KB06020602 Accessing webmail

Read about setting up webmail here 

Are you running IIS ? If you are installing Mailtraq on a server edition of Windows IIS may already be running.
Read about managing IIS and webmail here ...

Remember: Webmail runs by default on Port 80.
If you are running a website on the same system as Mailtraq you will need to change the port that webmail uses to avoid a conflict - as websites must run on Port 80. This change is easy to do - and is explained here:
KB04020201 Changing the webmail port

Accessing Webmail on the Local Machine

If you open a web browser on the Mailtraq machine itself you may browse to:

http://127.0.0.1 or http://localhost

and log-in.

Tip: A useful test when setting Mailtraq up to confirm that Webmail is available - open a web browser window and browse to http://127.0.0.1 for the webmail log-in window: log-in with your mailbox Username and Password.  

Troubleshooting If Webmail does not respond, or you get a 'Page under construction' notice, this means that there is another webserver already installed on the machine and it is in conflict with Mailtraq's webmail. It is most likely to be Microsoft IIS. In most cases you simply need to disable IIS, however if you are also serving a regular website from the same machine you will need to change the port that webmail is using. These solutions are explained at the following links: How to disable IIS How to change webmail port

 

Accessing webmail on the LAN

If you open a web browser on a network machine you may browse to:

The local IP address of the Mailtraq machine - for example http://192.168.1.5 or
The local network computer name for the Mailtraq machine - for example http://mailserver

Accessing webmail across the Internet

To be able to access webmail (or any other Mailtraq service) from outside your LAN you must do two things.

1. create a path from the Router to the Mailtraq machine.
2. create a path from 'your domain' to your Router.

1. Create a path from the Router to the Mailtraq machine

This process is called 'Port Forwarding' or NAT (Network Address Translation). The actual method varies between Routers - but the procedure is always similar.

In this example, the Router has been set to forward incoming traffic on Ports 25, 110, 80 and 143 to the machine on the Local IP Address 192.168.1.5

This website provides advice on many different Router brands.

2. Create a path from 'your domain' to your Router.

You could access Webmail by simply browsing to the public facing IP address of your Internet connection. This is the fixed IP address given to you by your ISP, such as 64.233.167.99 like this: http://64.233.167.99

However, most people find it more convenient to use a domain name such as mydomain.com or a subdomain such as webmail.mydomain.com  To be able to do this you need to contact your Domain Registrar where you obtained your domain name originally, and ask them to create an 'A-Record' for your chosen domain, that points at the public facing IP address of your Router. In this example, you would ask for a subdomain of webmail.mydomain.com to point to 64.233.167.99

When this is done you will be able to browse to http://webmail.mydomain.com and access your Mailtraq webmail.

Avoiding A-Records
Some people avoid having to deal with A-Records by embedding a webmail link on their website. This is a normal hyperlink of the form <A href="http://64.233.168.99/">webmail</A> 

How to access webmail without a fixed IP address

The Dynamic DNS Solution

The method is suitable for Cable Modem and A/DSL connections with a reasonably long lease on an IP address. Due to the latency in the updating system it may not work satisfactorily with dial-up accounts where your IP address changes many times a day.

Step 1.)
Create an account with a dynamic DNS provider - this example uses
www.dyndns.org
You will need to select your own Hostname, for example,
mydomain.dyndns.org
and tell Dyndns the current public facing IP address where your Mailtraq is located or the router that port-forwards TCP traffic for your network.

Step 2.)
See if your router has a built in function for updating your DNS automatically - many popular routers have this ready to use.

Here is an example of one configuration screen. This website provides advice on many different Router brands.

If not, then you will need to install a dynamic dns client updater - such as www.directupdate.net to automatically synchronize your Dyndns hostname with your IP address. This software automatically updates your Dyndns account when your IP address changes. But remember, your Router may do this for you - check before installing.

Step 3.)
Instruct your Domain Name Server to point to mydomain.dyndns.org as the host for your 'real' domain. The domain name registrar where you got your domain name will either provide a 'console' for you to do this yourself, or you can instruct them to do it. See above.

You may need to create a sub-domain (eg webmail.mydomain.com) to differentiate between a website associated with the domain name and Mailtraq serving webmail.

Step 4.)
Set up Mailtraq webmail making sure that the HTTP service on Port 80 has full access to the Internet, and that your 'real' and dynamic domain name is entered in Mailtraq Console | Options | Server, Domain Name or Domain Alias.

Mailtraq will then serve webmail on Port 80.

WARNING
Latency in the updating system could route to the current holder of the IP address you recently held.

Note:
The 'Dynamic DNS Solution' is provided for your information only. It is not a recommended method, and support is not provided. There may be no charges associated with the method, but it requires administrative expertise and constant monitoring as the method is not inherently robust.