creativenetworks

asked on

Exchange sends but does not receive

I'm having some trouble with email communications on an SBS2003 server using exchange.

In my tests, my dns records are only being used for email. And because I'm using OWA to test send/receive capabilities, I've setup DNS accordingly.

A DNS record is set to 'email' at 1.2.3.4 (exchange server). This is the only A Host record setting.
MX record is set to email.domainname.com, which is what's used as the URL for OWA.
MXToolbox shows valid mxrecord for email.domainname.com
nslookup -q=mx domainname shows the following:

C:\Users\SCMGA>nslookup -q=mx email.domainname.com
Server: nslala01.verizon.net
Address: 68.238.64.12

Non-authoritative answer:
email.domainname.com MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = domainname.com

Port 25 is open on Exchange server firewall and i can tracert to static WAN IP of Exchange Server network. I have an static route setup to forward from WAN address to IP of Exchange ie 192.168.1.5.

I can't seem to receive email however. Sending is working fine, and from what I've been told, internal email is functional.

Anything I'm missing?

I have tried to telnet to IP 68.238.64.12 and there is no response - so either your firewall doesn't have port 25 open and forwarded, or Exchange isn't listening on port 25.

Please check your SMTP Virtual Server Properties> General Tab> Advanced Button and make sure port 25 is the assigned port.

Also - please visit www.canyouseeme.org and test port 25 - you should see SUCCESS.

From a command prompt, please type the following:

netstat -anbp tcp >c:netstat.txt

Then upload netstat.txt for review.

Thanks

Alan

creativenetworks

ASKER

Alan, I believe the 68. IP is the Verizon address, not the exchange server. Is that right?

I've run the port checker on the WAN ip of the Exchange server and it shows open.

the exchange server ip is 108.13.xxx.xxx.

I'll run the netstat command on the exchange server now and report back in a sec.

Thanks SO much for your help.

Okay - telnet to 108.13.xxx.xxx works.

Do you have your MX records pointing to this IP Address for the domain whose mail you are trying to receive? If not - then you won't receive mail!

creativenetworks

ASKER

yes. It reports back in MXTOOLBOX and nslookup -q=mx email.domainname.com

Is the domain yourdomain.com?

creativenetworks

ASKER

Yes.

Then you don't have any MX records configured for the domain according to my test on www.dnsstuff.com.

creativenetworks

ASKER

It may not be setup correctly? The only A record I have is not @ or www, but email, then I have an MX record pointing to email.domainname.com.

Make sense?

the reason I did it this way is I want (at some point) to have the www record going to a different web location (website on www and mail on email.)

creativenetworks

ASKER

The DNS settings are fine from what you have advised - only there are no MX records showing on www.dnsstuff.com for your domain, hence no email.

When did you configure the MX record?

Netstat looks good - port 25 listening on the right service. Thanks.

creativenetworks

ASKER

About 3 hours ago.

Perhaps if you run nslookup -q=mx email.domainname.com (insert the URL previously discussed) you can see what I mean?

Okay - seeing same results. But - no MX records for domain.com - which is what I would expect to be seeing. You seem to have it setup for email.domain.com as a subdomain.

Usually you just add an A record for the domain.com as email with an IP Address of 108.13.xxx.xxx and then add an MX record of email.domain.com

On www.mxtoolbox.com if I enter email.domain.com - I see an MX record with an IP Address of 0.0.0.0 but doing the same for domain.com - which is normal, there is no MX record.

creativenetworks

ASKER

this is what I have done. My thinking was that I don't need an A record pointing to domainname.com but rather email.domainname.com, right?

Currently A host is email pointing to 108.13.xxx.xxx and MX host priority 10, host email, points to 'domainname.com.

Am I perhaps missing something?

thanks again. Been banging my head for 2 days over this.

creativenetworks

ASKER

I see what you are talking about on MXtoolbox. Are you thinking I need to have an A record to domainname.com (even though there is no webpage there) and then add another mx record to point to this?

