XDove enables to set up a Mail system accessible over the Internet. Internet is a PUBLIC opened area. You must protect your privacy AND not provide ill-intentioned users a relay for their spams.
XDove write configuration files and deals with passwords. Therefore, to avoid evil-intentioned users to interfere, there is a login procedure. Such procedure is based on the use of the .Htaccess mechanism that is NOT enabled by default on some QNAP servers. To enable the .htaccess protection, please refer to the Use of Htaccess wiki.
Once your XMail server is configured, don't become an opened relay for the spammers. You may run a test for opened-relay at our Security section.
XDove re-installation
You may want to reinstall an updated version over a previously existing version of XDove but this will end with a failure. At the end of the QPKG file decompression phase (about 30%) the QPKG installer will find an already existing XDove directory and stop.
For a new XDove installation you should:
Archive your mail system data.
Remove the previous XDove installation and reinstall from the QNAP QPKG administration page.
Restore your previously backuped mail system archive.
Shall your local network be accessible behind a router, you must access your router "Port forwarding" administration page and redirect the ports as mentioned below. Redirection IP address will be your QNAP NAS IP address and protocol may apply on TCP only.
Port from
Port to
Services
6017
6017
(xmail remote control access)
25
50025
(ESMTP)
110
50110
(POP3)
143
143
(imap)
79
50079
(FINGER)
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This is a router port forwarding screenshot. You shall replace the IP address 192.168.0.180 in the example above with your NAS IP address.
Few words about Domain and MX Record
WARNING
Some Free DNS providers DO NOT PROVIDE MX SERVICE. Before installing XDove, please check that your Registar allows you to set up a MX record. If you have to pay an annual fee for your DNS service, there is a fair chance that you have the capability to setup the mail redirector. This can be checked using your domain name and selecting the Query "MX (mail exchange)" here
I do not understand the Domain name?
The domain name is a translation operated by a registrar(*) to convert your Internet IP Address into a Name (e.g "72.14.205.100" is "google.com").
To get access to such a service, you must subscribe and pay an annual fee to a registrar. Domain name have extensions such as .com (the widely used), .net, .org, ... or an extension that refers to a country such as .tw, .uk, .fr, .de, .nl, etc. (refer to IANA for additional information). Some countries may have restrictions regarding the use of domain name.
The registrar will also offer you additional services with your subscription such as a redirection for your "mail exchanger" which will be needed to run the XMail server too. Generally, the MX Record should be filled with the mail server such as "mail.mydomain.com". Please refer to your registrar for the correct setting.
(*) They are many registrars (aka DNS provider that stands for Domain Name Service provider). see hosting service
Which is my MX Record (mail exchanger)?
Click this link www.kloth.net, enter your Domain name and in Query select MX (mail exchanger) in the drop list or click this link mxtoolbox.com, enter your Domain name and check the returned IP.
It will return your mail exchanger if it has been set.
[For windows users] Cannot see files with File Explorer
For users browsing files on the QNAP servers with Window File Explorer.
Due to QNAP file permissions, some files may not be displayed in the File Explorer. To correct this problem, you must Disable the “Hide system protected files” option.
Installation of the XDove QPKG
Download package from QNAP Forum
Upgrade QNAP to install XDove qpkg (Your QNAP NAS needs the latest firmware version to manage the XDove application. Please check the QNAP page for your NAS model firmware.)
Upload and Enable XDove on the QPKG page (Open the QNAP administration page and go to "System tools / QPKG")
Enabled the built-in web server from the Network Configurations
Click on the "Web Page" link to get into the XDove. After a new installation, it will direct you to the XDove Quick Start Assistant.
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Troubleshooting
Q: XDove does not start A: Remove previous XMail installation (save your data (see the Backup/Restore section)) A: Upgrade to the latest QNAP server firmware version A: Reboot the server
Open the XDove interface
WARNING: The XDove admin account has changed regarding the previous Beta version. Login using your NAS Admin username/password (The administrator username is admin and is the one used to log to your QNAP administration pages) INFO: Authentication is managed by the Apache .htaccess system.
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To start the Assistant, from the Menu click on XDove/Quick Start Assistant. You also have the possibility to manually install each application. The Quick Start Assistant can be re-run at any time to reconfigure XDove or to add/remove user mail accounts for example. It can be used instead of the PHPXMail application for XMail basic management.
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Use the links below to jump directly to the corresponding sections:
Try the fully qualified URL http://<your_nas>/xdove/index.php
Are sure, I mean really sure about the username/password (you MUST have used admin as Username and the corresponding admin account Password)
See troubleshooting section in “Install XDove QPKG”
Your browser may be attempting to connect to 169.254.100.100. If so, you need to restart your Apache server. It can be achieved through the QNAP NAS administration pages (Network Settings/Web Server) or by using a console and the following command line: /etc/init.d/Qthttpd.sh restart
Quick Start Assistant
The Quick Start Assistant (QSA) will display 6 pages to configure a POP3 and IMAP mail system.
The QSA automatically pops-up after a fresh install.
The QSA can also be used for system reconfiguration if required (eg. changing the XMail password, changing the SMTP, adding/removing users, etc.).
