DNS Configuration

[Lucio]

Ok, so I've finally gotten a proper webserver (well almost, it's a VPS solution configured via WebHost Manager). I want to configure it so it can send e-mail to AOL recipients, but they're coming back with 421 errors.

What changes to the DNS records do I need to make to get AOL to accept the messages?

ATM the server has it's hostname with both an A record and an MX record and an SPF record, but I don't know what else needs setting up.


Any help would be appreciated

[Jay]

I am finally on to the feedback loop system and am able to send mail to AOL again!

Just incase anyone here is ever in the same issue as I was.

add a new subdomain A record to you domain DNS eg

outmail IN A "your IP"

this will give you....

outmail.yourdomain.com

Call up your ISP and request a rDNS to be setup for your IP to outmail.yourdomain.com (this can take upto 7 days)

Once this has been setup and propagated to the DNS setup a feedback loop with AOL here....

http://postmaster.aol.com

Make sure the only IPs you put into the request are "owned" by yourself. eg rDNS must relate to your domain (it will because you have already set this up with your ISP)

Once you are accepted you can then move on to their white list for bulk mail sending to AOL. It is important that you do this as it only takes less than 3% of your emails to be either flagged as spam by AOLs crappy spam filters or for a few users to report your email as spam (AOL users do some very odd things) for you to be blacklisted and if you have hundreds of users sending mail its only a matter of time.

No other ISP / mail service that I know requires that you do this.

[Lucio]

Ok, so I've already got it setup (servername.domain.com) is listed both as an A record, and is also a secondary MX record.

So I just have to poke AOL??

[Jay]

yes, follow the link I provided and you should be able to set it up as long as when your tracert your server IP you get the rDNS of your A record.

[Lucio]

yes, follow the link I provided and you should be able to set it up as long as when your tracert your server IP you get the rDNS of your A record.

Unfortunately no dice. It seems that the webserver's IP address is denied because it's WHOIS entry is part of a block registered by the hosting company, and as such doesn't have us listed as the valid abuse contact.

Ah well, AOL customers will just have to use another e-mail address with our site.

[Jay]

Yes, AOL is a real pain.

[Jay]

when you tracert your ip what is the rDNS on it?

[hippoman]

are you able to use a smarthost from your isp?

your isp's mail servers should (hopefully) be able to send to aol. Yous should be able to route all traffic for aol.com through the smarthost...

[Lucio]

are you able to use a smarthost from your isp?

your isp's mail servers should (hopefully) be able to send to aol. Yous should be able to route all traffic for aol.com through the smarthost...

That's what we do for the office's exchange server, but this is the external web server and we can't route the mail via the same smart host as it's on someone else's network.

Good thinking though

[Jay]

You could buy a catchall address from the provider and router all your mail via their SMTP server. They will be whilelisted to send on behalf of any domain they host.