Does "Remote Mail Exchanger" change /etc/localdomains?

vicos

Well-Known Member
Apr 18, 2003
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I have a domain where:

1) The DNS is handled by a remote DNS service (this was properly specified when the acct was created.)

2) MX records are setup on that remote DNS server to point the email to a 3rd-party email service.

3) In CPANEL, under "MX Entry Maintenance," "Automatically detect configuration" is selected

4) /etc/localdomains does include the domain name

As you may have guessed, email generated by scripts on this domain do not reach the email recipient because the server is trying to deliver it locally.

I just want to confirm that changing the setting to "Remote Mail Exchanger" is all I have to do given the circumstances outlined above? I assume this will make the edit to /etc/localdomains?

TIA!
 

quietFinn

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Feb 4, 2006
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I just want to confirm that changing the setting to "Remote Mail Exchanger" is all I have to do given the circumstances outlined above? I assume this will make the edit to /etc/localdomains?
Yes, the domain is removed from /etc/localdomains and added to /etc/remotedomains
 

cPanelMichael

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 11, 2011
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Hello :)

Using "Automatically detect configuration" should correctly detect the remote MX records and place the domain name in the /etc/remotedomains file. Using "Remote Mail Exchanger" will ensure the domain name is always placed in the /etc/remotedomains file, no matter where the MX records are pointed.

Thank you.
 

vicos

Well-Known Member
Apr 18, 2003
94
6
158
Hello :)

Using "Automatically detect configuration" should correctly detect the remote MX records and place the domain name in the /etc/remotedomains file. Using "Remote Mail Exchanger" will ensure the domain name is always placed in the /etc/remotedomains file, no matter where the MX records are pointed.

Thank you.
Thanks Michael. Based on the title, it makes sense that it should work that way, but it did not in this case. Does the MX record on the remote DNS server have to be setup before creating the domain on CPANEL for this to work, or does CPANEL check periodically to see if the MX has been changed to point to an external mail server?
 

cPanelMichael

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 11, 2011
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Thanks Michael. Based on the title, it makes sense that it should work that way, but it did not in this case. Does the MX record on the remote DNS server have to be setup before creating the domain on CPANEL for this to work, or does CPANEL check periodically to see if the MX has been changed to point to an external mail server?
It needs to be setup before before the zone creation, or at any point when the zone is edited for it to work as intended.

Thank you.
 

stalka

Registered
Dec 6, 2013
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Re: Does "Remote Mail Exchanger" change /etc/localdomains?

I am also having issues with this "Automatic" MX setup whilst DNS is off-site.

The Automatic setup seems to ignore actual DNS itself and instead it looks inwards onto its own DNS setup without checking real-world DNS.

This has caused confusion with resellers and something we are constantly having to micro-manage.

To CPanel staff: Please begin to support configurations where DNS is off-site, this has been a weak-point of your product for some time. Whilst there have been strides towards addressing the issues associated with this type of setup, we're not quite there yet. Look forward to some loving on this in future updates.

- - - Updated - - -

Just to clarify what I meant by that last part. Ideally we'd like accounts/resellers to be able to disable DNS for an account, which would remove the DNS options from CPanel unless DNS is re-activated. The same with mail. With DNS disabled it simply uses standard DNS lookups, and if mail is disabled it forces the domain into /etc/remotedomains.
 

cPanelMichael

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 11, 2011
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Re: Does "Remote Mail Exchanger" change /etc/localdomains?

Just to clarify what I meant by that last part. Ideally we'd like accounts/resellers to be able to disable DNS for an account, which would remove the DNS options from CPanel unless DNS is re-activated. The same with mail. With DNS disabled it simply uses standard DNS lookups, and if mail is disabled it forces the domain into /etc/remotedomains.
I recommend opening a feature request for this functionality at:

Submit A Feature Request

Thank you.