Mail server question

NachT

NachT

NachT

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20 May 2006
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I'm not sure if this is even possible, but..

Could I set up a mail server, actually I'm not even sure what it would be called so I'll just keep calling it a mail server until the first person gets here and corrects me :p

Anyway.. Is it possible, to set up a mail server so that I could make my own email address domain? i.e. could I have myname@customize_this_part_aswell?.com or.whatever

Or a fully customized address that when mail is sent to it, it relays it to a gmail account or something?

I'd want to run the server myself if possible, if there is some software or anything that does it.

I did a google for mail servers, but I got back email clients like outlook express etc, so not sure what they are even called :confused: If they exist.
 
If you want to have your own domain, you'd need to buy it.

As for relaying mail, that's easy enough to do - just make sure your server won't relay mail for everyone.

They're generally called Mail Transfer Agents - on Linux, there's Postfix, Exim, Qmail (boo), etc. There's a fuller list on Wikipedia.
 
So I would download and install a Mail Transfer Agent on my server here, and then just set it up from there?

Do I HAVE to buy a domain? can't I like, download a domain server and set one up xD lol

If I bought one, how would I go about setting the mail thing up. Wouldn't my mail be stored on their servers or?
 
NachT said:
So I would download and install a Mail Transfer Agent on my server here, and then just set it up from there?

Do I HAVE to buy a domain? can't I like, download a domain server and set one up xD lol

If I bought one, how would I go about setting the mail thing up. Wouldn't my mail be stored on their servers or?
Click to expand...

You need to start doing some reading.

You can purchase a domain for a few quid, make sure it has DNS hosting as well, then just point your mx records to your server's external ip address. If everything is set up correctly, emails will be sent directly to your server.
 
Hi,
Getting a domain and running a server are two rather different things. As you mention using gmail I'm not sure that you really want or need a server.

You can buy a domain name, e.g. yourchoice.co.uk, yourchoice.com, etc. from a domain registration company. Depending upon who you choose and what you pay for on DNS management affect what can happen to mail sent to the domain.

Many domain registration companies allow you to configure relaying email to an external pop3 account, e.g.
[email protected] could be relayed to [email protected]
fred'[email protected] could be relayed to [email protected]
[email protected] could be relayed to [email protected]

This might do everything you want. If you really want to run a server then you'd have to tell us a bit more about what you're trying to achieve.

HTH
 
I have a domain with 123-reg.co.uk which be the-internets.org.uk
I have the facility to set up mail forwarding so for example [email protected] can forward to my personal GMail account.
One thing 123-reg doesn't do is allow forwarding to hotmail and other easy to register free mail services to combat spam and cybersquatting.
Though Gmail allows forwarding itself so my setup is configured that the domain records forward to my GMail, which then relays the message on to my hotmail. You can set Gmail to keep a copy as an archive too which is handy.

You can set up a mail server too, but not all ISPs allow you to host SMTP and FTP services due to the potentially high levels of traffic and it can be a tell tale sign of someone using a home connection to run a business, which some don't like cos they lose money.
I did once run one, but that's only because it's my idea of "a laugh" and I decided one day i was bored enough to do it.
 
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