Google Apps - Create E-mail Accounts in HG CPanel or Google Apps

[dealga01]

I am confused in using Google Apps. I really don't understand itFrom what I understand you can:

1) Create e-mail accounts in Google Apps and have everything run through
Google's Server. From what I understand, you would have to change the CNAME and the MX records. However, Google Apps limits you to creating 50 e-mail addresses - I guess you don't create the e-mail accounts then in the CPANEL. . . Based on this option, I guess all the IMAP/SMTP servers would then point to google somehow if we were to use outlook.

However, we can create e-mail accounts in our CPanel which allow more than 50. How would you then set up Google Apps to allow people who have e-mails to check them using Gmail as the interface (for webmail purposes)?
Based on this option, I guess the IMAP/SMTP would be through hostgator's

Do most people just create the e-mail accounts (@yourdomain.com) through Google Apps as oppose to creating them in the CPANEL? I prefer somehow creating them in CPANEL for redundancy and retention purposes.

Thanks.

[slapshotw]

There's two completely different things:

1. Google Apps for your domain. In this case, you'd change the MX records, and handle everything completely through Google and be subject to their limits. Hostgator is out of the loop as far as email is concerned.
2. External mail checking on regular Gmail accounts. You can configure any gmail account to import mail from an external box. In this case you'd still setup everything from cPanel, and ask everybody to add the cPanel box to their personal gmail accounts.

[dealga01]

In regards to #2, I understand anyone can pipe it in from any Gmail account. However, I would like the users of the domain (i.e. @mydomain.com) to be able to login through Google Apps to check and respond to their e-mail (@mydomain.com) using the e-mail (@mydomain.com) that is set up for them (not using their personal gmail account).

Thanks.

[slapshotw]

Just FYI on #2, you can choose what account you respond "from."

But if you want to use #1, and you don't want to pay for it, you need to accept their limit of 50 users. It's a free service--Google specifically says that to have more than 50 people, you need to pay them. At that point it's out of Hostgator's hands. Once that MX is changed no email addresses you create in cPanel will mean anything.

[Pwety]

Somewhat related question. I know I can change the MX record in Cpanel to point to Google, but where to change the CNAME record.

Thanks

[GvilleRick]

The CNAME record willhave to be changed by support on a shared account. You do not have to change the CNAME to use GoogleMail, only if you want to use the websites with them as well.

[Pwety]

The instruction given by Google if you want to use mail.domain.com, the CNAME need to be changed to ghs.google.com. That was 2 years ago, do we still need to do that, else will have to refer to Google again. Thanks

[slapshotw]

Go ahead, follow their instructions for CNAME on your mail subdomain. It will make it easier for you to login and do administration.

[Pwety]

The problem I have is that in the Cpanel, there is only option to change MX record but not CNAME. Where can I assess the Zone File Control. Thanks

[GvilleRick]

You will have to contact support by opening a ticket and request that they change your DNS Zone. It is not possible to change it from cPanel.

[dealga01]

Getting back to where the e-mail accounts are originally established in the HG Cpanel, we want to allow users to through both the GMAIL interface and possibly the squirelmail or whatever HG webmail interfaces there are.

I guess this would be the dual delivery redundancy option where it goes through HG servers 1st and then the Google servers. Has anyone done this before? See below:
http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/...y?answer=96855

All in all, is it just better to just create the e-mail accounts directly on Google Apps and let them handle everything as oppose to going through the HG Cpanel as oppose to all this hassle? What are the pros and cons?

[slapshotw]

To do the double delivery, you need to actually setup Google Apps with a domain alias. Then you'll need to setup both mailboxes and forwarders on the cPanel account. Essentially the mailbox is the regular domain, and the forwarder goes to something like username@testing.yourDomain.com.

This kind of setup is really for testing (they go as far as to explicitly say that on their page) and isn't a great long term solution. Nothing will be in sync-- so if you send something from Gmail it won't show up on hostgator, and vice-versa... which defeats a lot of the purpose of great Gmail interface for managing your mail.

Again, what is the goal here? You're still going to have to set them up in both places, not just cpanel, and you'll still be subject to their limit.

[striddy]

Originally Posted by dealga01

we want to allow users to through both the GMAIL interface and possibly the squirelmail or whatever HG webmail interfaces there are.

This is not a good solution at all. As slapshotw said, first define your goals. For ease of setup and long term administration, email should be delivered to one place. If you are wanting to use 50 mailboxes for 50 different users, a $10 p/month shared hosting plan isn't your solution.

• How many mailboxes
• How much monthly data storage and bandwidth usage
• Connection will be via POP or IMAP/Webmail
• Do you need email backed up

[nodelink242]

FYI, I was wanting to use Google Docs for documents related to my domains. This would be the equivalent of docs.google.com but tied to my domain as in docs.mydomain.com.

I chose to set up my email accounts under HostGator and access them using MS Outlook.

FYI, to sign up for Google Apps for your domain, go to:

http://www.google.com/a/cpanel/domain/new

FYI, Google Apps Control Panel is available at:

https://www.google.com/a/mydomain.com

Within HostGator cPanel, I then set up a subdomain for each domain as docs.mydomain.com and re-directed it to:

http://docs.google.com/a/mydomain.com.

It worked.

[wsuccess]

Please forgive this extremely basic, ignorant question. I've been going through every thread and piece of documentation I can find, and I'm still confused as to some basic theory.

I understand the mechanics of changing MX records so that Google can handle my domain email. What I don't understand is whether I have to set up a corresponding gmail account name to each existing HostGator email account name I currently have.

So I have user1@mydomain.com and user2@mydomain.com. Both currently running on HostGator. They've been well publicized and I need to keep using them as my public-facing from- and to- email addresses.

I created a Google gmail account using my default Google user name, which creates a third account: Guser@gmail.com

If I change the email MX records in Cpanel for mydomain.com, does email for both HostGator addresses automatically go to Guser@gmail.com? Or does it go to user1@gmail.com and user2@gmail.com? Basically, where do I check that mail (I am using Outlook as my front end, rather than the Web, so I need to establish the proper account settings there - I have no problem on the mechanics of doing that).

After I make the MX changes, do I delete my HostGator email accounts in Cpanel, or keep them active?

Thanks so much for your help. I'm amazed I'm having such a hard time finding this basic primer information as someone new to the game of email management.

[norcross]

Remember that Google Apps isn't Gmail, at least not in the traditional sense. Using Google Apps (which I use for a lot of things, including email) is using Google's on-line services (email, documents, file hosting, chat, etc) with YOUR domain name. So if you set up Google Apps, and use the email portion, then you need to set up the MX records as indicated. Once you do that, all your mail traffic is going to route through Google, and not HostGator anymore. Any email addresses would then be name@yourdomain.com, not name@gmail.com. Those are two different, independent addresses.