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Initial Configuration in Basic Mode

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Initial configuration in basic mode

FortiMail Web UI has two configuration mode: Basic mode and Advanced mode. This section describes how to use the FortiMail unit’s web UI in basic configuration mode to adjust or enhance your FortiMail configuration or to examine email information. Basic mode offers fewer menu selections than advanced mode but basic mode’s simplicity can make it easier for a new administrator to get started.

This section assumes you have already configured your FortiMail unit using the Quick Start Wizard and have set up the correct deployment for your operation mode.

To access the web UI, enter its URL in a supported browser. See “Connecting to the Web UI or CLI” on page 25.

If you see Monitor instead of Management at the top of the web UI’s left-hand menu, it means the web UI is in advanced mode. Click Basic on the top button bar to switch modes.

Click the Help button on the web UI at any time to get information on currently displayed features.

This section includes:

  • Managing mail queues and quarantines
  • Configuring basic system and mail settings
  • Configuring logs, reports and email alerts

Managing mail queues and quarantines

The Management menu provides information on your FortiMail system including its overall health and resource usage, mail statistics, email queues, and quarantine lists.

Viewing system status and statistics

The dashboard always appears when you first start the web UI. To access it otherwise, go to Management > System Status > Status.

The dashboard displays information in specialized widgets. The widgets provide system information (such as the operation mode and firmware version) and the state of system resources, plus statistics on spam and virus detection. Take time to review the dashboard for obvious problems.

Buttons on the top-right side of each widget’s title bar let you expand/collapse it, refresh its contents, or close it. To open a closed widget, select it from the Add Content list.

Figure 19:Basic mode dashboard

You can change a widget’s position. Select its title bar and drag it to the new position. Other widgets adjust their position automatically to accommodate the change.

 


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Transparent Mode Deployment

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Transparent mode deployment

The following procedures and examples show you how to deploy the FortiMail unit in transparent mode.

  • Configuring DNS records
  • Example 1: FortiMail unit in front of an email server
  • Example 2: FortiMail unit in front of an email hub
  • Example 3: FortiMail unit for an ISP or carrier

Configuring DNS records

If the FortiMail unit is operating in transparent mode, in most cases, configuring DNS records for protected domain names is not required. Proper DNS records for your protected domain names are usually already in place. However, you usually must configure public DNS records for the FortiMail unit itself.

For performance reasons, and to support some configuration options, you may also want to provide a private DNS server for exclusive use by the FortiMail unit.

This section includes the following:

  • Configuring DNS records for the FortiMail unit itself
  • Configuring a private DNS server

Configuring DNS records for the FortiMail unit itself

In addition to that of protected domains, the FortiMail unit must be able to receive web connections, and send and receive email, for its own domain name. Dependent features include:

  • delivery status notification (DSN) email
  • spam reports
  • email users’ access to their per-recipient quarantined mail
  • FortiMail administrators’ access to the web UI by domain name
  • alert email
  • report generation notification email

For this reason, you should also configure public DNS records for the FortiMail unit itself.

Appropriate records vary by whether or not Web release host name/IP (located in AntiSpam > Quarantine > Quarantine Report in the advanced mode of the web UI) is configured:

  • Case 1: Web Release Host Name/IP is empty/default
  • Case 2: Web Release Host Name/IP is configured

Unless you have enabled both Hide the transparent box in each protected domain and Hide this box from the mail server in each session profile, the FortiMail unit is not fully transparent in SMTP sessions: the domain name and IP address of the FortiMail unit may be visible to SMTP servers, and they might perform reverse lookups. For this reason, public DNS records for the FortiMail unit usually should include reverse DNS (RDNS) records.

Case 1: Web Release Host Name/IP is empty/default

When Web release host name/IP is not configured (the default), the web release/delete links that appear in spam reports use the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the FortiMail unit. For example, if the FortiMail unit’s host name is fortimail, and its local domain name is example.net, resulting in the FQDN fortimail.example.net, a spam report’s default web release link might look like (FQDN highlighted in bold):

https://fortimail.example.net/releasecontrol?release=0%3Auser2%40examp le.com%3AMTIyMDUzOTQzOC43NDJfNjc0MzE1LkZvcnRpTWFpbC00MDAsI0YjUyM2N TkjRSxVMzoyLA%3D%3D%3Abf3db63dab53a291ab53a291ab53a291

In the DNS configuration to support this and the other DNS-dependent features, you would configure the following three records:

example.net IN MX 10 fortimail.example.net fortimail IN A 10.10.10.1 1 IN PTR fortimail.example.net.

where:

