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Unrelated but: what VPS hosts are reliable for email? I've had trouble with Linode being blocked in the past. I'm aware Google Cloud blocks port 25. I haven't t

Unrelated but: what VPS hosts are reliable for email? I've had trouble with Linode being blocked in the past. I'm aware Google Cloud blocks port 25. I haven't tried EC2 but I assume the worst.

shankspeaks 5y ago
I've run mail servers on EC2 before. You'll need to raise a request to remove the SMTP 25 restriction (both inbound and outbound), and also apply for a DNS reverse ptr update for that IP for it to work.
- grp000 5y ago
  Hey, if you've used AWS SES before, how would you think the two compare?
- AgoRapide 5y ago
  I just switched from EC2 to Hetzner. I found Hetzner's approach much more customer friendly, you set up PTR yourself for instance.
danmur 5y ago
This doesn't answer your question, but I gave up on hosting my own email. I host my own other stuff where I can but email is just too much of a pain; constant delivery problems (especially to MS), spam is a pain to keep up with etc.
- andyana 5y ago
  You can run your own stuff and use a commercial relay like Sendinblue to handle delivery for you. Best of both worlds, in my opinion.
KronisLV 5y ago
Currently using Time4VPS with no issues so far: https://www.time4vps.com/?affid=5294 https://www.time4vps.com/?affid=5294 (affiliate link, personally i find it to be an affordable VPS host that i've used for years and host most of my stuff on). However, i'd say that it's less of a matter of choosing a VPS host and more one of making sure that the IP addresses that you get are not in any blacklists. This seems like a good starting point for those sorts of checks: https://dnschecker.org/ip-blacklist-checker.php https://dnschecker.org/ip-blacklist-checker.php Or maybe this: https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx I think the actual question would be: "Which VPS hosts have the least blacklisted IP addresses for hosting mail servers?" But i'm afraid that i cannot answer that one, because after a brief search i could not find any articles, which would check the IP blocks owned by different hosts and what percentage of them are in blacklists, which would probably be a large undertaking. Until then, most of the answers will probably be subjective, along the lines of: "I use $HOST without many problems." (like my answer above, though even then someone could get a blacklisted IP address and their answer would be the exact opposite to mine).
papaf 5y ago
what VPS hosts are reliable for email? I've not had problems with Hetzner and Scaleway. Before that I used to host email on random vendors I saw on Low End Box[1] and never had problems. [1] https://lowendbox.com/ https://lowendbox.com/
sildur 5y ago
I got good results with Hetzner. But it takes some time to set up a server that complies with all of Google requirements. Also, I once inherited a spammy IP address and took me some time to remove it from spam databases.
- papaf 5y ago
  Thats a good point about IP addresses. I think the advantage with Hetzner cloud is that you rent the IP address separately. If you get an IP with a bad reputation you can stop renting it and get a new one. Edit: I have not actually tried changing the IP, its just an idea. Also, I hope the spammers don't start doing this and spoil it for everyone else.
  - AgoRapide 5y ago
    Hetzner does not open port 25 outbound (SMTP) until you have paid your first invoice. I therefore believe them to handle this problem somewhat seriously.
- calpaterson 5y ago
  What google requirements are you referring to? SPF/DKIM/etc?
  - sildur 5y ago
    Yes, basically that. I set up mail servers for a company in 2001-2008 and then it was way easier. I tried to do it again five years ago, for my personal server and quickly found the landscape changed a lot. But it is doable.
    - calpaterson 5y ago
      Fair dos. I do run my own mailserver and although I have had problems I haven't found it impossible. The complexity in running a mailserver has for sure increased since 2008 but it hasn't seen the same level of complexity expansion that, for example, making a web site has. I do use SPF but I don't use DKIM or DMARC. On the inbound side, I do use greylisting and anti-spam. I don't tend to change my config between releases of debian stable.
3np 5y ago
VPS providers generally (don't know about GCP) lift port restrictions if you write them and request it explicitly. At least Vultr and Linode will also communicate with other big providers (e.g. Gmail or Outlook.com) in case you have delivery issues due to history of the IP addressor subnet before you took it over.
tomcooks 5y ago
Any host, just check that the IP they provide you with is not blacklisted on spamlists, otherwise you're going to have a hard time

