Definitions for teachers by teachers

MX Server

For example if our mail server is down, messages can be forwarded to a MX server until the messages can be delivered to our server.

There are certain forms of MX servers such as the:

NetPoint.MX - http://ipw.internet.com/communication/e-mail/916161138.html

Here are normal client/server operation guidelines for MX servers:

http://www.imca.aps.anl.gov/~lavender/mx/manual/client_server_operation.html

by Cynthia Clark

MX records within the DNS are like the individual entries in an address book. Just like in an address book, where you can look up John Brown and see his address, MX records are entries in the DNS to indicate which server on a particular domain (a domain is a name like uiuc.edu) is the mail server and which server accepts incoming mail (these types of servers are called MX Servers). There are lots of DNS servers all over the world.

by Amy Fahey

MX (Mail Exchange) records point to the mail exchanges for one host.  DNS is structured so that you can actually specify several mail exchanges for one host.  This provides a greater probability that e-mail will arrive at its intended destination.  The mail exchanges are listed in order in the record, with a priority code that tells the order in which the mail exchange should be accessed by other mail delivery systems.  If first priority doesn’t respond in a given amount of time, the mail delivery system tries the second one, and so on.  A mail exchanger is another name for an SMTP mail server. So, MX records tell where to deliver the e-mail for your domains.  It is similar to the current phone system where we have country codes, area codes, prefixes, and an actual four digit phone number.

Relevance:  MX Servers are important so your e-mail is actually sent, sent to the correct place, and received.

by Jennifer Haberkorn

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