desktop server email

For this you need

a) an MX entry for a domain pointing to an A and/or AAAA entry with the IP
b) an email server
  There are several options. You should read the related section of the server guide: https://help.ubuntu.com/lts/serverguide/email-services.html

Thanks, Thomas.

While I do not understand at all item a)

b) appears to be precisely the link I need to get me started.

Thanks for your prompt and very helpful respons.

Iohann

just beginning to work on this mail server.

before i get too far along, one simple question:
will i be able to configure the server to receive mail at my ip address, or do I need to purchase a domain name and then point the domain name to my ip address?

will i be able to send mail to <email address hidden>? or must those x's be a domain name?

Thanks.

Hi Iohann,

The MX entry refers to an entry in a DNS server that you need to set up, if you wish to use domain names. If you wish to use your IP address after the @ symbol in your e-mail addresses, then you need to enclose the IP address in square brackets.

For example:
jsmith@[192.168.2.1]

jsmith@192.168.2.1 will not work, because it breaks e-mail RFC standards.

Please note that even if you use the square brackets with the IP address part, you may still encounter problems, because this practice is not very common. Most e-mail addresses use DNS/domain names.