MX is an acronym for "Mail eXchange". An "MX record" is a DNS record
used to define the host(s) that accept mail for a
given domain.
The MX Record for a domain is contained in the DNS
zone file for the domain on the DNS server or
servers that provide service for the domain.
In order to modify the MX record for a domain to route email for that
domain to
your SpamWall system for processing the simplest
method would be to replace the IP address associated with the "pop"
or "mail" record, which is usually the IP address of
your existing mail server, with the IP address of
your SpamWall system.
These records would look something like this:
domain.com. IN
MX 0
pop
domain.com. IN MX 10
pop
pop
IN A
192.168.173.100 |
In this case, the primary and secondary MX records
for “domain.com” are associated with the “pop”
host name (sometimes this is alternatively called "mail"), which
itself has an “A” record set up to map it to the
"192.168.173.100" IP address of the existing mail server that accepts
email for the domain.
All that you would need to do to route email to your SpamWall system
for processing is to replace the "192.168.173.100" IP address
with the IP address of your SpamWall system.
The modified record
would look something like the following, with the "216.55.101.xxx"
reference being the IP address of your SpamWall system:
domain.com. IN
MX 0
pop
domain.com. IN MX 10
pop
pop
IN A
216.55.101.xxx |
Another option would be to set up an “A” record for
“spamwall.yourdomain.com” which is mapped to the IP
address of your SpamWall system and then associate
the MX records with the “spamwall” host name. In
this case the MX record entries would look like
this:
domain.com.
IN MX
0 spamwall
domain.com. IN MX 10 spamwall
spamwall IN A 216.55.101.xxx |
After making any modifications to the DNS zone file
for a domain you will need to re-start the DNS
server in order to make these changes "live".
If you do not have access to the DNS zone file for
your domain then the technical administrator of your
domain, which would likely either be your ISP or web
hosting provider, should be able to modify the MX
records for you.
If you require any advice or assistance with
modifying the MX records for your domain to route
email to your SpamWall system you can contact
support for assistance with this.
If the provider of DNS services for your domain
provides you with access to a control panel system
for modification of DNS records you will need to
consult the documentation associated with the
service in order to determine how to re-map the MX
record for your domain to your SpamWall system.
If your DNS service provider is unable to assist you
with the modification or re-mapping of your MX
record you should contact support for advice and
assistance with this.
Note that due to distributed nature of the DNS
system the MX records you have modified or set up to
route email to your SpamWall system may not result
in all email being directed to your SpamWall system
immediately. It may take up to 24 hours or more for
the new MX information to propagate (be available to
all other DNS servers) across the Internet so that
all email for any given domain is directed to your
SpamWall system.
Until propagation is fully completed some email for
your domain may be directed to your SpamWall system
and some may continue to be directed to your regular
email server however no email will be lost or mis-directed
during this transition.
If you have any questions about the modification of
MX records or re-direction of email for your domain
to your SpamWall system or if you require any advice
or assistance with any action related to this you
should <contact support> for assistance.
