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/or ip6:<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)

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What’s the reason for using IPs instead of domain names for SPF and MX?

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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

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