Mailtraq - the Complete Email Server
   

Enstar for Mailtraq email server sales & support
Making world-class Internet technology affordable  

Search for:

Advanced search

KB03030601 FAQs - most frequent support queries

Problem Solving

If you are struggling to get Mailtraq working,
check the questions and answers below.

These cover most of the installation support calls we receive,
so the chances are this will get you running quickly.

 

 
 
Translate this page: 

What is the recommended hardware specification?

You will find the recommended hardware specification for Mailtraq here...

 

 I cannot send mail from my email clients to Mailtraq
and/or
I cannot receive mail in my email clients from Mailtraq

  • Check that your email client's SMTP entry is set to the Mailtraq machine, by IP address (preferred) or by machine name.  
    Working with Outlook - look here
    Other common clients - look here

     
  • Make sure you have set your LAN (local network) settings correctly in the Mailtraq console. 
    This page explains how.

     
  • If your email client is outside the LAN read about 'SMTP Service | Relaying Tab' settings here to see how to configure the necessary permissions correctly.
     
  • Make sure that your firewall and router are set to allow traffic on port 25, 110, 80, 143 and any other services you are using to and from the LAN to the Mailtraq machine. This page explains how to test.

    Also:
     
  • Make sure your anti-virus software is not getting in the way. This page explains more.
     
  • Make sure that Windows has not enabled the default SMTP service. You may get a 5.7.1 Relay Access Denied message, or similar.  This can happen after a Windows Update. This page explains how.
     
  • Mailtraq is cycling on and off: check that there are not unresolved Exceptions in the Event Log. This page explains how.
     
  • Mailtraq is running, but all mail services are stopped:

    Check that you have a valid license - that a trial has not expired or that you have added more users than your license allows. The 'About Mailtraq' dialog will tell you your status. This page explains more.

    Check that Mailtraq does not think it has to little free disk space to run safely. This page explains more.
     

Mailtraq will not receive mail from the Internet:

  • Make sure that there is a path from your Router to the Mailtraq machine. This page explains how.
     
  • Make sure your Domain Name is set correctly in the properties of Options | Server.
        Your domain name is the part after the @ symbol in your organization's email address.
        If you use more than one domain name, then enter the others in the box below as
        'Domain Aliases' - one per line.

     
  • If you are expecting to receive mail by SMTP be sure that the MX records for your domain point to the Mailtraq machine. This page explains how.

    Also:
     
  • If you need to collect mail from your ISP (Internet Service Provider) from your pop-box make sure that your Remote POP3 collection is set correctly and you are authenticating your connection as your ISP expects. This page describes how to configure Remote POP3 Mailboxes in the Console
     
  • Make sure you are using appropriate anti-virus software. This page explains more.
     
  • Make sure that the SMTP Service settings are correct. This page explains how.
     
  • Are you using a Cisco PIX firewall with the Mailguard feature turned on?
    Do you see 220 *************0*******200********* or similar log entries?
    This Microsoft KB Article explains how to resolve problems.
     
  • If you receive your mail by SMTP from an ISP or filtering service by relay, then you should add the IP address of the relay to Mailtraq's LAN definition in Options | Server | LAN
     
  • If you have been running a trial or temporarily upgraded version of Mailtraq, has it Expired?
    If it has Expired, you will need to buy a license and then update the Installation Id. 
    In the Mailtraq console, go to 'License Information' and then click the [Enter new Registration Key] button. Enter the new Installation Id from your invoice.
     
  • Make sure that your ISP does not block Port 25 traffic. They may wish that you use their mail service.

     


Mailtraq will not send mail out to the Internet. It just sits in 'Outgoing Mail'.

  • Messages stuck in the 'Outbox'.
    See how to work with the Outbox controls to clear stuck messages.

     
  • Port 25 blocked by ISP.
    Does your Internet Service Provider allow you to send mail on port 25?    Some ISPs require that you have their permission to use a mail server if you do not have a business account. If you are on a 'home' account - contact their Customer Support to resolve this.


    See "How to check your SMTP connection" below.

       How to use your ISP's mail service
       If they prohibit it then you will need to change
    Options | Outgoing mail to use your ISP's  SMTP server. 
       Mailtraq can be set to send mail to another mail server.

       This page shows how.
     
