Changing server network settings
You can change default network settings to gain greater control over how your Mail Server manages its network connections and processes DNS requests.
To change the server's network settings, follow these steps:
1
Open the Mail Admin program, if it's not already open.
Click the Open Mail Admin button in the AppleShare IP Manager.
Enter your name and password in the Administer Mail Server dialog
box, then click OK.
The Mail Admin program opens.
2
Choose Advanced Mail Server Settings from the Server menu.
The Advanced Mail Server Settings window appears.
3
Click the Network tab.
The Mail Server's Network settings appear.
4
Indicate how often you'd like the Mail Server to contact the DNS
server for assistance with finding a mail server host by choosing
"Cache DNS Results" or "Always check DNS Results" from the pop-up
menu.
Every time your server is requested to send mail, it verifies
the domain names in the outgoing mail address by contacting your
network's DNS server to find IP addresses for the addressed domains.
Since the DNS database doesn't change very frequently, you can
have your server cache the DNS results for a period of time. Choose
"Cache DNS Results" from the pop-up menu if you want your server
to cache DNS results.
While caching DNS results may improve your server's performance
(it reduces the load on both the mail and DNS servers), it runs
the risk of the cached DNS information becoming out of date. The
safest thing to do is to ask for DNS information before each connection.
Choose "Always check DNS Results" if you want your server to poll
the DNS server every connection.
For more information, see The Mail Server and DNS.
5
If Cache DNS Results is selected, choose the length of time you'd
like the DNS results to be cached by clicking one of the buttons
in the Cache Settings section.
Click "Respect ‘Time to Live' (TTL) parameters" if you prefer
to use the DNS server's recommended TTL time.
Click "Cache DNS information for <n> minutes," then enter a number
of minutes, if you prefer to specify a length of time for the
DNS information to be cached.
6
Choose what information you'd like the Mail Server to request
from the DNS server by clicking one of the DNS Request buttons.
Click "MX-List & A-Record" if you want the Mail Server to use
information in both the MX List and the A-Record when asking for
information your server needs to deliver mail to a host.
Click "MX List only" if you want the Mail Server to use information
only in the MX List when asking for information your server needs
to deliver mail to a host.
Click "A-Record only" if you want the Mail Server to use information
only in the A-Record when asking for information your server needs
to deliver mail to a host.
7
To set how long the Mail Server should wait to establish an open
network connection, type a number in the "Open connection <n> seconds" box in the Timeout section.
The open connection is the length of time the server attempts
to connect to another mail server host. In general, from 100 to
120 seconds is considered adequate. You may want to change this
if you know you're contacting a host that typically takes longer
to respond.
8
To set how long the Mail Server should wait for a response when
the connection is open, type a number in the "Network read/write
<n> seconds" box in the Timeout section.
The network read/write is the length of time the server waits
for additional information before breaking the connection. In
general, from 100 to 120 seconds is considered adequate.
Click Save.
9
Your changes are saved and take effect immediately.