ALIF: AIM Mail Setup Example

There are many mail servers available, so this article will not go into the specifics of how to configure each of them. They all work on the same principle, but how they are setup will vary..

This article will show you the basics of how to configure hMailServer which is a free open source mail server with the AIM Manager.

Prerequisites

• You will need a PC running Windows 7 or higher.
• Download hMailServer

Instructions

The instructions assume that you are configuring both the network interfaces on the AIM, where the host running the mail server is connected to a network on the second interface.

• For this example we are using the following AIM network settings:-
  
  
  
  
• The PC running the mailserver is using the following network settings:-
  
  
  
  

Installing the hMailServer

• Run the hMailServer installer.
• During the installation, you will be asked to set a Password for the Administrator.
  
  
  
  
• On the Connect window after the installation as completed, click on the "localhost" item and press Connect.
  
  
  
  
• You may be asked to enter the Password that you entered during the setup.
• The MailServer configuration page should appear.
• On the Welcome page, click on the Add Domain button.
  
  
  
  
• Under the General tab, enter a Domain name, for example: mycompany.com.
  
  
  
  
• Press Save.
• Under the Domains section, you will now see a new Domain with some further settings below.
  
  
  
  
• Click on Accounts in the Domains section.
• The Accounts section is where you enter the email addreses that are available in the domain.
• Click on Add
• In the General tab, enter an email address and enter a password.
  
  
  
  
• Press Save.
• On the AIM Manager, navigate to Dashboard -> Settings -> Mail
• Enable the Mail Server and enter the credentials for the mail server. Unless configured otherwise, mailservers use port 25 for non-SSL/TLS connections.
  
  
  
  
• To send an email, navigate to Dashboard -> Backups
• Make sure that Email backup is ticked
• Enter an Email Backup To, for example admin@mycompany.com
  
  
  
  
• Press Backup Now
• To check that the email was sent, navigate to Dashboard -> Event Log
• In the Event log you should see either Backup file was successfully emailed or Backup file was not successfully emailed
  
  
  
  

Troubleshooting

• mMailServer has a Logging feature.
• Expand the Settings menu on the left and click on Logging.
• Make sure that Logging is enabled and that at least SMTP is ticked.
  
  
  
  
• Press Save.
• If you get a message saying that the AIM was not able to send the message then clicking on the Show logs button opens the location where you can view its log file. Provided that the AIM's network settings are correct, then you can see from the logs why it failed. The most common reasons are typically authentication failures.