multiple virtual domains?

[jdp459]

[quote=Mistoffeles;146137]Done that way, email leaving the server is sent "from" user@mail.domain.com, rather than user@domain.com. I don't know anyone who _wants_ their email to be sent from user@mail.domain.com, even if the name of the server actually is mail.domain.com, or just mail.

Perhaps, but that isn't what I've seen in our configuration or perhaps I'm mistaken or misunderstood. I know that I've never had an issue with emails leaving our internal network using the mail.domain.tld. I'm just talking about the "./install", not the final configuration.

To get Zimbra doing the right thing, for a simple 1-server config, in the Admin GUI

Configuration --> Domains
- add or rename the domain to "domain.tld" <-- no "mail." prepended
- set the "public service host name" to "mail.domain.tld"
- under the "Virtual Hosts" tab, set all the hosts that this server should answer for.
mail.domain.tld
feedback.domain.tld
mail.other-domain.tld
mail.freecharge.tld
- add any additional domains you'd like this server to manage (like other-domain.tld and freecharge.tld)

I guess the short simple version could be, when asked for:
Question | Answer
- hostname | mail.domain.tld
- domainname | domain.tld
- email domainname | domain.tld

Otherwise, how will you ssh into your zimbra server at domain.tld? It needs to have a hostname, right?

[Mistoffeles]

Well, that depends.

My PuTTY is entirely set up using IP addresses, with separate connections for internal (192.168.x.x style, i.e.: reserved private address space) and external (147.18.x.x style). This will work with anything, but I am not about to have users browsing to 147.18.43.26 when webmail.mycompany.com is better for them as mostly non-technical users.

I don't necessarily see the Zimbra installer as broken, but rather as providing the easiest default option to use in the case of the installer not going to the extreme effort of typing in his own choice of hostname, domainname and email domainname. No parsing necessary, just take the FQDN right from the environment variable, server configuration file or whatever the Zimbra installer uses to get it.

[mmenaz]

@jdp459
so you seem to confirm that is a install issue. Since installer is looking for the DOMAIN, and is going to provide a default one, it should use domain.tld (hostname -d), the domain to which the current host belongs, and not the hostname (mail.domain.ltd).
@phoenix
the installer is "broken" since it proivded a wrong default, whild would be perfectly capable to provide a reasonable right one. The fact that lets you change it's wrong default choice does not make it "good".

[Mistoffeles]

It is only your opinion that the default is wrong.

The default is the default, it is retrieved from the settings of the server it is being installed on. This is an objective observation.

Wrong is subjective, dependent on the opinion of the person observing the installer in action. To some people, anything other than blank is wrong. Others might prefer a list of several possibilities, including the settings taken from the network configuration files, an altered version with a "sensible" name such as mydomain.com, or even one with the settings prefix removed and "mail." prepended in its place, plus the ability to type in whatever alternate setting the user might want.

[unclecameron]

Thanks for the help, I can sort it out I think Installing Zimbra is pretty straightforward compared to building a bunch of Postfix boxes from scratch, which is my usual method.

I suppose most people trying out zimbra who aren't "power users" would opt for @domain.com, I think the installer options could be scary for new people who may upgrade to paid version if they have a good experience. Explaining DNS at all to new users is tricky, lots of blank stares when you try to explain, Then you wind up ssh'ing in and doing it for them Just one data point.

[Mistoffeles]

Originally Posted by unclecameron

Explaining DNS at all to new users is tricky, lots of blank stares when you try to explain

Heck mine is (finally) working and I still don't really understand how or why

Now to get rDNS and SPF working...

[unclecameron]

don't freak out about Reverse DNS, basically you have to send an e-mail to whoever your ISP is, or whoever owns your IP addresses you're using, just tell them to add something like:

reverse DNS entry of mail.yourzimbrabox.com for your.public.ip.address

and they'll know what to do. SPF is little more sticky, but basically once you get reverse DNS done, it'll probably deliver most e-mail until you figure out SPF, reverse DNS missing will hoze you though. You can check reverse dns to see if it's right by typing

dig -x your.public.ip.address and see if it says mail.yourzimbrabox.com

[jdp459]

Originally Posted by unclecameron

Explaining DNS at all to new users is tricky, lots of blank stares when you try to explain...

I use the phone book analogy. DNS is like a 2-way phone book for computers on the internet where the IP addr is like the telephone number and the FQDN is a full and complete name. MX records are like the special government sections of the phone book and need a little more data for specialized services like email and SPF.

[bhwong]

Originally Posted by unclecameron

don't freak out about Reverse DNS, basically you have to send an e-mail to whoever your ISP is, or whoever owns your IP addresses you're using, just tell them to add something like:

reverse DNS entry of mail.yourzimbrabox.com for your.public.ip.address

and they'll know what to do. SPF is little more sticky, but basically once you get reverse DNS done, it'll probably deliver most e-mail until you figure out SPF, reverse DNS missing will hoze you though. You can check reverse dns to see if it's right by typing

dig -x your.public.ip.address and see if it says mail.yourzimbrabox.com

Since I host multiple domains on my Zimbra thru 1 single IP, what can I do to get "dig to say out" all these domains at the same time? :P

Do I have to get my ISP to enter a new PTR record for us everytime we add a new domain for a new customer? Is having PTR record = having a valid rDNS? Or they mean difference thing?

What about SPF record and Domain Keys? And signing up for feedback loop? Why is it necessary to have a valid abuse@ or postmater@ email address?

Zimbra should provide a handbook on proper email setup or a wizard to guide us thru these additional requirements to have our email server work properly.

[jdp459]

Zimbra isn't responsible for your DNS settings. You are. There are many excellent tutorials and complete books on DNS available. I can recommend the O'Reiley book - when we had an issue many yrs ago, I read about 10 pgs and never used it again.

Further, there are many different setups for email, so you are asking them to explain 50 different DNS setups too. Your setup could be different still.

Whether your ISP needs to be involved with DNS is also unknown. My ISP knows nothing at all about my DNS records. If you are paying for an all-in-one hosting service, then your ISP probably has a DNS settings panel to control it. Since your panel controls aren't the same as my panel controls and neither match zone files, exact examples would probably confuse more than help. However, don't forget the trailing '.' character. IT IS USUALLY VERY IMPORTANT.

For us, DNS is performed elsewhere. We like to keep DNS, hosting and domain registration at different companies, so when there is a failure at 1 company, it isn't a HUGE deal to move the service AND 1 company can't completely take our site down, they can just make it difficult.

If you need examples, use `dig` (a DNS query tool) and query DNS records for any other domains you like. It isn't like the settings can be hidden. Some examples

$ dig mail.google.com
$ dig mail.google.com mx
$ dig mail.zimbra.com
$ dig mail.zimbra.com mx