  • net is the local domain name to which the FortiMail unit belongs; in the MX record, it is the local domain for which the FortiMail is the mail gateway
  • example.net is the FQDN of the FortiMail unit
  • fortimail is the host name of the FortiMail unit; in the A record of the zone file for example.net, it resolves to the IP address of the FortiMail unit for the purpose of administrators’ access to the web UI, email users’ access to their per-recipient quarantines, to resolve the FQDN referenced in the MX record when email users send Bayesian and quarantine control email to the FortiMail unit, and to resolve to the IP address of the FortiMail unit for the purpose of the web release/delete hyperlinks in the spam report
  • 10.10.1 is the public IP address of the FortiMail unit

Case 2: Web Release Host Name/IP is configured

You could configure Web release host name/IP to use an alternative fully qualified domain name (FQDN) such as webrelease.example.info instead of the configured FQDN, resulting in the following web release link (web release FQDN highlighted in bold):

https://webrelease.example.info/releasecontrol?release=0%3Auser2%40exa mple.com%3AMTIyMDUzOTQzOC43NDJfNjc0MzE1LkZvcnRpTWFpbC00MDAsI0YjUyM 2NTkjRSxVMzoyLA%3D%3D%3Abf3db63dab53a291ab53a291ab53a291

Then, in the DNS configuration to support this and the other DNS-dependent features, you would configure the following MX record, A records, and PTR record (unlike “Case 1: Web Release Host Name/IP is empty/default” on page 52, in this case, two A records are required; the difference is highlighted in bold):

example.net IN MX 10 fortimail.example.net fortimail IN A 10.10.10.1 webrelease IN A 10.10.10.1 1 IN PTR fortimail.example.net.

where:

  • net is the local domain name to which the FortiMail unit belongs; in the MX record, it is the local domain for which the FortiMail is the mail gateway
  • example.net is the FQDN of the FortiMail unit
  • fortimail is the host name of the FortiMail unit; in the A record of the zone file for example.net, it resolves to the IP address of the FortiMail unit for the purpose of administrators’ access to the web UI and to resolve the FQDN referenced in the MX record when email users send Bayesian and quarantine control email to the FortiMail unit
  • webrelease is the web release host name; in the A record of the zone file for example.info, it resolves to the IP address of the FortiMail unit for the purpose of the web release/delete hyperlinks in the spam report
  • 10.10.1 is the public IP address of the FortiMail unit

Configuring a private DNS server

Consider providing a private DNS server on your local network to improve performance with features that use DNS queries.

Figure 11:Public and private DNS servers (transparent mode)

172.16.1.10                                       Private DNS Server Public DNS Server

Email Domain: example.com IN MX 10 mail.example.com example.com IN MX 10 mail.example.com

@example.com mail IN A 172.16.1.10 mail IN A 10.10.10.1

In some situations, a private DNS server may be required. If:

  • you configure the FortiMail unit to use a private DNS server, and
  • both the FortiMail unit and the protected SMTP server reside on the internal network, with private network IP addresses, and • you enable the Use MX record option you should configure the A records on the private DNS server and public DNS server differently: the private DNS server must resolve to the domain names of the SMTP servers into private IP addresses, while the public DNS server must resolve them into public IP addresses.

For example, if both a FortiMail unit (fortimail.example.com) operating in transparent mode and the SMTP server reside on your private network behind a router or firewall as illustrated in Figure 7 on page 53, and the Use MX record option is enabled, Table 9 on page 81 illustrates differences between the public and private DNS servers for the authoritative DNS records of example.com.

Table 9: Public versus private DNS records when “Use MX Record” is enabled

Private DNS server Public DNS server
example.com IN MX 10 mail.example.com example.com IN MX 10 mail.example.com
mail IN A 172.16.1.10 mail IN A 10.10.10.1
10 IN PTR fortimail.example.com 1 IN PTR fortimail.example.com

If you choose to add a private DNS server, to configure the FortiMail unit to use it, go to System > Network > DNS in the advanced mode of the web UI.


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Gateway Mode Deployment

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Gateway mode deployment

After completing the Quick Start Wizard, you may need to configure some items that are specific to your network topology or the operation mode of your FortiMail unit.

This section contains examples of how to deploy a FortiMail unit operating in gateway mode. Other sections discuss deployment in the other two modes.

This section includes the following topics:

  • Configuring DNS records
  • Example 1: FortiMail unit behind a firewall
  • Example 2: FortiMail unit in front of a firewall
  • Example 3: FortiMail unit in DMZ

Configuring DNS records

You must configure public DNS records for the protected domains and for the FortiMail unit itself.

