help setting up MX record on vps with IP address and no dns nameservers

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befree33

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Feb 5, 2013
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I have a vps ip address and there are no custom dns servers (ns1/ns2.nocustomdns.com) for this ip address.

My domain name is registered at Register.com. Yesterday, I added the A record or IP address for my vps. Now my domain.com has propagated on the internet.

Today, I have to add the MX record for my vps to Register.com MX record so I can send and receive emails from my vps.
mail mx 10 <-- this is the default format in DA
mail.domain.com mx 10 <-- do I add this in DA MX record? Where "domain" is my actual website?

I had added the following to the MX record at Register.com but got an error message stating that the nameserver cannot be an IP address:

Hostname: mail.domain.com
Priority: Low
Name Server: 1.2.3.4

NB: I am able to send emails from my domain to my domain but not to another domain name. For ex. in SquirrelMail I send an email to myself (same domain) AND to an external email address (not a free email service) but the only email I received in my inbox was the email I sent to myself (same domain). The email sent to an external email address never arrived in that inbox.

Could someone tell me what nameserver I use for my vps which only has an ip address (no custom dns nameservers)?

FYI: I already looked at http://www.site-helper.com/dns.html#mx which doesn't contain my solution.
 
Is your mail server on a different server than your directadmin server? If so there is a check box in mx dns settings that you have to uncheck for mail to work. "Use this server to handle my emails."

If your dns is not pointed to the nameservers on your directadmin server then you do not need to make any dns changes there as they will never be seen.
 
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Since you have pointed it to : mail.domain.com (where domain.com is your domain), you have to set A record for mail.domain.com which point to your main IP . Also, set proper rDNS (ask your host) for your IP.
 
anay said:
Since you have pointed it to : mail.domain.com (where domain.com is your domain), you have to set A record for mail.domain.com which point to your main IP . Also, set proper rDNS (ask your host) for your IP.
Click to expand...

A couple days ago I setup the following dns records (A record, nameservers, MX record) for my domain name at the registrar:

A record:
name: mail.domain1.com
ttl: 3600 <== this is the default dns ttl
IPv4 address: 234.21.01.10 <== vps server ip (not my actual ip but pseudo ip to maintain privacy. PM me if you want the real ip)

DNS list:
I have setup custom domain servers for my domain1.com website. The custom domain server is ns1/ns2 nameserver.com.
See my related post at http://forum.directadmin.com/showthread.php?t=26937&page=2 regarding the custom name servers.

MX record:
name: *
ttl: 14400
priority: 10
mail server: mail.nameserver.com

FYI: For the A record I also added
name: pop.domain1.com 234.21.01.10
name: smtp.domain1.com 234.21.01.10

My problem is that I'm unable to receive incoming mail at webmail. I'm testing the incoming and outgoing mail from my domain names. I'm able to send mail (outgoing) from webmail but I'm unable to receive mail (incoming) mail at webmail.

For example, I was able to send mail from my webmail account [email protected] to my yahoo account. I received the mail in my yahoo account. However, I was unable to send mail from yahoo to my webmail account [email protected]. I'm experiencing this issue with all of my domains. The outgoing/smtp is working but the incoming/pop or imap isn't working.
 
You said mail.nameserver.com and mail.domain1.com. Your mx record also needs an A record so I hope you set that up right.

if my domain is domain.com

mail.domain.com must have an A record to an ip as well as a proper mx record of mail.domain.com to receive the email. If your dns is right then the problem lies with your mail server and you would have to look at the logs.

In a dns zone it would look like this:

@ IN MX 10 mail.domain.com.
mail IN A 1.2.3.4

Using fake domains doesnt help cause no one can help you by verifying your settings.
 
Please see the attached screenshot: http://tinypic.com/r/2z50pqs/6

You say that the mx record needs an A record and that is listed. Correct me if I'm wrong.

If your dns is right then the problem lies with your mail server and you would have to look at the logs.
Click to expand...

The exim logs are: http://pastebin.com/5HKwMNvY

My thinking is that the mail server info is incorrect as I mentioned in the pastebin. All I ask is for someone to look at the screenshot and the logs and tell me where the problem lies. I can then tell tech support to make changes. I'm unfamiliar with vps so tech support make changes using ssh commands.

FYI: The paid tech support has been unable to help me solve this for over 2 weeks now so I'm asking forum users for help.
 
If it's a VPS and you still have that @vps.forward.com in there, check your hostname. You have to use your own hostname, or at least that would be wise to do.
Next to that, in the screenshot it looks as if there is an MX present, but there isn't.
Check this (click).
 
Your mx record is wrong.

@ in the first box
mail.prosocialroi.com in the last box
 
@chatwizrd It works! That simple fix worked. I had * in the mx record and I deleted it and left blank and it works. See http://tinypic.com/r/jb0cop/6

Now I'm able to send and receive email on my vps.

FYI: I tried entering @ for the hostname but the registrar's system won't take it.

I wish I could pm you or zEitEr's cause I may need your paid service for another issue I'm having.
 
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