IRedMail - Getting Started Guide

Step 1 - Verify iRedMail Works

Your server's IP address and root password are shown on the Server Details page in your client panel. Your mail server provides two web interfaces accessible by IP address:

• SOGo Webmail: https://your.server.ip/mail - email, calendar, contacts
• iRedAdmin: https://your.server.ip/iredadmin - manage domains, mailboxes, aliases

Mail admin login:

• Username: postmaster@yourdomain.com (the mail domain you entered during the order)
• Password: the admin password you set during the order

These credentials work for SOGo webmail, iRedAdmin panel and email clients (IMAP/SMTP).

If you placed the server behind a VyOS router on a private network, set up port forwarding for ports 25 (SMTP), 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS), 587 (submission), 993 (IMAP) and 995 (POP3). A mail server must be reachable from the internet to send and receive email.

Step 2 - Configure DNS Records

Proper DNS configuration is critical for email delivery. Without correct records, your emails will be rejected or marked as spam. Add the following records in your domain's DNS management panel:

Reverse DNS (PTR record): Contact support to set the PTR record for your server IP to mail.yourdomain.com. This is required for reliable email delivery.

DNS changes usually take a few minutes, but can take up to 24 hours. You can verify your mail server configuration at mail-tester.com.

Step 3 - Create Mailboxes

Open the iRedAdmin panel at https://your.server.ip/iredadmin and log in as postmaster@yourdomain.com:

1. Click Add → User
2. Enter the email address and password for the new user
3. Set the mailbox quota (optional)
4. Click Add

The new user can immediately log in to SOGo webmail or configure an email client with the settings from Step 4.

Step 4 - Connect an Email Client

Use any email client (Thunderbird, Outlook, Apple Mail, mobile apps) with these settings:

Username is the full email address (e.g. postmaster@yourdomain.com). Email clients use your regular password - two-factor authentication (2FA) applies only to the SOGo webmail interface, not to IMAP/SMTP.

Step 5 - Enable Let's Encrypt SSL (Optional)

If your domain's A record points to the server, you can replace the self-signed certificate with a free Let's Encrypt certificate. This applies to all services (Nginx, Postfix, Dovecot). Connect via SSH and run:

ssh root@your.server.ip

/opt/setup/get-ssl.sh mail.yourdomain.com

The script will verify DNS, obtain a certificate and configure all services. Automatic renewal is already configured.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled by default for the SOGo webmail interface. When you log in to SOGo for the first time, you will see a "2FA disabled" notification - click CONTINUE to proceed, then set up 2FA:

1. In SOGo, go to Preferences (gear icon) → Security
2. Enable 2FA Authenticator
3. Scan the QR code with your authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, etc.)
4. Enter the code from the app to verify and save

After setup, you will need both your password and the 2FA code to log in to SOGo webmail. Email clients (IMAP/SMTP) continue to use only the password.

Fail2Ban - Brute-Force Protection

Your server comes with Fail2Ban pre-configured to protect SSH, Postfix, Dovecot and SOGo from brute-force attacks.

Useful commands:

# Check banned IPs
fail2ban-client status sshd
fail2ban-client status dovecot
fail2ban-client status postfix

# Unban an IP
fail2ban-client set sshd unbanip 1.2.3.4

If you accidentally lock yourself out, connect via VNC console in your client panel and unban your IP.

Service Management

# Check mail services
systemctl status postfix dovecot nginx sogo

# View mail log
tail -f /var/log/mail.log

# Mail queue
postqueue -p                        # view queue
postqueue -f                        # flush (retry) queue

# DKIM public key (for DNS)
amavisd showkeys

Updates

OS and mail components update together via apt:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

For iRedMail-specific upgrades, see the official upgrade guide.

Server Credentials

Your admin login, password and DKIM public key are saved in /root/.iredmail_credentials. View them via SSH:

cat /root/.iredmail_credentials

Software Included

• iRedMail Documentation: docs.iredmail.org
• SOGo Guide: docs.iredmail.org/sogo
• Test Email Deliverability: mail-tester.com
• DNS/MX Diagnostics: mxtoolbox.com