For performance reasons, and to support some configuration options, you may also want to provide a private DNS server for exclusive use by the FortiMail unit.

This section includes the following:

  • Configuring DNS records for the protected domains
  • Configuring DNS records for the FortiMail unit itself
  • Configuring a private DNS server

Configuring DNS records for the protected domains

Regardless of your private network topology, in order for external MTAs to deliver email through the FortiMail unit, you must configure the public MX record for each protected domain to indicate that the FortiMail unit is its email gateway.

For example, if the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the FortiMail unit is fortimail.example.com, and example.com is a protected domain, the MX record for example.com would be:

example.com IN MX 10 fortimail.example.com

If your FortiMail unit will operate in gateway mode, configure the MX record to refer to the FortiMail unit, and remove other MX records. If you fail to do so, external MTAs may not be able to deliver email to or through the FortiMail unit, or may be able to bypass the FortiMail unit by using the other MX records. If you have configured secondary MX records for failover reasons, consider configuring FortiMail high availability (HA) instead. For details, see “FortiMail high availability modes” on page 23.

An A record must also exist to resolve the host name of the FortiMail unit into an IP address.

For example, if the MX record indicates that fortimail.example.com is the email gateway for a domain, you must also configure an A record in the example.com zone file to resolve fortimail.example.com into a public IP address: fortimail IN A 10.10.10.1

where 10.10.10.1 is either the public IP address of the FortiMail unit, or a virtual IP address on a firewall or router that maps to the private IP address of the FortiMail unit.

If your FortiMail unit will relay outgoing email, you should also configure the public reverse DNS record. The public IP address of the FortiMail unit, or the virtual IP address on a firewall or router that maps to the private IP address of the FortiMail unit, should be globally resolvable into the FortiMail unit’s FQDN. If it is not, reverse DNS lookups by external SMTP servers will fail.

For example, if the public network IP address of the FortiMail unit is 10.10.10.1, a public DNS server’s reverse DNS zone file for the 10.10.10.0/24 subnet might contain:

1 IN PTR fortimail.example.com.

where fortimail.example.com is the FQDN of the FortiMail unit.

Configuring DNS records for the FortiMail unit itself

In addition to that of protected domains, the FortiMail unit must be able to receive web connections, and send and receive email, for its own domain name. Dependent features include:

  • delivery status notification (DSN) email
  • spam reports
  • email users’ access to their per-recipient quarantined mail
  • FortiMail administrators’ access to the web UI by domain name
  • alert email
  • report generation notification email

For this reason, you should also configure public DNS records for the FortiMail unit itself.

Appropriate records vary by whether or not you configured Web release host name/IP (located in AntiSpam > Quarantine > Quarantine Report in the advanced mode of the web UI).

See the following:

  • Case 1: Web Release Host Name/IP is empty/default
  • Case 2: Web Release Host Name/IP is configured

Case 1: Web Release Host Name/IP is empty/default

When Web release host name/IP is not configured (the default), the web release/delete links that appear in spam reports use the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the FortiMail unit. For example, if the FortiMail unit’s host name is fortimail, and its local domain name is example.net, resulting in the FQDN fortimail.example.net, a spam report’s default web release link might look like (FQDN highlighted in bold):

https://fortimail.example.net/releasecontrol?release=0%3Auser2%40examp le.com%3AMTIyMDUzOTQzOC43NDJfNjc0MzE1LkZvcnRpTWFpbC00MDAsI0YjUyM2N TkjRSxVMzoyLA%3D%3D%3Abf3db63dab53a291ab53a291ab53a291

In the DNS configuration to support this and the other DNS-dependent features, you would configure the following three records:

example.net IN MX 10 fortimail.example.net fortimail IN A 10.10.10.1 1 IN PTR fortimail.example.net.

where:

  • net is the local domain name to which the FortiMail unit belongs; in the MX record, it is the local domain for which the FortiMail is the mail gateway
  • example.net is the FQDN of the FortiMail unit
  • fortimail is the host name of the FortiMail unit; in the A record of the zone file for example.net, it resolves to the IP address of the FortiMail unit for the purpose of administrators’ access to the web UI, email users’ access to their per-recipient quarantines, to resolve the FQDN referenced in the MX record when email users send Bayesian and quarantine control email to the FortiMail unit, and to resolve to the IP address of the FortiMail unit for the purpose of the web release/delete hyperlinks in the spam report
  • 10.10.1 is the public IP address of the FortiMail unit

Having trouble configuring your Fortinet hardware or have some questions you need answered? Check Out The Fortinet Guru Youtube Channel! Want someone else to deal with it for you? Get some consulting from Fortinet GURU!

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