Osteopoise

Q: Newbie: Setting up Mail on OS X Server 5 - Stuck with "Available on your local network at server.local"

Hi All

 

I am currently trying to setup my first Mail Server. So far I have managed to configure the server to a point that I have working internal mail (half way there at least). The part that I am struggling with is making this accessible outside of the network.

 

If i send a mail from one of my created test account to another whilst on the network then everything works perfectly. If I try and sent to a externally hosted email address then the mail appears to send but never arrives (This is to iCloud, Gmail and others). It also fails if I try to sent to my test account from the external email address.

 

My Server App reports that Mail is "Available on your local network at servername.local", Also on the Domains section my domain has the "Internet: Reachability Unknown". When I go to the Server pane and click on Reachability it reports my External IP as expected as well as my Public Host Name but lists that there are "No Available services"

 

I have configured my DNS to include a A record and a MX record for my Server, and I have added a A record and a MX record to my DNS providers records for my IP.

 

I have opened and forwarded the following ports to my internal IP address for the Server, 25, 110, 143, 587, 993, 995, 4190.

 

If anyone could help that would be great.

 

Thanks

 

System:

Apple Mac Mini (Late 2012)

2.3 GHZ Intel Core ii7

16GB DDR3

 

Software:

OSX 10.10.5

Server 5.0.15

Mac mini, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Apr 14, 2016 6:21 AM

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Q: Newbie: Setting up Mail on OS X Server 5 - Stuck with "Available on your local network at server.local"

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 14, 2016 8:53 AM in response to Osteopoise
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Apr 14, 2016 8:53 AM in response to Osteopoise

    The server's hostname must match its fully-qualified domain name. To confirm, select the server by name in the sidebar of the Server application window, then select the Overview tab. Click the Edit button on the Host Name line. On the Accessing your Server sheet, Domain Name should be selected. Change the Host Name, if necessary. The server must have at least a three-level name (e.g. "server.yourdomain.com"), and the name must not be in the ".local" top-level domain, which is reserved for Bonjour.

  • by Osteopoise,

    Osteopoise Osteopoise Apr 15, 2016 1:57 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Apr 15, 2016 1:57 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Hi Linc Davis

    Thank you for your response, I have re-confirmed the server's hostname and it is currently set as the following.

     

    Computer Name : server

    Host Name: server.mydomain.co.uk

    Network Address: Correct Internal Address on Ethernet

     

    Also on the same Overview tab, under Internet my Public Host Name is: server.mydomain.co.uk

     

    After doing a bit of playing around, it also appears that if i try and turn on Websites it to is also only available locally.

     

    Thanks

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 15, 2016 5:45 AM in response to Osteopoise
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Apr 15, 2016 5:45 AM in response to Osteopoise

    Please check the service settings in the Access tab.

  • by Osteopoise,

    Osteopoise Osteopoise Apr 15, 2016 6:03 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Apr 15, 2016 6:03 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Hi

    The current setting in the access tab are:

     

    Default User Access: All Users

     

    Default Network Access: All Networks

     

    Custom Access:    Caching - All users - Local Subnets

                                    Screen Sharing - 1 Group - All Networks - TCP 5900

     

    Thanks

  • by Leopardus,

    Leopardus Leopardus Apr 15, 2016 6:21 AM in response to Osteopoise
    Level 4 (1,087 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 15, 2016 6:21 AM in response to Osteopoise

    Don't want to be barging in, but do you have a valid AAA record?

    What do you get when you submit your domain name to http://dnscheck.ripe.net/ ? It should resolve to your fixed IP address for the server. You will find a wealth of information, down from the TLD to your own applicable DNS server.

    Next, check if the applicable router ports are not blocked by your ISP and that they are open on your router.

     

    Leo

     

    Edit: John Lockwood has also provided some in his post to DNS Error wrt a previous DNS problem.

  • by Osteopoise,

    Osteopoise Osteopoise Apr 15, 2016 6:39 AM in response to Leopardus
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Apr 15, 2016 6:39 AM in response to Leopardus

    Hi Leopardus

    Thanks for the help. Sorry being a newbie I am a bit confused by what your asking so apologies if I have done this wrong. Anyway...

     

    When I put my domain name into the DNScheck all is green (that is mydomain.co.uk)

    If I put the fully-qualified domain name into the DNScheck (server.mydomain.co.uk) then I get a error.

     

    Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 14.26.43.png

    Not sure if this was meant to test the fully-qualified domain name or not as it refers to a zone. Also not sure how to fix this error if it is a problem, a quick google search doesn't appear to show must.

     

    When checking my DNS records with my DNS provider. I have an A record and a MX record in for the FQDN pointing to my external IP address but I didn't put a AAAA record in as I believe this is for IPv6 which we don't use yet.

     

    When checking the DNS records on my server I have a Primary Zone configured for mydomain.co.uk and within that I have a A record, MX record and a NS record all pointing the FQDN for my server.

     

    I also have checked all the ports mentioned above and they are still open and forwarding to the internal IP address for the server.

