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We are assigned 3 static IP addresses by our ISP and lately we have been having problems delivering our mail. We checked with Cloudmark and they suggested contacting our ISP to add a reverse DNS entry for our IP addresses. Now we use Godaddy as our email server and web host and our assigned IPs are not linked to any concrete domain names.

What should the reverse DNS for our IP addresses point to? Should it point to an imaginary host name (ex. mail.mycompanywebsite.com), or should it point to the SMTP server of Godaddy (smtpout.secureserver.net) or the MX record of Godaddy (smtp.secureserver.net)?

Will there be a problem with the three IP addresses pointing to the same domain name?

(P.S: I am actually a programmer with very little experience in server administration so I would appreciate a not-too-complex answer :) )

Marawan Okasha
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1 Answers1

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If no email is sent using your ISP assigned IP addresses, you don't really have to provide them with a PTR record. As I understood, you are using Godaddy to send your email so their configuration should be OK.

You must however setup an SPF record in your DNS zone stating that the servers from Godaddy are allowed to send emails using your domain name.

Spack
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  • We do not have problems using godaddy's webmail, we do however have problems sending emails using outlook which is what led us to believe that we have a problem with our IP addresses. As for the SPF record, which domain name are you referring to? We do not have domain names linked to our IP addresses. – Marawan Okasha Apr 28 '13 at 18:30
  • I'm talking about your email domain name `@example.com`. What is your exact email configuration in Outlook (what is the POP3 or IMAP server, maybe Exchange, what is configured as SMTP server)? – Spack Apr 28 '13 at 19:29
  • We don't use Exchange, the POP3 server is pop.secureserver.net and the SMTP is smtpout.secureserver.net. Our domain name @example.com is the same as our website address (www.example.com) – Marawan Okasha Apr 28 '13 at 21:05
  • OK, so there is nothing related to your ISP IP addresses. Could you post the output of this two commands: `nslookup -type=TXT example.com` and `nslookup -type=MX example.com` if they can be anonymized. – Spack Apr 28 '13 at 21:32
  • Here you go: nslookup -type=TXT aimsuae.com Server: UnKnown Address: 192.168.0.1 aimsuae.com primary name server = ns45.domaincontrol.com responsible mail addr = dns.jomax.net serial = 2013041700 refresh = 28800 (8 hours) retry = 7200 (2 hours) expire = 604800 (7 days) default TTL = 3600 (1 hour) – Marawan Okasha Apr 29 '13 at 06:52
  • MX NSLookup: nslookup -type=MX aimsuae.com Server: UnKnown Address: 192.168.0.1 Non-authoritative answer: aimsuae.com MX preference = 0, mail exchanger = smtp.secureserver.net aimsuae.com MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = mailstore1.secureserver.net smtp.secureserver.net internet address = 72.167.238.201 mailstore1.secureserver.net internet address = 72.167.238.201 – Marawan Okasha Apr 29 '13 at 06:57
  • @Spock, any updates on what I should use as my reverse DNS based on the nslookup? – Marawan Okasha Apr 29 '13 at 17:22
  • @MarawanOkasha, I don't think your problem is related to your ISP IP addresse but can be a DNS configuration problem. Try to add [SPF records](https://support.bigcommerce.com/questions/1125/How+can+I+point+my+e-mail+towards+GoDaddy%3F) to your DNS zone: `@ IN TXT v=spf1 a mx include:smtp.secureserver.net ~all`. – Spack Apr 29 '13 at 18:24
  • Will do, but if I want to do a reverse DNS to appease Cloudmark, what should the domain name be? – Marawan Okasha Apr 29 '13 at 20:06
  • You can just use your domain name which seem to be `aimsuae.com`. You just have to choose relevant names. – Spack Apr 29 '13 at 20:10
  • Thank you very much for your help, one final question though, should the domain name be a fictitious subdomain of my domain xxx.aimsuae.com (ex. mail.aimsuae.com)or should it be aimsuae.com directly? – Marawan Okasha Apr 29 '13 at 20:31
  • Yes, you have to use a subdomain. You can choose whatever you want. – Spack Apr 29 '13 at 20:37