Configure MX record on 1and1.com and GoDaddy.com

Once I got my Exchange 2010 set up in my lab, the next exciting thing would be sending/receiving emails testing from the external domains. The outgoing email was pretty straight forward to set up once the 'send connector' was configured and it worked right away.

 

I was not sure about the incoming emails and MX records setup at the first place because the domain name of my lab is an internal domain name only. I decided to use two of my personal domains to be the accepted domains in Exchange and messed around the MX record/DNS settings.

 

My first personal domain is hosted by GoDaddy and the other one is hosted by 1and1.com.

 

GoDaddy
The MX record setup with GoDaddy was a breeze. Here are the steps I've taken:

1. Log in GoDaddy account


2. Click "My Account" on navigation bar.


3. Click "Domains/Domain Manager" on the left


4. Click the proper domain name


5. Click 'Launch' under DNS Manager.


6. Create a new A (Host) record, 'mail' and pointed it to my Exchange server. Leave everything else untouched.
   


7. Create a MX record with the name, 'mail.<my_personal_domian1>.info' and give it the first priority order, 0. Lease the default MX record intact.
   


8. Save it.


9. It took no time before I was successfully receive my first test email from outside to the email address, xxx@<my_personal_domain1>.info.

 

1and1.com
My experience setting up MX record with 1and1 was not as good as GoDaddy because it costed me one support email to make it works.

1. First I needed to create a sub domain for my email server as the MX record. I named it 'mail.<my_personal_domain2>.net'. (This is the part I got help from 1and1.com).
   


2. Modified the A-Record for my sub domain to point it to my Exchange server.
   


3. Then I went back to the DNS setting for the top-level domain name and added the sub domain name as the first MX record.
   


4. Then I was able to receive the test email to xxx@<my_personal_domain2>.net shortly.