--- title: "Ensure Business Continuity During A Server Downtime With Backup MX | DuoCircle" description: "Join the thousands of organizations that use DuoCircle Find out how affordable it is for your organization today and be pleasantly surprised.Interested in" image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/content/backup-mx/" --- Content # Ensure Business Continuity During A Server Downtime With Backup MX Join the thousands of organizations that use DuoCircle Find out how affordable it is for your organization today and be pleasantly surprised.Interested in [ Talk to an Expert → ](/contact/) [ See what we make ](/products/) ## Ensure Business Continuity During A Server Downtime With Backup MX Backup MX for the organizations don’t want to get caught unprepared if their primary mail server goes down. [MX Backup - Sign Up](/email/email-backup-mx) ###### [EMAIL SECURITY SERVICES](/) ###### [PLANS AND PRICING](/email/email-backup-mx#pricingarea) ###### [MX BACKUP](/email/email-backup-mx) _In case the existing email service gets disrupted due to any reason, the backup MX (Mail exchange) acts as a [backup email server](/content/backup-mx/backup-email-server)._ Each domain having email services contains several MX records in the DNS server zone. _Backup MX functions based on this principle_. The **mail exchange** (MX) record defines the email server responsible for handling emails in that domain. It assigns a priority to each MX record in the DNS server in case there are multiple entries. The priority entry defines the order of choice of the mail server. _The server that is chosen is the one with the lowest priority_. ![MX Backup](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/10/backup-mx-services-1.png) For example, if you assign a priority of 20 to the **backup server** and 10 to the primary mail server, all emails will get routed to the latter server as it has the lower priority. In case of an eventuality where the primary server is down, the [backup MX](/email/email-backup-mx) record chooses the server for the domain that comes next in the order of priority. ### Why There Is A Need To Backup MX Record _MX record refers to the list of entries in the DNS zone file_. These records specify the mail server in charge of receiving the inbound emails on behalf of the domain. Whenever a person sends an email, _their computer sends a query to the DNS asking for the recipient’s MX records_. It then lists down all the MX records that can accept the incoming email. Then, the email client makes a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol ([SMTP](https://www.javatpoint.com/simple-mail-transfer-protocol#:~:text=SMTP%20stands%20for%20Simple%20Mail,based%20on%20e%2Dmail%20addresses.)) connection with the recipient’s **primary mail server**. ### Why Businesses Need A Backup Email Server? _Emails are still the primary business communication channel_. If there is an issue with the mail server and it goes offline, there is a disruption in the internal and external communications. Server failure may lead to cutting down customer service requests, crucial inter-business communication, and sales inquiries. _The bounce off of the inbound emails leads to disruption and loss of revenue_. _Whatever be the reason leading to server downtime, the loss of **email access** becomes a significant issue for organizations_. Hence, they need an efficient [backup MX service](/email/email-backup-mx) to keep their business running. ![mx backup service](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/10/mx-backup-server.jpg) ### Best Backup MX Options For Businesses Here are different backup MX options various organizations rely on to _ensure no emails are lost when the primary email server is down_. #### No IP Backup MX It is a service that offers mail redundancy to businesses and professional admins that continuously monitor the system. Besides offering **email continuity** in times of adversity, No IP Backup MX also filters out viruses and prevents junk emails from reaching the mailbox. _It saves resources and connections on the enterprise server by stopping the junk mails at the SMTP level_. #### Postfix Backup MX – Create A Secondary Backup _There is a reason why enterprises go for a secondary Postfix Backup MX_. They do this to ensure that their business keeps receiving emails until the primary mail services come back online. However, to protect the primary machine from viruses and overload when it comes back online, they must install necessary antivirus and **anti-spam applications**. There are many ways of creating a **secondary backup**. _The most common one is holding the mail-in queue until the primary server comes back online_. It helps save funds as the organizations do not have to spend any extra money to install and maintain two hardware devices of the same configuration. ### Features To Look For In A Premium Or Free Backup MX While different organizations have their specific customer base and email requirements, there are certain standard features to look for when choosing backup MX, free or paid. They are: 1. **Specialized Features** – Organizations can create their own backup MX record. However, specialized [backup MX solutions](/email/email-backup-mx) offer features like automatic restoration of email and failover. 2. **Automatic Domain Failover** – Organizations need to switch to the **backup MX server** as soon as there is a primary server failure. The automatic domain failover feature quickly diverts all the incoming emails to the MX backup in such a scenario. 3. **Compatibility With Other Email Server Solutions** – _Office 365 and Microsoft Exchange servers are the go-to choice for business communications and collaboration_. However, some backup MX service providers are only compatible with certain specific email services. Hence, organizations must ensure that the backup MX is consistent with the service they use. _Backup MX offers businesses an email solution that is fault-tolerant and boosts their business continuity and disaster recovery programs_. Organizations must choose a service provider that is in line with their policies and backup requirements. ##### Join the thousands of organizations that use DuoCircle --- Find out how affordable it is for your organization today and be pleasantly surprised. [MX Backup - Sign Up](/email/email-backup-mx)Interested in our Partner Program for MSPs and VARs? Visit Our [MSP Partner Program](/msp-partner-program). ## Ready to talk? Same-day response from someone technical. We tell you yes or no quickly. If yes, we get to work. [Talk to an Expert→](/contact/)[See what we make](/products/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/images/duocircle-logo.png"},"description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. 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