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How do I setup the Auto-Discover Service and create SRV/CNAME records for the service?

MDaemon includes support for AutoDiscover, which simplifies the configuration of accounts in email clients that support the protocol.  The Auto-Discovery service is enabled by default. 

In most cases, the email address and password are all that's required to configure accounts. 

Notes:

  • The Auto-Discover service requires Webmail to have HTTPS enabled.
  • A valid (non self-signed) SSL certificate is recommended.
  • Certain clients may behave differently when querying Auto-Discover records. 
  1. Add a following Service (SRV) records to the public DNS.  The record should resemble the following (replace company.test with the MDaemon domain):

    Airsync SRV Record 
    • Domain: company.test
    • Service: _airsync
    • Protocol: _tcp
    • Priority: 0
    • Weight: 0
    • Port Number: 443
    • Host/Target autodiscover.company.test
    AutoDiscover SRV Record
    • Domain: company.test
    • Service: _autodiscover
    • Protocol: _tcp
    • Priority: 0
    • Weight: 0
    • Port Number: 443
    • Host/Target autodiscover.company.test
  2. Add a new A Record or CNAME to the public DNS.
    • If using an A record, it is required that the record is autodiscover.company.test and it points to public IP address of the server that MDaemon is installed on.
    • If using a CNAME, it is required that the record is autodiscover.company.test and it points to the host-name of the MDaemon server.
  3. Once the record has been propagated, verify that you can access the AutoDiscover Service for MDaemon. You can verify this by browsing to the following link:
    • https://AutoDiscover.company.test/AutoDiscover/AutoDiscover.xml
  4. The client uses the domain information in the user‘s e-mail address, that is, company.test, and tries to locate the AutoDiscover service by sending an Auto-Discovery command request to the following predefined URLs:
    • https://company.test/autodiscover/autodiscover.xml
    • https://autodiscover.company.test/autodiscover/autodiscover.xml
    • https://autodiscover.company.test/mddp

    Example:

    Account Auto-Discover uses an e-mail address to look up information that is required to configure software. Given an email EduardDell@example.com, a list of possible AutoDiscover servers is generated. The client contacts the name AutoDiscover.company.test to provide the information. If that information is not found, the client tries to send the request to the domain name. If the information still is not retrieved, the client can use a manual configuration.

    For example, the client tries these servers:

    • AutoDiscover.example.com
    • example.com

    Each server is sent an HTTP Post command. The post data is an XML request for a certain type of information. E-mail account configuration will be the first use. The XML contains information that helps execute the request. For mail, the information includes the e-mail address, the protocols that the client software supports, the Web browser that is installed, the type of proxy that is being used, and the types of authentication that can be used. The post is sent for servername/AutoDiscover/AutoDiscover.xml. The server name is defined according to the process described earlier in this topic.


    If running Webmail under Microsoft IIS Web-server, you will need to configure a new URL Rewrite for the MDAutoDiscover.dll and MDDP.dll files:

    1. Open the IIS Manager
      • Click Start
      • Click All Programs
      • Click Administrative Tools
      • Click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
    2. On the Connections pane, expand the [Machine_name] node
    3. Expand the Sites node
    4. Click on the WorldClient/Webmail site in the Connections pane
    5. Double click on URL Rewrite
    6. On the Actions pane, click Add Rule(s)...
      • Under Inbound Rules, select Blank Rule and click OK
      • Name the rule: MDAutoDiscover.dll
      • Under Match URL set these settings:
        • Requested URL: 'Matches the Pattern' (the default)
        • Using: 'Regular Expressions' (the default)
        • Pattern: ^AutoDiscover
        • Ignore Case: 'Enabled' (the default)
      • Under Action set these settings:
        • Action type: 'Rewrite' (the default)
        • Rewrite URL: 'MDAutoDiscover.dll'
        • Append query string: 'Enabled' (the default)
      • In the Actions pane, click Apply
      • In the Actions pane, click Back to Rules
    7. Double click on URL Rewrite
    8. On the Actions pane, click Add Rule(s)…
      • Under Inbound Rules, select Blank Rule and click OK
      • Name the rule: MDDP.dll
      • Under Match URL set these settings:
        • Requested URL: 'Matches the Pattern' (the default)
        • Using: 'Regular Expressions' (the default)
        • Pattern: ^MDDP
        • Ignore Case: 'Enabled' (the default)
      • Under Action set these settings:
        • Action type: 'Rewrite' (the default)
        • Rewrite URL: 'MDDP.dll'
        • Append query string: 'Enabled' (the default)
      • In the Actions pane, click Apply
      • In the Actions pane, click Back to Rules
    9. Close Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager

    Additional Comments

    The setup of Webmail/ActiveSync/AutoDiscover under IIS is NOT supported by MDaemon Technologies support staff and those who choose to run these services under IIS must be aware of all security issues and ramifications of running any applications under IIS. It is recommended that all Patches and updates be installed in IIS before configuring it to serve any MDaemon components.