The Email Forwarding Servers: Should Organizations Create One Or Select One From The Available
Millions of people around the world use email forwarding services. If a person or an organization uses several domains, it becomes cumbersome to access each inbox to check emails; this is where mailing forwarding service find relevance.
There are several email forwarders – free or paid services – readily available. Companies that provide such services create their private email forwarding servers through which they perform this crucial task. Hence understanding the email forwarding server is critical to select a reliable one.
Selecting A Reliable Email Forwarding Server
Technology experts create servers for various organizational purposes. The operating system and other technologies that they use are different from the Windows OS that general internet users use. Linux is the best OS that is used to create reliable servers and hence is one of the most critical factors in deciding to choose a reliable Email Forwarding Server.
- One must be aware of the underlying technology that is used to make these email forwarding servers secure; this can help in determining which service to use.
- Looking for a budget-friendly server is also important. While many servers are quite expensive, others provide the same facility at a much lower cost.
- Conducting viable research by checking the reviews of other companies can also be helpful while choosing an email forwarding service.
- If a server is equipped with next-gen firewall protection, in addition to encryption, then it is the recommended server.
- In case the servers do not meet one’s requirement, a user can create his or her private server.
Creating An Email Forwarding Server
It is possible to create an individual email forwarding server too. However, if you’re not technically savvy, it may be better to forego your attempt at getting yourself an email forwarder free of cost; there are chances of your exposing yourself to data breaches and intrusions. You should remember that securing every server is essential because there are constant attacks on externally built servers by hackers to extract private and confidential information.
The procedure for creating an email forwarding server is as follows:
Install a server that can run Postfix
Ubuntu Linux is one of the best servers that run a Postfix; however, other useful servers that you can install are Mac OS or Linux Distro. Postfix is a widely used, open-source Mail Transport Agent (MTA). It functions to send/receive emails between other MTAs.
Postfix Configuration
Once the Postfix server, such as Ubuntu Linux, is installed, modification of the Postfix is the next step. The first step to do this is to prepare a virtual alias in the text editor for the following file: /etc/postfix/main.cf. After this, one can add multiple email addresses in a specific format. Saving the file is the next step.
Running the Configured Postfix
A specific code needs to run after one saves the required email addresses. Running the below lines can confirm that the changes have been saved in Postfix.
# postmap /etc/postfix/virtual
# service postfix reload
Setting up a Firewall
Open the firewall on the OS and run port number 25; this is where Postfix and most SMTP services run. Before this, it is vital to ensure that there is a good firewall installed in the system. Also, most ISP’s tend to block port number 25 for residential users, and hence, many users will not be able to run postfix within their home networks.
Configuring the DNS
This part is a bit technical because one needs to know about the working of DNS. The primary step in DNS configuration is to modify the MX records of the domain addresses that require email forwarding, and the charges for the same are minimal.
Try Run
After you have gone through all the steps without a mistake, the email forwarding server will be set up successfully. To check this, send an email to one of the forwarding addresses from the email client, and look out for them in the forwarded mailbox.
Conclusion
Setting up an email forwarding server by following the steps as mentioned above should only be done by those who have to manage more than ten domains at a particular time. In case, one needs to manage 3-4 domains, the services provided by various companies are the best options to go forward. If your requirements are not that much, you can even choose from the email forwarders that are available for free.
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