  • Firewall/Router blocks Port 25
    Make sure that your firewall and router are set to allow traffic on port 25, 110, 80 and any other services you are using from the Mailtraq machine. 

    This page explains how. (The procedure is similar for Outbound and Inbound.)
     

Also:

  • Mail to AOL and other ISPs gets rejected. Some ISPs will only accept mail from known sources. Set Outgoing Mail to use your ISPs smarthost. There are Advanced controls for these settings - see Help in Options | Outgoing Mail. See this article to solve this issue.
     
  • Some mail servers will only accept mail from you if you have a rDNS record. Read more here.
     
  • Make sure that you do not have any anti-virus or anti-spam software installed that intercepts or blocks access to port 25. This page explains more.
     
  • It is not unusual for a few messages to be waiting in the Outbox - it simply means that the remote mail server was not available: Mailtraq will try again. However, if this is happening to all your email then read: 'Understanding the Outbox
     
  • If you have been running a trial or temporarily upgraded version of Mailtraq, >has it Expired?
    If it has Expired, you will need to buy a license and then update the Installation Id.  In the Mailtraq console, click 'Help | About Mailtraq' and then click the [Enter new Registration Key] button. Enter the new Installation Id from your invoice.
     
  •  How does Mailtraq think it is connected to the Internet?
       Make sure it is set correctly at: Options | Server | Online
    • If you have a cable/dsl, T1 type of connection then this should be set to [x] Direct/Permanant
      If you are using a dial-up connection make sure you also set a dial-up schedule at Options | Dialup

 

I see many messages passing through Mailtraq that I do not recognize.

Messages get refused or returned to me marked '550' or 'Blacklisted'

We get multiple copies of some messages or when users are CC'd

  • When you are using the POP3 Collector you need to adjust the settings - explained here...

 

I cannot access webmail

There is a knowledgebase article here that explains how to access webmail

 


 

Other common installation issues

1.) Make sure Mailtraq knows how you connect to the Internet at Options | Server | Online

 

2.) The 'Services' entry in the Console shows which ports Mailtraq has available.

Mailtraq should be offering by default connections for

  • SMTP on Port 25,
  • POP3 on Port 110,
  • HTTP Webmail on Port 80, and
  • Instant Messaging on Port 5222

Services can be added, adjusted or removed as shown - right.

The IMAP service on Port 143 does not install by default - you need to enable IMAP

Make sure that other programs are not already using ports that Mailtraq will need to handle your mail.
If Mailtraq finds these ports in use when it starts then those sevices will be closed in Mailtraq. It is essential that Mailtraq has access to these ports to be able to offer mail services.  

3.) Using Server Editions of Windows and Managing IIS
Check that you do not have a default Microsoft (or other) service - such as IIS - running on port 25 (SMTP), port 110 (POP3), port 80 (webmail) or any other ports that you are wanting to use. This is particularly important if you are using a Server Edition of Windows - such as 2003. This page explains how.

4.) Using IPSec ? See the note below.

5.) Make sure you have allowed Port 25, Port 110, Port 80 etc on any local firewalls, such as the Windows Firewall or in your anti-virus software, otherwise you will not be able to send and receive mail. Some anti-virus and firewall software is 'application aware' so you will need to add Mailtraq to the list of allowed programs.

If you need to discover which ports are in use by which program then you can use CurrPorts (32-bit or 64-bit) or a similar utility to view Process Services and Local Ports..

Or enter the following from the Command Line.

     netstat -aon -p tcp

which will list all listening and connected TCP ports and will list the PID (process) using the port. You can then discover which PID relates to which process/program by adding the PID column to the Task Manager.

Windows 7, Vista, W2008
You need to run the command prompt as administrator. You can do that by right-clicking on "command prompt" in the start menu and go "run as administrator" otherwise it is only run as a limited user. 
 


General configuration advice and problem solving


 

IPSec can stop message transfer

 Windows XP/2000/2003/2008 machines have a built-in IP security mechanism called IPSec (IP Security). IPSec is a protocol that's designed to protect individual TCP/IP packets traveling across your network by using public key encryption. Besides encryption, IPSec will also let you protect and configure your server/workstation with a firewall-like mechanism.

This means that if IPSec has been enabled you must ensure that your security policy allows traffic on the ports that you need for mail transfer (typically 25, 110, 143 and 80, or the port you are offering Webmail on). Visit MS information page.

