How to Setup Your SMTP Server in Corporate Environment

Mr. Smith just set up his own local SMTP server on his laptop. He intends to go abroad and he is happy he could control his business even at a distance. However, Mr. Smith will be disappointed - he will not be able to send emails through his new, shiny SMTP server.

Why? When you are emailing, your e-mail client connects to SMTP server and sends your message to it. After SMTP server accepts your message for delivery, it will store it in its local queue. Then it starts sending emails.

The problem is that your own local SMTP goes through various stages of authentication when it is sending your message. Checking your IP is one of the most important stages, and most of your emails will be rejected, if you have dynamic IP.

So what Mr. Smith has to do, when he needs to setup SMTP server in a corporate environment? It is hard to believe, but he has a simple solution. He does not need to carry his SMTP server on his laptop every day. It will be better to install it on a corporate server or a home computer with static IP that is constantly connected to the Internet.

After the installation Mr. Smith must take the following steps:

Configure his SMTP server and
Configure his email client

Let’s discuss them in details.

If you only want to setup your SMTP server as an outgoing relay, you must do the following:

Configure forward & reverse DNS resolution
Check black – lists
Configure SPF
Configure Domain Keys

However if you need to setup your SMTP server in a corporate environment, and you want it to store and handle your email for you, you have to take a few additional steps: :

Setup SMTP ports
Configure IP range
Configure your local domain
Setup your domain users
Configure your email client

SMTP ports

Opening additional SMTP ports is the first step of SMTP Server configuration. As you know, port 25 is standard for SMTP servers. Internet providers often block it when they are fighting against spam. It is necessary to open additional ports, such as 2525, 587 and 465 ports. Although these ports are not a defined standard, since most large companies use it, it has become a “de facto” standard. What is most important to you is the fact that no Internet provider is blocking these ports, so you will be able to connect to your SMTP server from anywhere in the world.

Here is a screenshot of how you can do it in our SMTP Server software:

IP range

IP range will help you to allow or deny access to your SMTP server from the listed IP’s. Your SMTP server uses filtering of the incoming connection’s IP addresses. With the help of IP range list you can block someone access to your server. Also, you may open the ability to use your SMTP server with IP addresses, included in the range. This is also a very good security option to prevent spammers from using your server as an open relay.

Here is how you configure your IP range list in our SMTP server software. Please make sure, you exclude your router from the list of allowed IP addresses, because otherwise, any relay from the outside network will go through without asking for user name and password.

Your local domain

Setting up your local domain gives you and your users ability to receive and store messages with your SMTP server, it will also allow you to authenticate all your users with user name and password. If you already have your own domain – add it here. If you need your domain just for authentication, you may specify any domain name you like (for example myowndomain.com, even if it's not a real domain name). However if you need to allow your users to hold their accounts in your server, you will also need to make sure your domain name is registered and has a valid MX record.

Here is how you add a domain in our SMTP server software:

Your domain users

After that, add your users and assign them their passwords. Note, number of users in a domain is unlimited. You can create one or more users.

Here is how you create users in our SMTP Server software:

When you do this, all legitimate users will have the ability to send, authenticate and receive emails with your SMTP server all over the world. It is very important to set up a private password for each of your users and for your SMTP server anti-spam protection.

Your e-mail client

Now you are ready to send your messages with your SMTP server all over the world. You just have to configure your email client software.

After you create new email account in your Windows Mail or Outlook, specify your server’s static IP as a host name (or if you have obtained and configured your own domain, you can specify that as well)

After this, enter your username (it is your email address) and password you’ve just set up in your SMTP server.