backup mail server

[Barry Margolin]

In article <9rn73v$15k at pub3.rc.vix.com>, phrogg <fake at email.com> wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I'm trying to set up a backup mail server.  However, either I don't know how
>it works (in action), the mail server is broken, or I didn't do the DNS
>correctly.  This is what I have in my zone file:
>
>;system mail server
>  MX 10 mail
>  MX 20 mail2
>mail  CNAME @

MX records should not point to CNAME records.  So either change this line
to an A record, or change the first MX record to:

  MX 10 @

>mail2  A 65.0.32.xxx
>
>From what I understand about how email servers work, they first determine
>the MX records.  My dns server would return the addresses for "mail" and
>"mail2".  Then the mail server would try to deliver to the address at "mail"
>then, if that fails, the address at "mail2", since it has a higher
>preference value.  When I shut down my mail server (located at "mail"), and
>have someone send a test email, it gets bounced back to them, instead of
>being sent to the address at "mail2".

Did you allow enough time for your old MX record to expire from caches?

>So, my question is this: are my dns records set up properly?  Is there more
>I need to do?  I'm trying to narrow down by eliminating what's right so I
>can figure out what's wrong.

Other than the CNAME issue, which shouldn't cause the problem you're
having, it looks fine.

What's your domain?

-- 
Barry Margolin, barmar at genuity.net
Genuity, Woburn, MA
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