You can go back with the 'Back' button if needed.
You can exit the QSA at any time. Configuration is saved at each step and will be reloaded when the QSA is run again.
Page 1 - Welcome
If you have not yet enabled XDove on the QNAP QPKG administration page, you will get a warning and won't be able to continue. Go back to the QNAP administration pages and enable XDove.
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The QSA will configure XMail and Dovecot servers as well as the UebiMiau and RoundCube webmails.
Your browser shall allow the use of cookies during this configuration process.
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Page 2 - Configure XMail server and PHPXmail administration account
This page will setup the XMail administrator account username and password. Other data are displayed for information purpose only. They can be changed in case the Quick Start Assistant failed with the reported information. You must submit this page to be able to continue and display the Continue button.
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Page 3 - Configure XMail Domain and default Postmaster account
You must have registered a Domain name and now need to give it to the Mail system. You have the possibility to setup several domains but you will have to select only one of them here. Advanced configuration can be managed later on through the PHPXMail application. Before going further, you should have one domain selected. To select one domain, click on the domain name from the domain list. The selected domain is displayed and the "Continue" button pops-up.
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Page 4 - Configure XMail SMTP
The options here will define how your mails will be routed. The (E)SMTP (Extended-Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) XMail server can route your messages. Leave the Default SMTP Gateways/Port: empty (it could also be your server name or IP, but left empty will disable this option and is recommended). Using XDove requires the XMail SMTP server port to be set to 50025.
If you choose to let your ISP (Internet Service Provider) to route your mails, set your ISP SMTP (eg. smtp.aol.com) AND set the port to the ISP SMTP port. ISPs usually use the default SMTP port value 25.
By default, some ISP block the access to the SMTP but leave you to re-enable this function through your Internet account management interface (e.g. Free in France).
Setting your own SMTP router may cause some problems such as server overload, security breaches and potential SPAMs relay. If you are not feeling comfortable with such issues, setting your ISP SMTP as default gateway may be an alternative answer.
Some ISPs require authenticated connections. This shall be manually configured using the XMail instructions available at SMTP CLIENT AUTHENTICATION.
You shall submit this page to proceed with the next page.
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Page 5 - Create user mailboxes
There is (normally) already a Postmaster account created with your domain. This account cannot be deleted and is required by the Mail system. DO NOT use this account as a regular user account. On this page you will be able to:
Create new user accounts (and associated mailboxes)
Delete user accounts (but the Postmaster account)
Automatically create an account for each user registered(*) on your QNAP server. A default password for all these new accounts shall be set in User password.
Click on 'Continue' when done with the users creation.
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(*) To create accounts for the users already registered on your NAS:
Check the box and the list of your NAS registered users will drop down.
Select all (check the box at the top) or only the NAS users for those you want to create mail accounts.
Set the default password for these mail accounts.
The users will be able to change their password by login to PHPXmail (http://<your_nas>/phpxmail) with this default password and change it for a custom password.
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Page 6 - Connect to your mailbox
The XMail server has been configured and now the webmail client UebiMiau and RoundCube will be setup. If you do not intend to configure the webmails, you can close the QSA now. You have the possibility to go through the QSA process later on and configure the webmails if required.
A drop list is preloaded with your current computer time and let you select your timezone. .
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RoundCube requires to access to the MySQL server and will use a database. In order to let the QSA correctly configure RoundCube, your MySQL server shall be enabled. If not yet set, go to the QNAP administration page and enable the MySQL server (Network Settings/ MySQL server and check both the "Enable MySQL Server" and "Enable TCP/IP Networking" boxes then press "Apply"). Default MySQL username and password are "root" and "admin".
Shall the RoundCube configuration failed, a message will be displayed. Click on the link (red square on the screenshot) to retry with new parameters. If you do intend to use RoundCube, you may ignore this message and only UebiMiau webmail will be configured.
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This completes the XDove configuration. You are now ready to access your mailbox using RoundCube or UebiMiau from the XDove menu. Click on 'Close' to return to the XDove Menu.
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NOTE: Uebimiau webmail client support both POP3 and IMAP accesses,
RoundCube webmail client support only IMAP.
XDove Documentation Center
Most of the documentation is accessible from the XDove Documentation Center.
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Click the link and display the required help page into the pop-up window or you may be redirected to an Internet page. You will find in the Documentation Center some information about manual configuration of the applications.
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Start/Stop the servers
XDove can be Started or Stopped from the XDove interface. XDove will start or stop the XMail server (ESMTP/POP3) and Dovecot (IMAP) server. When the servers are running, a green light is displayed otherwise the light turns orange. There is a possibility to start/stop the Dovecot IMAP server independently. To be able to start the Dovecot server, the XMail server must be running. This means that you must first start XDove then you have the possibility to start/stop the IMAP server. You won't be allowed to start Dovecot whereas XDove is stopped.
Whenever the IMAP server is not required, you can turn it off. Keep in mind that the light will turn orange but the ESMTP/POP3 server will be running and let you access your mailboxes using a POP webmail client (eg. UebiMiau).