     

    Thanks

  • by Osteopoise,

    Osteopoise Osteopoise Apr 15, 2016 6:47 AM in response to Osteopoise
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Apr 15, 2016 6:47 AM in response to Osteopoise

    Also just to add, I have read the post about DNS error and on performing the command, they all return the same response for google.co.uk.

     

    If I nslookup for my FQDN I receive the internal IP address of my server from 127.0.0.1 (Local Host)

    When using the external DNS 8.8.8.8, I receive the external IP of my server.


    Thanks

  • by Leopardus,

    Leopardus Leopardus Apr 15, 2016 9:05 AM in response to Osteopoise
    Level 4 (1,087 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 15, 2016 9:05 AM in response to Osteopoise

    Osteopoise wrote:

     

    Hi Leopardus

    Thanks for the help. Sorry being a newbie I am a bit confused by what your asking so apologies if I have done this wrong. Anyway...

     

    When I put my domain name into the DNScheck all is green (that is mydomain.co.uk)

    If I put the fully-qualified domain name into the DNScheck (server.mydomain.co.uk) then I get a error.

     

    Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 14.26.43.png

    Not sure if this was meant to test the fully-qualified domain name or not as it refers to a zone. Also not sure how to fix this error if it is a problem, a quick google search doesn't appear to show must.

     

    It does refer to your domain.co.uk as a zone of the higher level zone. Here you put in your registered domain name to see if everything resolves correctly.

     

    When checking my DNS records with my DNS provider. I have an A record and a MX record in for the FQDN pointing to my external IP address but I didn't put a AAAA record in as I believe this is for IPv6 which we don't use yet.

     

    The DNS provider registered record was what you should have. Look here dns - Explanation of various domain name records? - Super ...

     

    When checking the DNS records on my server I have a Primary Zone configured for mydomain.co.uk and within that I have a A record, MX record and a NS record all pointing the FQDN for my server.

     

    I also have checked all the ports mentioned above and they are still open and forwarding to the internal IP address for the server.

     

    Thanks

    Needed to ensure that your DNS resolves, otherwise you will battle for eternity and beyond. What happens if you address the services with the external IP address?

     

    Leo

  • by MrHoffman,

    MrHoffman MrHoffman Apr 15, 2016 9:27 AM in response to Osteopoise
    Level 6 (15,612 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2016 9:27 AM in response to Osteopoise

    Usual here is to set up public DNS exactly correctly for your public IP address with forward DNS (domain name to IP address) and reverse (address to name) translations established for your IP address from both your DNS provider (for the forward translation) and with your IP ISP (for the reverse translation), and in parallel to that establishing internal DNS services under whatever name you want to use inside your network (preferably a domain you've registered or a subdomain of same), and then configuring the mail server to host your public domain name through the virtual hosting setting within the Server.app settings for mail.

     

    Failure to set up public DNS with proper forward and reverse settings can appear to work, though other servers will often interpret that misconfiguration as indicating your mail server is a spam engine and not a properly-configured server.   There's nothing you can do about that interpretation as that occurs on other mail servers and servers you have no control over, other than having forward and reverse DNS that matches.

     

    Matching?  Forward DNS for the domain name or for the MX record associated with the domain name to the IP address.   The IP address then returns the same name as was used to start with.

     

    Your internal DNS services should not have any .local names involved.  The .local top-level domain is reserved for mDNS/Zeroconf/Bonjour networking.

     

    Given the folks looking to target your mail server will find either the open TCP port 25 server or the MX record within an hour or so of it becoming active on the net and usually much more quickly than that, there's not much point in obfuscating the domain name, either.   (I've seen brand-new port 25 connections on an IP address I know has not have a mail server for the last ~10 years start up spam and attempts to route through spam within minutes, too.)  If you post the domain name, we can check at least the public DNS for correct MX settings.   Or if you'd prefer to avoid posting that information here, that's certainly entirely your call — just don't assume that not posting that data will prevent the spammers from finding your mail server within minutes...)

     

    Here is a DNS intro...

     

    <I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.>

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 15, 2016 4:58 PM in response to Osteopoise
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Apr 15, 2016 4:58 PM in response to Osteopoise

    In the Server app, select the server icon at the top of the sidebar, then select the Overview tab. Click the button labeled

              Edit Host Name...

    In the sheet that drops down, click through to the screen headed

              Choose how users will access your server

    Make sure the right option is selected. Unless you choose Local Network, the server needs a static IP address on the local network, and you need a working DNS setup with at least a three-level FQDN for the server; for example:

              server.yourdomain.com

    Something like this won't work:

              yourserver.com

  • by rjmt13,

    rjmt13 rjmt13 May 20, 2016 9:59 PM in response to Osteopoise
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    May 20, 2016 9:59 PM in response to Osteopoise

    bro use a wan ip to your server instead of a local ip  direct i to the line and u will be accessing it outside the network sorry for my bad english

  • by Osteopoise,

    Osteopoise Osteopoise May 24, 2016 2:34 AM in response to Osteopoise
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    May 24, 2016 2:34 AM in response to Osteopoise

    Hi All

    Thanks for the help, I managed to correct a couple of mistake on the server. And then after checking my DNS on DNScheck it appears that my DNS provider wasn't updating my records as requested.

     

    All working now thought.

     

    Again thanks for the help.