Split Email and Webhosting

[rec9140]

One of the systems I am responsible for has two domains, megcorpdomain dot net and megacorpdomain dot com

We currently use megacorpdomain dot com for web and email.

megacorpdomain dot net is a development domain hosted at HG for testing out various things.

The provider for the email system just can not provide email service which is up to the task due to spam issues, which I've never had when using a LAMP enviroment with SpamAssassin.

My goal is to MOVE ONLY the EMAIL of the megacorpdomain dot com to the development server here at HG. My theory was to use an ADD ON domain to add this to the megacorpdomain dot net account, re create the email address(s) here, put a nex mx record in the DNS for domain to point MX to here that puts the email system on here versus the current provider.

We can NOT move the web hosting to HG due to customized applications this other firm is responsible for on that server.

I only want to move the email to the server here at HG so that we have access to SpamAssin, web mail, pop3 and SMTP via mail.megacorpdomain dot com

Another glitch is that the DNS for the megacorpdomain dot com can not be changed to point to HG's DNS servers.... I just need the MX record to point to HG.

I normally prefer to keep everything on one setup, but in this case its just not possible to get the level of email service we need from the current provider. Moving the custom apps to HG is not possible either.

Hints, comments, suggestions....would be welcome....

Thanks in advance.

[rota919]

Simply update the MX records to point to the hostgator server.

Looking at the requirements for MX records it will do what you need.

This is a copy from the CPanel text.

You must entry a FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) as the MX destination.

Warning: Changing your MX to something besides mail. mydomain.com will prevent cPanel from managing your mail, and mail will no longer be sent to this server.

[rec9140]

Originally Posted by rota919

Simply update the MX records to point to the hostgator server.

Looking at the requirements for MX records it will do what you need.

This is a copy from the CPanel text.

Thats what I do with other situations, but CPanels comment about not working yadda...yadda made me question my experience(s) with mail.

[slapshotw]

I've done this a few times, both the way you're doing it and the opposite way. Just change the MX records and then make sure, if the other server is using linux, that you move the domain from the /etc/localdomains list to /etc/remotedomains.

[rec9140]

Originally Posted by slapshotw

I've done this a few times, both the way you're doing it and the opposite way. Just change the MX records and then make sure, if the other server is using linux, that you move the domain from the /etc/localdomains list to /etc/remotedomains.

Thanks for the pointer, if the other host was a LAMP enviroment I probably wouldn't be in this situation, but that was done before I got there, and with the custom software that's so tied to a winslease enviroment....

winslease is not ready for the server enviroment and never will be.

Sometimes CPanels comments get in the way of things I know and have done before.....

Looks like Labor Day weekend is going to be fun....

[slapshotw]

There may be an equivalent setting on windows...something to tell it to look externally for mx records. You should ask around--maybe on WebHostingTalk or do a Google search.

Good luck!

[GatorDavid]

Hi,

This should be possible. Here's what you pretty much need to do:

Make and addon domain (megacorpdomain.com) and add it to megacorpdomain.net

On the actual megacorpdomain.com simply point the MX record to the IP address of our server.

If the other server is running Windows Mail Server 2000 (or something equivalent) I believe that there is a configuration somewhere that tells it to look for remotely hosted email domains (been a long time since I have messed with this software =P)

[rec9140]

Originally Posted by slapshotw

There may be an equivalent setting on windows...something to tell it to look externally for mx records. You should ask around--maybe on WebHostingTalk or do a Google search.

Good luck!

Well the machine that does the DNS for the domain I'm not responsible for so all I do is tell them what I want in the DNS records....

I am just going to do exaxtly what I was planning on doing. The posts here have confirmed what I wanted, just CPanel's comments on Addon Domains confuses things and should just be ignored.

[rec9140]

Originally Posted by GatorDavid

Hi,

This should be possible. Here's what you pretty much need to do:

Make and addon domain (megacorpdomain.com) and add it to megacorpdomain.net

On the actual megacorpdomain.com simply point the MX record to the IP address of our server.

If the other server is running Windows Mail Server 2000 (or something equivalent) I believe that there is a configuration somewhere that tells it to look for remotely hosted email domains (been a long time since I have messed with this software =P)

Thanks.... well I don't know what the other server uses to run the DNS side, its probably winslease since they are into ASP etc..

Hopefully this will clean up the email to an acceptable level SA.