So effectively I would have an A record for @ and email?

Well - in domain.com - I would create an A record called Email with an IP of 108.13.xxx.xxx

Then create an MX record of email.domain.com with a Priority of 10 - nothing more.

Who is your Domain Registered with?

Yes to your last comment - Ignore the www part - that isn't relevant as you can add an A record for www later and point that wherever you like.

creativenetworks

ASKER

GoDaddy.

What would the host on the MX record be as I have only one A record now with an IP of 108.13.xxx.xxx.

Just create and email A record and point it to 108.13.xxx.xxx

If you are having problems working out what to add - can you all GoDaddy - they are usually very helpful?

creativenetworks

ASKER

The current A record is 'host' email and points to the 108 address. Are you asking me to do something different?

creativenetworks

ASKER

I tried calling them but their answer was 'the question was out of the scope of what they provide"

Well - just checking my end and email.domain.com does resolve to the right IP Address, so it seems your MX record is not right.

Okay - can you screen dump your DNS setting on GoDaddy please?

creativenetworks

ASKER

what address does it resolve to?

What did you ask GoDaddy that was out of the scope of what they provide?

If you ask them to help you setup your DNS records - surely that is within their scope?

108.13.xxx.xxx

creativenetworks

ASKER

that is the address of the wan port on the lan with the exchange server.

Can you advise how to screen dump?

All to glad to help anyway i can!!!

creativenetworks

ASKER

creativenetworks-437433.flv

Sure - with the GoDaddy DNS screen in your monitor, press CTRL + PRT SCN (or PRT SCRN - depends if you have a real keyboard or laptop) and then open up Paintbrush (Start> Run> MSPAINT) and paste into Paint - then save the file as a .PNG or .JPG file and then upload it.

creativenetworks

ASKER

did that screencast work OK?

Yep - You have the MX priority / Host / Points to - can you remove the email part and stick that at the beginning of the points to so that it shows email.domain.com as the Points To section and the Host is empty.

creativenetworks

ASKER

I tried to remove the email from the 'host' area of the MX record, but it appears that it must have something in there as it errors when it's empty

creativenetworks

ASKER

However I can add email to the 'points to' area but must leave email in the 'host' area, which I have done. But I think that makes it email.email.domainname.com, right?

Well - on any of the domains I manage - the host field is empty with another Domain Control Panel (not GoDaddy). Is there any help file there?

creativenetworks

ASKER

this is the brief help menu:

MX records are for routing email that is addressed to a particular domain name. Like a CNAME record, an MX record points one domain name or subdomain to another domain name or subdomain for which an A record exists.

Please put @ in as the host and email.domain.com in the points to:

http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=33353

creativenetworks

ASKER

Done.

But I thought you had to have an @ in the A host in order for this to work?

Well - who knows - each control panel / domain host is different.

Dnsstuff is showing an MX record for you now - you may start receiving mail : )

creativenetworks

ASKER

LOL, thanks for the humor......NEEDED!

Looks like MXTOOLBOX now recognizes domainname.com?

Now you just have to call Verizon and ask them to configure Reverse DNS up on your IP Address as email.domain.com and you should be RFC Compliant and not have problems sending out mail to some servers.

creativenetworks

ASKER

Tested to an OWA account and did not come through. Do i need to flush dns on server and remote workstation in order to get it to run?

DNS changes do take a while for the world to catch up.

Post your email address - I will send you a test email via telnet! (and then hide your email address).

creativenetworks

ASKER

One of the emails on this exchange server is tom@domainname previously discussed.

creativenetworks

ASKER

I do seem to remember something about verizon NOT doing reverse dns?

Email heading your way.

If Verizon don't do Reverse DNS - then you are going to have problems sending mail to some servers - you may need to use their smarthost instead, which is a pain.

creativenetworks

ASKER

Your email was received on this account, but mine was not. Do you think this has to do with reverse DNS?

