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Setting up Multi-Server in GFI MailEssentials

Author: Ashish Jiwa Updated

Overview

Multi-server is an important feature in GFI MailEssentials. This feature enables communication between different GFI MailEssentials servers so that some configuration data can be shared.

For organizations with multiple email gateways and email servers, email security management can be a tedious task without a unified console. When a GFI MailEssentials multi-server network is set up, this problem is resolved once and for all, and day-to-day configuration tasks can be done using a single console.

A GFI MailEssentials multi-server network can be enabled by promoting one of the servers to be a master server while all the other servers are set to connect to it as a slave. You can also define what you want to be synchronized between servers, or choose to have a centralized quarantine and reporting.

The following is a summary of the main functions in a multi-server deployment:

  • Each server scans emails flowing through it and the configuration is synchronized from the master server.
  • If the master server experiences downtime, the slave servers continue to scan normally.
  • In terms of reporting and quarantine data, all this data is queued on the slave server until the master server is back online.
  • The quarantine can be accessed from the master server, and from there you can easily search, view and approve quarantined emails.
  • Reports can be generated for either one or all the servers on the multi-server network.

 

Process

Configuring the GFI MailEssentials Multi-Server feature is a multi-stage process involving:

  1. Planning - See which GFI MailEssentials servers will form part of the GFI MailEssentials Multi-Server setup and which one will be designated as the master server. If synchronizing the reporting and quarantine data, also decide which computer will be the Reporting and Quarantine host.
  2. Installation - All computers within the GFI MailEssentials multi-server installation must have the same version and build of GFI MailEssentials installed on them. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of GFI MailEssentials. Note: All GFI MailEssentials machines in a multi-server environment must have their IP address listed in the Perimeter SMTP Server Settings. This ensures that emails processed by a GFI MailEssentials server are not reprocessed by another server.
  3. Open firewall ports 9095 & 9096 - These TCP ports are used for communications between GFI MailEssentials servers that are joined to the Multi-Server network. Ensure that the master and all slave servers can communicate together via these ports.
  4. Configure the Master Server - The master server is tasked with synchronizing the data within the GFI MailEssentials Multi-Server environment.
  5. Configure Slave Servers - Slave servers are members of the multi-server environment. Slave servers get the synchronized configuration settings from the master server and other peers in the multi-install network. A slave server may also be the Reporting and Quarantine host.
  6. Configure which configuration settings to sync - GFI MailEssentials provides you with the facility to sync either all the configuration settings or a set of configuration settings.
  7. Configure Reporting and Quarantine sync - Synching the Reporting and Quarantine data enables you to centralize all your reporting to a single location and to have a single location to store your quarantined emails.