On Tue, Nov 2, 2021 at 6:05 PM Michael Barnes <[email protected]> wrote:
> What an ordeal. I have a security camera system that sends email alerts. I > used to send via Google, but they tightened up their security and I cannot > use that any more. I figured I'd just set up a simple mail server on an RPi > and do it myself. My ISP provides a static IP I can set up pretty much > anything I want. I bought a domain name through hover.com for the purpose, > and set up A and MX records in their DNS. > > I finally got my mail server figured out and working and try to send email > to my normal account, which is promptly rejected by my email provider > (IONOS) for a bad PTR record. (Mail does go to my gmail account without > complaint.) I go into the dashboard for my domain to set the PTR record, > and there is no option. I contacted tech support and get "Sorry, we do not > support PTR records. You will need to host your DNS with a 3rd party." What > he heck kind of domain registrar who provides DNS services does not support > PTR records? > the first half of their answer is sensible, the second half is not. no DNS provider can do what you're looking to do. > > Been browsing the Internet for DNS providers, and can't find anything that > tells me what they support. The few who I contacted said basically, "Sign > up for our service to see what records we support." Seriously? > yeah, that's ridiculous. > It's been like 15 years or more since I did this kind of stuff. Got to > learn it all over again. > I would suggest that you begin by learning more about what a PTR record is and how it's used. it is essentially a DNS record for an IP address - the opposite of what we typically understand as a DNS record. this is often referred to in shorthand as a "reverse DNS record." > > Anybody have suggestions on a free or cheap DNS provider that I can set PTR > and any other needed records? > since a PTR record is set on the IP address, only the owner of the IP address can set it. you will need to ask your ISP if they allow this. most business-class providers allow it, most residential-class don't, and everywhere in between will give different answers. alternatively, you can configure your mail server to announce itself as the hostname that matches what's currently in your PTR record, if it exists. this is not super trivial, it will involve a fair amount of work, but it can be done. -wes
