SBS and DDNS...how to do it? 1

[wahnula]

Hello,

I have an SBS2003 Premium SP1 server running the TZO applet. I would like to know where in the CIECW I would find the settings to configure (probably in the Exchange config) and what type of entries I will need to make to get Exchange to send & receive Internet email.

My current email situation is each user downloads POP3 locally. 10 addresses, all username@mycompany.com Exchange knows my users as username@mycompany.local.

I can configure the current corporate email host (mail.mycompany.com ) to domain forward if needed. I also have a FQDN mycompany2.com configured through TZO to point to my server.

All advice is welcomed, as I am a relative novice to how Exchange handles Internet email.

Tony

 

[58sniper]

Not sure I positively understand your question.

If you have a dynamic IP address, you'll need to configure a smarthost to handoff the messages to. Many email systems won't accept email from servers on a dynamic list. A smarthost resolves that, but causes some other issues with delivery receipts.

How to Configure Exchange Server 2003 to Use a Smart Host IP Address

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821911

Exchange is set by default to accept inbound SMTP connections for all domains listed in all of the recipient policies. Update your policy to reflect the correct email domain.

How To Use Recipient Policies to Control E-mail Addresses in Exchange 2000

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319201

Verify that port 25 is forwarded to your server from your firewall.

Update the MX records to point to your TZO name

Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -

http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt

 

[wahnula]

Not sure I positively understand your question.

Not your fault Pat, I am not sure exactly how to phrase what I want to do.

http://www.mycompany.com

is our corporate website. It has the MX record for mail.mycompany.com, through which all Internet email passes until it is downloaded by POP3 clients. I do NOT want to use the POP connector, I want the email to go directly to my server through my tzo FQDN,

http://www.mycompany2.com

(note the numeral '2').

Right now, the FQDN

http://www.mycompany2.com

is routed by tzo to find my server, and Tzo will update the DNS info if its IP changes. So,

http://www.mycompany2.com

traffic arrives at my server as if it were a static IP.

I THINK I will need to reconfigure my web host to forward the mail for bob@mycompany.com (example) to

http://www.mycompany2.com

or maybe Domain Forwarding to mycompany2.com, that will then arrive at the server.

I do know it must be handled through wizards, as that is the first tenet of SBS. I was looking for which entries I should choose for the CIECW.

Here is the text from a CPU mag article (reprinted without permission, but it's just a snippet) about doing what I want:

So now you’re up and running, locally at least. But it’s not quite time to start sending and receiving email just yet. When you ran Step 2 of the ToDo list (Connect To The Internet), you were asked to configure your network adapters, choose accessible services, and enter an email domain name. Those were the fields that helped define how your server will handle messaging from here on out.

The domain, for example, is the easy-to-remember name folks will use when sending email. It’ll map to an IP address through DNS. Because all that happens using external name servers, you’ll need to do a little leg work before Internet email functions properly. If you have a static IP address, you’ll need to contact your ISP and have it add an MX (mail exchange) record, which basically points to your mail server. The inclusion of an A record will then link said mail server to a public IP address (as opposed to an internal address, such as 192.168.0.1).

With the external pieces in place, trace the path of an email from a friend, say in New York, to your office in Los Angeles. The message is first sent from the friend’s workstation to an outgoing mail server, say in his corporate headquarters. That server uses DNS to retrieve the mail server address corresponding to your domain name. In other words, domain information is used to locate the Exchange Server sitting right there next to you on the West Coast. The MX record on file at your ISP directs the message to mail.yourserver.com or whatever hostname you’ve chosen. The A record then translates to an exact IP address, of which there is only one in the world.

Now, things get a little more complicated for cable and DSL subscribers with dynamic IPs. Because the address changes every so often, you can’t exactly create a permanent DNS record. Instead, dynamic DNS services, such as Tzolkin ([URL unfurl="true"]www.tzo.com)[/URL] and Dynamic Network Services ([URL unfurl="true"]www.dyndns.com),[/URL] will monitor your address and update the DNS record should anything change. At least for power users on a budget, dynamic DNS is much more affordable than a static line.

There’s a last issue you’ll need to consider before wrapping up your Win2003 box. Even if email is properly formatted and routed to a viable mail server, it has to break past your defenses before it can be delivered. You might not be rejecting mail intentionally, but if your router is blocking incoming ports, you’ll want to open one for email to get through. Generally, you’ll do that through the router’s control panel. SMTP employs TCP port 25, so you’ll want to get in there and forward all incoming traffic on that port to your WinSBS machine.

 

[58sniper]

You'd follow what I mentioned in my earlier post, but point mail.mycompany.com to your public IP address. No need for mycompany2.com. Just make sure your recipient policy is setup for mycompany.com

Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -

http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt

 

[wahnula]

Pat,

Thanks for the reply. My whole reason for wanting a mycompany2.com forwarding address is to separate my SBS box from the mycompany.com domain for security. Is this unreasonable or impractical?

Tony

 

[58sniper]

I don't see the reasoning for this. You can't have any trusts with SBS, so, by keeping things separate, you're overly complicating your administration.

SBS MUST be the forest root, and must hold all FSMO roles. You can't really add it to an existing domain.

Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -

http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt

 

[wahnula]

Sorry, mis-explained again (is that a word???).

http://www.mycompany.com

is hosted elsewhere, not on SBS. It is our 'public' website. We use their MX to receive POP3 email locally on each machine.

Since I do not have a static IP I plan to use DDNS to direct mail from the Internet MX to my SBS server using the Tzo domain

http://www.myco2.com,

which will hopefully get the email delivered to the SBS box.

Thanks for your replies and your patience.

Tony

 

[wahnula]

How To Use Recipient Policies to Control E-mail Addresses in Exchange 2000

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319201

Verify that port 25 is forwarded to your server from your firewall.

Update the MX records to point to your TZO name

Pat,

I have added my tzo domain (both

http://www.myco2.com

and mail.myco2.com) to my Recipient Policies according to the KB article. For testing (I am using a test-bed server at this point) I connected the server directly to the cable modem, and turned off the firewall (for one minute!). Testing my DNS name

http://www.myco2.com

from

http://www.dnsstuff.com

showed the presence of a mail server, yet the incoming mail did not arrive. My testing web domain is set up to forward all email to my Tzo address.

I don't think the SmartHost is needed as I can get mail OUT, just not IN. Any more ideas or references for further reading?

Tony

 

[58sniper]

From outside your environment, see if you can telnet to the IP address over 25 and get your server to answer.

If you can, try telnetting to the A record used by your MX record over 25 and see if you get resolution and an answer.

Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -

http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt

 

[wahnula]

Pat,

THANK YOU!!! Not being an IT pro I was unfamiliar with the Telnet command set, I just needed you to mention the word and I found everything I needed here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/153119

Thanks for taking the time to help. Problem solved.

Tony