HOWTO: Checking your DNS, Open relay, MX records and more.

[SuperMau]

I highly recommend that after you install and setup your new and fantastic hMailServer check your DNS setup, Open relays, MX records, Reverse DNS, Spam IP black list test, SPF record and more. I found this great free tools and want to share it with hMailServer community. Hope this helps!

http://www.dnsreport.com/

http://www.dnsstuff.com/

http://www.openspf.org/

[chrislees]

Wow, the dnsreport.com link is well worth using.

For those of us who haven't got time to read ALL the RFC's ALL the way through that DNS report is excellent. I had no idea of a couple of the points it made and received one WARN message (everything else PASSed).

I'll be getting onto that WARN message just in case that is the reason AOL don't like me. (Not that I like their AntiSpam policy much).

Thanks SuperMau.

[^DooM^]

Yep we have been using those links for a long time but thanks for posting though

[tuantu]

I install hMail on my 2003 Server.
dnsreport.com dnsstuff.com openspf.org are okei, I've testing for my domain.
But I use Dynamic DNS to pointer to my dynamic IP, and this is cause for many mail server reject my email, many mailserver was config to use spamhaus filter - http://www.spamhaus.org to block mailserver use dynnamic IP, conclution is Spam!

I've yet found any solutions to solve this trouble! that's inextricable !!!

[^DooM^]

The solution is to use a static IP

[cmakowsky]

Another alternative is to forward all outgoing email through your ISP's SMTP server. This is a common solution for anyone running a mailserver on a dynamic ip range.

[phil54]

http://www.checkdns.net/quickcheckdomainf.aspx

I find this is the best site for checking your dns and mx records

[FiShBuRn]

http://www.intodns.com

very good

enjoy!

[^DooM^]

oh http://www.intodns.com rocks it's like DNSStuff's used to be like before they made you pay for it.

Nice find!

[JonnyBee]

Fishburn - Thanks!

excellent link!

[chrislees]

Brilliant find. That really is just like the old DNSStuff one used to be.

I have a question of a technical nature though. The tool reports that the parent is providing a different IP address for one of my nameservers than my nameservers are providing.

That is accurate but it is the parent which is wrong - it is out of date by about 3 months - I moved a nameserver and updated the records with my ISP. Their control panel shows the new address, my nameservers show the new address but the parent servers appear to be serving the old one. The name of the nameserver never changed, just its IP address.

Does anyone know how to go about resolving this?

[^DooM^]

When did you make the change?

[chrislees]

I can't remember the precise date but around 3 months ago.

[^DooM^]

Yoiu should contact your ISP and ask them to make sure the GLUE is set at the root nameservers correctly.

[chrislees]

Thanks Doom I will try using that exact wording. So far they are completely misunderstanding me and keep telling me that everything is OK because they can ping the IP address of the nameserver!

They will be able to because the current nameserver is up and responds to pings. That is totally unrelated to the issue and doesn't change the fact that the root nameservers are serving the wrong, out-of-date and totally different IP address!

[westdam]

also i suggest :
www.dnsbl.info

it's an ip check over lots of dnsbl.


nice shot with intodns..i've using it since 2 years .. very useful!!

[sheffters]

http://www.squish.net/dnscheck/

is pritty comprehensive for dns stuff.

S.

[Snorkasaurus]

I realize this is an old thread but I figured I'd add my 3 cents in hopes that someone might find the information useful...

Not only is intodns.com still a great site, but MXToolbox can also be used to test numerous email (and other domain related) setup.

HF!
Snork.

[ObiWan]

Another alternative is to forward all outgoing email through your ISP's SMTP server. This is a common solution for anyone running a mailserver on a dynamic ip range.

It's a workaround, not a solution; using a smarthost you won't be able to publish an SPF record nor to (correctly) use DKIM and, worse, if the smarthost will end in a blacklist you will be at loss

[tarapozan]

rbl sites will add in black list not ISP ) I suppose.

[ObiWan]

rbl sites will add in black list not ISP ) I suppose.

What I mean is that, if you're using a smarthost offered by someone else (e.g. your ISP) and which is possibly used by a lot of other people, the smarthost outbound IP(s) may end in some blacklists and, at that point, there will be little you can do to solve this issue aside from contacting whoever manages the smarthost and asking them to solve the issue... and, by the way, the time needed for that may be quite long in some cases

Also, a given smarthost (to which you point your mailserver to, for email delivery to external domains) may use a number of different "outbound IPs" and, if whoever offers you the smarthost service doesn't publish an SPF record, you won't be able to publish SPF either since you won't know which IPs/hosts your email will go out from; all you'll be able to do would publish a "~all" SPF record... which, by the way, makes little (if any) sense