[geeks] Mail Servers

[Sridhar Ayengar]

Mouse wrote:
>> Is there any way to have two mail servers for a domain, with both of
>> them equal?  As in, they both receive mail, they sync their mail
>> spools with each other, they both have the same users and userids,
>> they have the same authentication secrets, and they both provide the
>> same IMAP folders and SMTP forwarding?  And is it possible to
>> configure an IMAP client to use whichever one it finds available
>> first?
>
> Both receiving mail equally can be done by using two MX records with
> equal preferences, or by using one MX name but giving that name two
> addresses.

Hmm.  I had hoped DNS would just DTRT if I gave them the same priority. 
  Thanks for the confirmation.

> Syncing mail spools, users, etc is a private matter between them.  I
> don't know of anything for that, but I've never gone looking, either.

There's apparently a piece of software called IMAP Sync.  I'll have to 
see if that'll do the job, I guess.

> As for clients, if you use a single name and give it multiple addresses
> in the DNS, clients _should_ loadshare between them "randomly" -
> clients are supposed to use addresses in the order presented by the
> DNS, and the DNS is supposed to randomize the order of the addresses.

I assume I can do the same thing with CNAMEs?

Peace...  Sridhar