Configuring the SMTP Server

To configure the SMTP server:

  1. In the Control Panel, double–click the IMail Server icon.

The IMail services dialog box appears.

  1. Click the SMTP tab. The SMTP Service properties appear.

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  1. Enter the options you want to use to configure the SMTP server.

Each option is described in the "SMTP Options" section at the end of this procedure.

  1. After making changes, stop the SMTP service, wait 5–10 seconds and restart the service. Any changes that you make are saved automatically as soon as you press the Stop/Start Service button.
  2. Click OK to exit the dialog box.

SMTP Options

You can use the following options to configure the SMTP server.

Logging Options

In the Log To box, select the file that you want to use for logging SMTP events.

The default setting, SYSMMDD.TXT, causes all inbound and outbound mail to be logged in the file: MAILDIR/spool/sysmmdd.txt, where mm is the month and dd is the day the log was written.

Logging can be disabled by selecting No Log. If App Log is selected, inbound mail is logged in the Application Log, which is viewed with Windows NT’s Event Viewer. If Log Server is selected, messages are sent to the Log Server IP address specified in the Control Panel–>IMail Server–>Global configuration.

Debug Messages

When enabled, writes debug messages to the log file.

Default Mail Host

The name of the host to send mail to if only a user ID is specified in the mail message and that user ID is not found on the local system. Normally this field should be blank. This field can be useful when multiple systems are required to work as one system.

Domain Name Server address

The IP address of the system that provides domain name service for your network.

Tries before returning to sender

Defines the number of times that delivery is attempted before giving up and returning the mail to the sender. Each time the Queue Timer reaches 0, a delivery attempt is made. Thus, if the Queue Timer is set to 30 (minutes) and you want to attempt delivery for up to 3 days, this field should contain 144. The default value of 20 with the default Queue Timer value of 30 will cause the message to be returned after about 10 hours.

Queue Timer

How often, in minutes, the SMTP server will check the outbound queue for queued mail. (See also the Tries before returning to sender option.)

Server Status

A status message to the left of the Start/Stop Service button shows whether or not the service is running.

Start/Stop Service

This button toggles between Start service and Stop service depending on whether the service is running.

Using a Remote Mail Gateway

You can use the Gateway Options to configure your mail server to use a remote mail gateway.

Remote Mail Gateway Host

The name of another host to send mail to for further delivery when that mail cannot be delivered directly to the destination host. This can also be used in conjunction with the Send all remote mail through gateway option to force delivery of mail through the gateway host. Since IMail Server for Windows NT should be able to reach all hosts directly, this field should typically be left blank.

Send all remote mail through gateway

Causes all mail to be sent to the Remote Mail Gateway Host, which will forward it on to the addressee’s mail host. If this option is not selected, mail is sent directly to the addressee’s mail host.

Tries before sending to gateway

The number of times that delivery directly to a remote host should be attempted before giving up and delivering to the gateway host. Proper function of this value is dependent on the validity of the Remote Mail Gateway Host name and the Send all remote mail through gateway option.


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