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Your Guide to Plesk Mail Server Management

Though companies tend to use multiple social tools, email marketing remains a top way for brands to contact clients. However, many lack the time or technical expertise to manage a mail server, let alone manage its potential threats. Hence why outsourcing mail server management is so popular, despite the cost. But with a Plesk mail server, you have a hosting panel linking system services and the user. So you can self-manage mailboxes on your website domain, manage mailing lists, and more. Let’s discuss what you can dowith Plesk Mail Server Management.

Configuring Server-Wide Mail Settings

Configuring Server-Wide Mail Settings -Plesk

Plesk works with your mail server software – the key provider of email services for mailboxes and mailing lists. Once you install this, the mail server auto-configures and you’re all set to use it. However, we recommend you review the default settings to ensure these meet your business needs.

When it comes to general settings, we suggest you leave the Enable mail management functions in Plesk checked. So your users can create custom email accounts and use the mail services the Plesk-managed mail server provides. They can also change the Installed mail server and Installed IMAP/POP3 server with the corresponding links leading to the Plesk Installer GUI page.

You should also consider limiting the size of email addresses and of incoming email through your server. Just by inputting a value in KB in the Maximum message size box. Linux users can change default mail server limits on the simultaneous connections users can make to the server.

Users can also change the limit on the number of connections from the same IP address. This is useful because low limits can impact mail server connections from multiple computers behind a firewall. Or even users with more than one email account.

Relay Options

With Plesk mail server management, users can also change relay options. When choosing closed relay, the mail server will only accept messages for users with mailboxes on this particular server. We don’t recommend this for businesses that require clients to contact them. Because customers won’t be able to send emails through your outgoing SMTP server.

A far better option for such companies is the relay after authorization. With this option, only your clients will be able to receive and send emails through your mail server. Furthermore, leave the authorization is required option selected, as this allows you to choose two different authentication methods.

POP3 lock time is another option. But this one requires users to first successfully authenticate to the POP server. Then they will be able to receive and send emails through the mail server for a specified period of time. There’s also SMTP authorization, where your mail server requires authorization if the email message is going to an external address.

Limitations on Outgoing Email Messages

Limitations on Outgoing Email Messages - Plesk

We highly recommend you switch on limitations on outgoing email messages. This prevents hackers from sending spam email messages from the Plesk server. And is vital for businesses who operate with lots of email marketing campaigns.

Apart from this, Plesk mail server management users can also adjust settings like Allow scripts and users to use Sendmail (Linux only). Scripts and system subscriptions users can send email messages with Sendmail – even if they exceed the limits for a mailbox and domain.

Users can also select show reports based on statistics for the last (specify the period). Ideal for businesses that send out large volumes of mail. When there’s an attempt to exceed the limits on outgoing mail during that period, Plesk displays an alert. You can also send an email notification every (specify the period). So the administrator knows when you’re nearing the limit of outgoing mail.

More Mail Server functions

Users can also select a large variety of other possible options from the Plesk mail server management system. These include changing antivirus settings, and setting up spam protection – blocking potentially harmful mail from reaching your servers. Those using Qmail mail server can also select the mail account format for their POP3/IMAP mail accounts.

Email may seem basic, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. Take a deeper look into your mail server management systems so you can improve them. Tools like Plesk make this seemingly difficult task more manageable and accessible. Thus, allowing businesses of any size to harness more control and flexibility over their mail servers.

Was this guide useful? Tell us in the comments below.

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6 Comments

  1. This is a good introduction to Plesk Mail Server. Our experience with the server is very good, we have virtually no issues and being able to control the sending limits on all accounts allows us to keep our IP addresses clean and free from being blacklisted. We definitely recommend this as an option.

  2. What about a solution to prevent sending spam instead a limit? I think is not a good method, it should detect suspicious email sent and put it in quarantine, instead of sending.

    That would help to prevent, for example malware infected computers to send any email

  3. Does Plesk also makes automatic mail configuration for a powermta mail server installed ?
    what about the web mail interface, which one is best recommended to use with with plesk ?

    • Laura from Plesk
      Laura from Plesk Moderator

      Hi Amelie, regarding your first question, no, Powermta is not supported by Plesk. And about the webmail interface, RoundCube would be a good choice. We hope this helps! Thank you.

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