 


How to check your SMTP connection

The 'Telnet' test - for SMTP
If you cannot 'manually' Telnet to and from the Mailtraq machine on Port 25 then neither can Mailtraq or your email clients - so you'll need to look to the way your network, firewall or routers are configured.

If you can connect, but don't get Mailtraq mentioned in the 'banner response' like the examples below, then some other program is using the port. You will either have to stop that program, change the port it is using, or change the port that Mailtraq wants to use. It normally essential for Mailtraq to have exclusive access to port 25 for successful mail transfer.

See if you can connect to your Mailtraq machine - which has, for example, a local IP address of 192.168.1.1 - from another machine on your LAN.

For example, at a Command prompt on your client machine entering: telnet 192.168.1.1 25
should give a response something like this:
220 mydomain.com Ready for action (Mailtraq 2.15.3.1661/SMTP)

See if you can connect to an external mail server on Port 25 - you can try our test server - from the Mailtraq machine.

For example, at a Command prompt on your Mailtraq machine entering: telnet uk.enstar.net 25
should give a response like this:
220 enstar.net Ready for action (Mailtraq 2.17.0.1822/SMTP)

ISP Blocking Port 25
If you don't seem to be able to Telnet on Port 25 at all, then ask your ISP if they block traffic on Port 25.
A number of ISPs (Comcast, ATT etc) block port 25 to cut down spam. They can unblock on request. 

The 'Telnet' test - for POP3, IMAP & webmail
You can also Telnet to other ports to check their connectivity: Port 110/POP3, Port 80/webmail, Port 443/IMAP and so on.
The webmail test does not give a simple 'banner response' but delivers a webpage, line by line after a couple of uses of the keyboard Enter-key.

 



Using Telnet
To use Telnet, go to Windows | Start, Run and enter cmd in the box then [OK] - a black window will open with a flashing command prompt.  Type the following example: telnet<space>IP address<space>port number, like this:

telnet 127.0.0.1 25

and you should get a response like: 220 example.com Ready for action (Mailtraq 2.7.1.1936/ESMTP)

If you are not familiar with Telnet then you can find information about using it here.

Windows 7, Vista and W2008 users:

These OS come with a Telnet client but it is not enabled by default. So:

1. Click Windows Start Orb
2. Click Control Panel
3. Select Programs and Features
4. Select Turn Windows Features on or off
5. May need to confirm the action
6. Wait... this can take a while while the list populates
7. Click the checkbox beside the telnet client
8. Click [OK] ... this can take a while

- now you can use Telnet as described above


How to check your DNS

If you are finding that mail is not being delivered you should check that the DNS service that Mailtraq uses is returning valid information. Mailtraq picks up its knowledge of your DNS servers from the NIC (Network Interface Card). If you cannot 'manually' resolve a domain name then neither can Mailtraq.

This test is done from the machine where Mailtraq is installed: Use 'enstar.net' as an example.

At a Command prompt,  Enter:
nslookup

This should bring up the 'nslookup' prompt. Enter:
set type=mx

There will be no response but at the next prompt, Enter:
enstar.net

A good response will show the MX records for the domain, giving machine names, and resolving them to IP Addresses, showing that Mailtraq has access to a valid DNS service.
If you get a bad response you will need to investigate your DNS service. 


Further Assistance

1.) If the above did not answer your question, see the Help menu in the program itself. This has been written from a user's perspective (not by programmers). Context help is avilabale throughout the Console.

2.) Visit the Mailtraq Community Forum and check out the FAQ section: http://forum.mailtraq.com

3.) There is detailed configuration advice available in the Knowledgebase.

4.) Other support options are outlined here.


Keywords: kb start
Mailtraq Highlights...
 SMTP Server     Mailtraq SMTP email server video IMAP Server     Mailtraq IMAP email Server video
 POP3 Server     Mailtraq POP3 email server video Proxy Server     Mailtraq proxy email server video
 Webmail Server     Mailtraq webmail email server video Mailing-list Server     Mailing list email server video
 Groupware Services     Mailtraq groupware email services video Spam and Virus control     Spam and virus control email server video

 

   Copyright © 2003 - 2011 Enstar Ltd, Enstar LLC & Fastraq Ltd. All rights reserved. Privacy policy.
   Mailtraq® is a registered trademark of Fastraq Limited.