Also going to attempt a send from a gmail account i have setup.

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creativenetworks

ASKER

gmail email was also received. No email has come through from my exchange server however (i am also verizon).

Anything else I can do? or just wait for propagation?

Also have another part of this issue that hasn't been answered and will gladly ask under seperate heading to ensure points if that's the "proper" thing to do.

Man I can't tell you how much you have helped me. Seriously worked on this for 2 days.

Thx.!!!

Good re the gmail - not sure I understand about the Exchange Server issue - is that another external Exchange server?

Sit and wait is about all you can do - it can be 24 / 48 hours for the entire world to refresh their DNS cache. Time for lots of coffee - if that is your poison!

The proper thing to do is ask another question if it is totally unrelated - but I don't exactly need the points and am happy to help, but it is getting close to 3:00am for me and my eyelids are getting heavy!

The @ symbol will be your best friend from now on : )

creativenetworks

ASKER

What this customer wants to do is to point his primary domain to an ecommerce site and his email to his exchange site (two different locations).

I thought this way to do this was to create an A record for the ecommerce site but this may conflict with the MX setup we have now?

Any direction on how to do this?

Are you talking about his website being the ecommerce site? If so - then create an A record called WWW and point that to the IP address of the ecommerce site's server and that won't conflict with the email. The two can happily be pointing to two different servers without an issue.

creativenetworks

ASKER

which I did previously, but when you type in just domainname.com (without the www), it does not resolve, right?

creativenetworks

ASKER

No there is actually another website. To be clear, he has 5 domain names and want them to all point to the ecommerce site, then he wants one of them (the one we've been working on) to be used for his email.

There will be a separate A record for that with no name against it (somewhere) - the default IP for the domain.

Not sure where GoDaddy keeps it - it is not in the screencast.

This might be a helpful GoDaddy help file:

http://help.godaddy.com/article/680

creativenetworks

ASKER

1 of the sites has a pointer to the live ecommerce site. 3 of them point to a site that forwards to the ecommerce site.

This one, I removed ALL a records in an event to fix this email issue.

I'm concerned if I put an A @ record that it will conflict with the settings we just implemented as our mx record points to the @ record?

Don't worry - you have fixed the MX record with an A record of email and unless you change that A record - then all will be well.

Try adding a blank A record (with the usual @ symbol) pointing to the ecommerce IP Address. Once you have done that let me know and I will see if I can tell you what IP Address you added.

creativenetworks

ASKER

OK great! And can I point to webnames to the same IP ie www.d1.com and www.d2.com to 1.2.3.4?

creativenetworks

ASKER

Sorry 'two' websites

You certainly can - you can point as many as you have domains.

Okay - time I called it a night. I'm not getting any younger or prettier!

If you need anything else - I'll pick it up in the morning. Happy emailing.

Alan

creativenetworks

ASKER

Will the @ in the A host cover both www. and without www in the address bar? Or do I need to add www as well as the @?

You will need an A record for www and one for blank (@) so that www.domain.com and domain.com point to the same IP

creativenetworks

ASKER

Got it. Nighty night!!!!

And thanks again dude (yes in Southern Cal.)

Appreciate it!!

You are welcome. Hope all goes well from now on.

Look me up if you get stuck on anything else (click on my profile).

creativenetworks

ASKER

Issue resolved. Can't thank you enough!

creativenetworks

ASKER

Alan, the exchange server is having some trouble sending emails to certain sites. You had mentioned something earlier about reverse DNS not being setup for them?

Also their SSL cert has expired (told them to renew 3 months ago). Could that somehow affect this?

Thanks again.

Some more reading for you:

https://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Server_Software/Email_Servers/A_2427-Problems-sending-mail-to-one-or-more-external-domains.html

Lack of Reverse DNS will cause you problems and it looks like you don't have it configured properly. Call your ISP and ask them to configure your Reverse DNS record as email.domain.com.

SSL won't be an issue when sending mail.