How to Use an SMTP Virtual Server for Mail

An SMTP virtual server is designated to use the simple mail transfer protocol for sending and receiving email messages across IP (Internet Protocol) networks. The mail sender communicates with the mail receiver using a string of command sets with data over a data stream. The SMTP virtual server replicates a physical server and delivers email to it's corresponding clients. Configuring your SMTP virtual server for mail can give you several options on how often you would like it to attempt to send mail, how your mail will be sent and how mail clients are verified.

Instructions

Designate Retry Tries and Intervals

1. Open your Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and choose "SMTP Virtual Server." Click "Properties" within the "Action" tab. Click "Delivery."

2. Enter a value for the time to deliver mail before sending out a notification in "First Retry Interval (Minutes)," the default is 15 minutes. Enter a time value in "Second Retry Interval (Minutes)" for sending out a second notification. The default is 30 minutes.

3. Enter time values for "Third Retry Interval (minutes)" and "Subsequent Retry Interval (minutes)." This will configure your SMTP Virtual Server to try several times with notifications when delivering mail. Once all the retries have been met, and the mail was undeliverable, it will be sent to the "Non-deliverable" mail batch and a notification will be sent.

Set the Message Hop Count

1. Select "SMTP Virtual Server" within your MMC and click "Properties" under the "Action" menu.

2. Click "Advanced" under "Delivery."

3. Enter the number of times a message can hop between the source and destination servers within the "Maximum Hop Count" dialogue box. The default is 15 hops.

Designate the Masquerade Domain

1. Select "SMTP Virtual Server" and click "Properties" under the "Action" tab.

2. Click "Advanced" under the "Delivery" tab.

3. Enter the domain you wish to appear in message headers over the actual domain in the "Masquerade Domain" dialogue box.

Designate a Fully Qualified Domain Name

1. Select the "SMTP Virtual Server" from your MMC and click "Properties" under the "Action" tab.

2. Click "Advanced" under "Delivery."

3. Enter the FQDN within the "Fully Qualified Domain Name" dialogue box.

Set Up a Smart Host

1. Select the "SMTP Virtual Server" within your MMC and click "Properties" under the "Action" tab. Click "Delivery" under the "Advanced" tab.

2. Enter the name of the smart host within the "Smart Host" dialogue box.

3. Check the box next to "Attempt Direct Delivery Before Sending to Smart Host." This will give your SMTP server the option to send mail through another route in the event sending or receiving them directly from the domain does not work.

Enable a Reverse DNS Lookup

1. Select "SMTP Virtual Server" within the MMC and click "Properties" under the "Action" tab.

2. Click "Advanced" under the "Delivery" tab.

3. Check the box next to "Perform Reverse DNS Lookup on Incoming Messages" which will give your SMTP virtual server the capability to verify that the IP address of the sending/receiving mail client matches their domain name. You will get a notification in the header whether the lookup was "Succesful" or if the domain name was "Unverified."

References

• Microsoft: HOW TO--Configure the SMTP Virtual Server for Message Delivery