShackDaddy]

They need to reconfig their local DNS records. But here's a question: did they recently set up a whole new domain? What do they use there for their internal namespace? I assume that they use the same name as the public name of the company, which is causing the problem.

I would have to agree that if they set up their domain and their Exchange server using the public namespace, which would not have been a good idea, the best thing to do would probably be to reinstall their Exchange/domain server(s) using a name that's not the public name. Particularly since there isn't any real Exchange expertise in-house. If they don't do that, they will have to do some workarounds to properly send email to your US office.

One option might be to use the "Forward all mail with unresolved recipients to host" field in the SMTP connector so that whenever local users try and send mail to users in the US, that mail will get forwarded to your mail server. That's not a clean solution, but it might work well. I would also have them configure the US Exchange server as a smart host and configure the US server to allow relaying from the IP address of the UK server.

Anyway, you get an idea of the sorts of things you'd need to do. If the things I mentioned were done, there'd still be some significant troubleshooting to do. You will want to weigh the cost of having someone in-house rebuild the domain versus (perhaps) having a consultant come in and take care of the Exchange issues.

If you can get a good consultant, they could probably put the workarounds in place to get things squared away in a day or two. You'd probably be best off finding a single consultant and giving him/her remote access to both locations so that a single eye can take in all the configs that need to be done.

ShackDaddy