Unrelated but: what VPS hosts are reliable for email? I've had trouble with Linode being blocked in the past. I'm aware Google Cloud blocks port 25. I haven't tried EC2 but I assume the worst.

shankspeaks 5y ago

I've run mail servers on EC2 before. You'll need to raise a request to remove the SMTP 25 restriction (both inbound and outbound), and also apply for a DNS reverse ptr update for that IP for it to work.

grp000 5y ago
Hey, if you've used AWS SES before, how would you think the two compare?
AgoRapide 5y ago
I just switched from EC2 to Hetzner. I found Hetzner's approach much more customer friendly, you set up PTR yourself for instance.

danmur 5y ago

This doesn't answer your question, but I gave up on hosting my own email. I host my own other stuff where I can but email is just too much of a pain; constant delivery problems (especially to MS), spam is a pain to keep up with etc.

andyana 5y ago
You can run your own stuff and use a commercial relay like Sendinblue to handle delivery for you. Best of both worlds, in my opinion.

KronisLV 5y ago

Currently using Time4VPS with no issues so far: https://www.time4vps.com/?affid=5294 https://www.time4vps.com/?affid=5294 (affiliate link, personally i find it to be an affordable VPS host that i've used for years and host most of my stuff on). However, i'd say that it's less of a matter of choosing a VPS host and more one of making sure that the IP addresses that you get are not in any blacklists. This seems like a good starting point for those sorts of checks: https://dnschecker.org/ip-blacklist-checker.php https://dnschecker.org/ip-blacklist-checker.php Or maybe this: https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx I think the actual question would be: "Which VPS hosts have the least blacklisted IP addresses for hosting mail servers?" But i'm afraid that i cannot answer that one, because after a brief search i could not find any articles, which would check the IP blocks owned by different hosts and what percentage of them are in blacklists, which would probably be a large undertaking. Until then, most of the answers will probably be subjective, along the lines of: "I use $HOST without many problems." (like my answer above, though even then someone could get a blacklisted IP address and their answer would be the exact opposite to mine).

papaf 5y ago

what VPS hosts are reliable for email? I've not had problems with Hetzner and Scaleway. Before that I used to host email on random vendors I saw on Low End Box[1] and never had problems. [1] https://lowendbox.com/ https://lowendbox.com/

sildur 5y ago

I got good results with Hetzner. But it takes some time to set up a server that complies with all of Google requirements. Also, I once inherited a spammy IP address and took me some time to remove it from spam databases.

papaf 5y ago
Thats a good point about IP addresses. I think the advantage with Hetzner cloud is that you rent the IP address separately. If you get an IP with a bad reputation you can stop renting it and get a new one. Edit: I have not actually tried changing the IP, its just an idea. Also, I hope the spammers don't start doing this and spoil it for everyone else.
- AgoRapide 5y ago
  Hetzner does not open port 25 outbound (SMTP) until you have paid your first invoice. I therefore believe them to handle this problem somewhat seriously.
calpaterson 5y ago
What google requirements are you referring to? SPF/DKIM/etc?
- sildur 5y ago
  Yes, basically that. I set up mail servers for a company in 2001-2008 and then it was way easier. I tried to do it again five years ago, for my personal server and quickly found the landscape changed a lot. But it is doable.
  - calpaterson 5y ago
    Fair dos. I do run my own mailserver and although I have had problems I haven't found it impossible. The complexity in running a mailserver has for sure increased since 2008 but it hasn't seen the same level of complexity expansion that, for example, making a web site has. I do use SPF but I don't use DKIM or DMARC. On the inbound side, I do use greylisting and anti-spam. I don't tend to change my config between releases of debian stable.

3np 5y ago

VPS providers generally (don't know about GCP) lift port restrictions if you write them and request it explicitly. At least Vultr and Linode will also communicate with other big providers (e.g. Gmail or Outlook.com) in case you have delivery issues due to history of the IP addressor subnet before you took it over.

tomcooks 5y ago

Any host, just check that the IP they provide you with is not blacklisted on spamlists, otherwise you're going to have a hard time