Getting Started

General

Can we use a registered domain hosted with another service provider?

Sure you can. During deployment your domain will be created on the SkyConnect servers.

How much time will it take in shifting from our existing mail server to the SkyConnect servers?

The provisioning of the domain takes one working day.

The next step of provisioning users can be done immediately if the user list is available in the right format.

The time for data migration depends on a variety of factors such as volume of data, data format, connectivity between the source setup and SkyConnect servers.  It is recommended that for large volumes, the data migration is done post go live.

The time taken for user on-boarding depends on the number of users, the geographical distribution, the availability of the IT teams at all locations and whether the users access using desktop or web clients.

The switch-over to the new system or the GoLive phase involves updating the DNS records for the domain. While the changes are small it may take some time for the new entries to reflect.

DNS

How to test MX entries of a from a Linux desktop?

Use commands mentioned below to test MX entries in Linux
Host -t mx example.com
host -t txt example.com

How to Test current MX record in windows machine?

Follow the steps mentioned below to test current MX records in windows machineC:\> nslookup 
Default Server: pdc.corp.example.com 
Address: 192.168.6.13 

> server 172.31.01.01 
Default Server: dns1.example.com 

Address: 172.31.01.01
> set q=mx
> example.com.
Server: dns1.example.com
Address: 10.107.1.7
example.com MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = mail1.example.com

What are the tools on a Windows desktop to check MX records for a domain?

You can use nslookup from the command line.

What are the online tools available to check MX records for a domain?

You can test the MX Records from popular tools available on internet like https://mxtoolbox.com/.

• Go to the browser and enter the URL mxtoolbox.com
• Enter the domain name 
• Click on MX Lookup
• The MX records will be listed

• If the domain is hosted on Trend, then the record will be as follows:
  • 0 in.hes.trendmicro.com
  • 10 in.hes.trendmicro.com
• If the domain is hosted on SpamTitan, the record will be as follows:
  • 1 mx1.mithi.com
  • 1 mx2.mithi.com

How to find the domain registrar and Name Servers for a domain?

• Enter the URL whois.com in your browser
• Search for the domain
• The next screen will say that the domain is unavailable and next to it will be the WHOIS button
• Click on the WHOIS button
• The registrar and name servers will be listed and the email id of the person who registered the domain
• In the RAW Whois Data, the name of the registrar

How to find out the DKIM records for a domain? 

• Search for "DKIM lookup" in Google
• Click on the corresponding search result on mxtoolbox.com
• Enter the domain name
• Enter the Selector - for domains migrated to SpamTitan, this can be got from the SpamTitan interface 
• Click on DKIM Lookup
• You should be able to see all the DKIM records for the domain

• Search for "SPF lookup" in Google
• Click on the corresponding search result on mxtoolbox.com
• Enter the domain name
• Click on SPF Record Lookup
• The result should be: v=spf1 include:mem.mithi.com -all

How to find out the DMARC records for a domain

• Search for "DMARC lookup" in Google
• Click on the corresponding search result on mxtoolbox.com
• Enter the domain name
• Click on DMARC Lookup
• Te result should be v=DMARC1; p=none; sp=none; pct=100

Go Live

What all activities will be involved for go live?

Refer to document Go live to know the activities to take your domain live on SkyConnect.

Does the migration require any downtime?

The Go live which is the final steps, requires a change in the DNS entries. While the changes are done by changing a few settings, it may take time for the new values to reflect across all the DNS servers around the world.

During this transition period, some mail will be delivered to the old email servers even after the changes to the DNS are done. So to avoid mail being split, it is advised to change the DNS settings in non peak hours. Usually around 8 pm for a company working 9-5.

How much time it will take to reflect the new DNS records?

When changing a record, it will take the length of the TTL (time to live) in seconds to expire before your new changes go into effect. You can set the TTL to any value before or after making changes to your records. Reasonable values for a static IP are anywhere from 12 hours (43200 seconds) to 24 hours (86400 seconds). Reasonable values for a Dynamic IP are between 5 and 120 seconds.

Domains which use Secondary DNS are scheduled to be added to the secondary DNS services no earlier than 2 hours after you enter the data into the system. This provides enough time to configure your primary DNS servers to allow AXFR/IXFR transfers to our secondary name servers. You should allow at least 48 hours for configuration changes to propagate before removing any previous name servers.

To confirm the changes,

1. Go to http://mxtoolbox.com
2. Specify the domain name
3. Verify the MX and TXT record.

What precautions should I take when making the DNS changes?

• Be very careful while doing the DNS changes. Incorrect addition/modification/deletion of DNS records may cause critical mail bounce issues.
• Keep the Mithi Team well informed while performing the go live i.e. while making changes in DNS.
• Test all the critical mail flow tests after doing the DNS changes.