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HomeHomeUsing DNN Platf...Using DNN Platf...Administration ...Administration ...SMTP Configuration problems with WebHost4LifeSMTP Configuration problems with WebHost4Life
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9/12/2009 9:45 AM
 

Great job!!!

I was having the same issue.   For the most part I am happy with webhost4life, but in this case they were unable to help.   Your soulution saved me many hours of grief.   I got it working following these instructions...  Thank you

 
New Post
9/13/2009 12:18 AM
 

You guys are welcome.  I figured out the information mostly by being irritated with their customer service.  I encountered this same problem with GoDaddy and I rapidly figured out that both GoDaddy's customer service and WebHost4Life's customer service just simply don't understand the difference between a web based email account and an smtp server used for mail relay. 

I used to run my websites off of my own server till it became too much effort.  I had my own smtp relay setup, it was an extremely easy 3 or 4 steps, my own IIS server and Database server.  Through running my own sites I learned that setting up smtp relaying is extremely easy.  What I encountered with customer service was that they just didn't get smtp relaying, didn't get how smtp was configured through ALL asp .net applications, not just DNN, and really didn't want to listen to what I was saying.  I repeated myself in multiple different ways, quite clearly, and even broke it down to the most basic level in case I wasn't dealing with someone who understood basic web technology.  They still didn't appear to listen to, or understand what I was saying.  I figured out just enough information from customer service to figure out their smtp servers, and how they configured their nameservers.  With a little bit of guessing I figured out the needed settings.  I am glad this was useful to someone else.  I really like WebHost4Life and I didn't want to let this one issue get in the way. 

On a side note, I really don't know how to voice my opinion about hosting customer service in general and what I would definetly view as extremely basic knowledge about smtp servers and relaying email, but for the hosting community as a whole, people seriously, it isn't that difficult.  Entry level technicians, seriously it isn't that difficult.  My major point of frustration is though DNN provides an easy interface for setting up smtp, the way the software handles the settings is really the same way that ALL asp .net applications handle email sending.  I have read multiple books, and built multiple applications that use the same basic setup as DNN.  It is ridiculous for any host that provides windows hosting to blame the software because the only way the software could not be sending email correctly is if the host really doesn't handle sending email from ANY web based application.  The setup for smtp relay for JSP, Ruby, ASP, ASP .NET and a bunch of other languages is the same, it is just the software that handles it differently.  WebHost4Life provides a way to email the President, if I remember correctly, but it just seemed like too much work for something that was treated with complete indifference.  I came to the conclusion that it probably wouldn't be changed anyway.  I dealt with 4 representatives at GoDaddy, 5 at WebHost4Life, and if I had printed my first chat session with GoDaddy I could have typed the exact script that all of the other technicians at both companies would use.  It was ridiculous as to how they followed not just the same troubleshooting steps, but almost verbatim, used the exact same responses.  If you, the DNN community as a whole has suggestions as to how to handle, this I would love the suggestions and maybe we as a group could make it clear to hosters that "it is the software's fault" is just not an acceptable excuse for not understanding the basics of smtp relaying.  What sealed the deal with me leaving GoDaddy was one tech told me that it was the software's fault and when I told him it wasn't and I could prove it, he told me that if I didn't like his response I could take my business elsewhere, so I did. 

Sorry I am ranting a bit here, but smtp setup has been one of the most frustrating experiences I have had and yet it is one of the simplest things to configure.  I would appreciate the suggestions as I get the impression from multiple articles that this isn't just a GoDaddy/WebHost4Life problem it seems to be hosting industry wide.  I have seen ths complaint about just about every common DNN hoster out there.  Maybe if we all get together we can make some sort of a positive change to remove this as one of the major headaches of establishing a website. 

 
New Post
9/16/2009 9:38 PM
 

I can get that working, however what are you using for the second domain (if you are using one).

The no-reply@domain1.com is easy to set up and configure, but how do you get it to appear to send from no-reply@domain2.com or any other user except no-reply@domain1.com?

Cheers
Dave


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Cheers
Dave
 
New Post
9/17/2009 2:56 PM
 

I got tired of fighting with WH4L and I've now set up SMTP relay through DNS Exit - http://www.dnsexit.com/MailRelay.sv?actioncode=0.  When I did an online search, these guys seemed to be OK, prices were right and it's based on UserID and password with any email address sending.  I'll have to wait and see if any blacklisting starts, but tests today seem to have it working really nicely.

For $40 this gives me a year to allow WH4L to get their act  together concerning this.

Cheers


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Cheers
Dave
 
New Post
9/17/2009 3:54 PM
 

Here'a a quick intro on mail servers and sending emails through them to the outside.

A good mail server admin will not have their mail server used as an open relay. Basically means anyone on the Internet can send to anyone using any domain name. So the mail server is locked down and the sender needs to be authenticated.

There are basically 3 main ways to authenticate with the mail server and the admin controls which types are supported by end users. This also depends if the mail server software supports them.

1- SMTP authentication. The mail client authenticates with the mail server by sending a username and password. The mail server should ignore the domain name in the TO field because it's easily spoofed.

2- POP before SMTP. The client connects and retrieves the emails in the mailbox. The client also authenticates by sending a username and password. For the session, the mail server trusts the client and you are able to send emails. Session timeout is configurable.

3- Trust relationship by IP address. The mail server trusts the ip address of the sedning mail server and no username and password is required. This is sometimes used between a web server and mail server where the web server can send emails without authentication. This can be dangerous. It's recommended that authentication is always done when sending messages out.

There's also authenitcation by certificates by that's for special advanced cases.

When testing sending emails through DNN, you can test by sending emails from a real mail client like Outlook with the username/password given. If that works, it should then with  DNN.

 


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