One of the reasons for hosting a server may be to control your own email. Email is something all of us use and can be a source of frustration if your email server and client are not working right. The biggest question is whether you should host your own mail server. If you are considering hosting your own mail server here are a few things to consider. First, you have to determine whether your ISP allows email hosting on your own server. Many ISP’s block port 25 and either discourage hosting your own email all together, or they require you relay your email through their server first. Second, you have to consider uptime. If your home server goes down so does your email. If email is critical to you, you may want to avoid hosting email. Next, you will need a static IP address to make this work which usually costs more at your local ISP than a standard account which usually has a dynamic IP that changes from time to time. Finally, there is the headache that comes with dealing with spam and other issues that come up with hosting an email service. So if you consider all of these things and still want to host your own email server, this screencast should get you up and running. In this screencast I cover how to set up the Mail Server in OS X Server. I cover the configuration process including setting up DNS on your server and at your domain provider. I also cover all of the settings to make sure your Mail Server is configured correctly. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below or on my Youtube Channel.
