Windows

Setup program

To install E-MailRelay on Windows run emailrelay-setup.exe.

The installation GUI will take you through the installation options and then install the run-time files from the payload folder into your chosen locations and also create a startup batch file (emailrelay-start.bat) and configuration file (emailrelay.cfg).

If you plan to install into Program Files and ProgramData, or if you want to run E-MailRelay as a Windows service then you will need to allow the installation program to run as Administrator. Use the nouac batch file to run without administrator privileges.

Note that you can run the main E-MailRelay program emailrelay.exe (or emailrelay-textmode.exe) directly without going through the installation process but you will need to refer to the documentation to set the appropriate configuration options.

Running the program

After a successful installation you should see E-MailRelay listed in the Windows Start Menu and/or as an entry in the Windows Services tool.

The Start Menu item will run the startup batch file emailrelay-start.bat. This is normally in the ProgramData\E-MailRelay folder, together with the configuration file emailrelay.cfg. Once the E-MailRelay server is running you should see an icon appear in the Windows System Notification Area (also known as the System Tray) under the Show hidden icons button.

Or if E-MailRelay runs as a service you should see an entry in the Windows Services tool with a status of Running. Check the E-MailRelay log file to see what it is doing.

Configuration

E-MailRelay is configured with options like --verbose and --spool-dir in the emailrelay-startup.bat batch file, or equivalently verbose and spool-dir lines in the emailrelay.cfg configuration file.

Note that emailrelay-start.bat lives under ProgramData, and although this might be a hidden folder you can still navigate there by right-clicking on the E-MailRelay link under Program Files\E-MailRelay and selecting "Open file location".

You can edit the batch file or configuration file using Notepad: right-click on the file, then show more options and edit.

Alternatively, use the emailrelay-gui program to make configuration changes.

All configuration options are documented in the E-MailRelay reference document.

Account user-ids and passwords can be configured by editing the E-MailRelay secrets file, normally ProgramData\E-MailRelay\emailrelay.auth. Check that the --client-auth or --server-auth options in the startup batch file or configuration file refer to this file.

Manual installation

The manual installation process for when you cannot run the setup program can be as simple as this:

  • Create a new program folder C:\Program Files\E-MailRelay.

  • Create a new spool folder C:\Program Files\E-MailRelay\spool.

  • Copy the EXE files from programs in the zip file into C:\Program Files\E-MailRelay.

  • Create a new text file, e.g. C:\Program Files\E-MailRelay\auth.txt, to contain account details.

  • Add account details to auth.txt with a line like client plain myaccount mypassword.

  • Right-drag emailrelay.exe onto the desktop to create a shortcut for the server.

  • Add configuration options to the server shortcut properties in the target box.

The configuration options should normally include:

  • --log

  • --verbose

  • --log-file=@app\log-%d.txt

  • --spool-dir=@app\spool

  • --client-auth=@app\auth.txt

  • --client-tls

  • --forward-to=smtp.example.com:25

  • --forward-on-disconnect

  • --poll=60

Copy the shortcut to Start Menu and Startup folders as necessary.

Running as a service

E-MailRelay can be set up as a Windows service so that it starts up automatically at boot-time. This can be selected with a check-box on the Server startup page in the installation program (emailrelay-setup) or later using the emailrelay-gui configuration program.

The E-MailRelay installation program registers a service wrapper program called emailrelay-service.exe as the service executable and it is this that runs the main E-MailRelay server program. (Other service wrappers are available.)

If not using the installation program then the E-MailRelay service wrapper can be set up manually. You must first have a configuration file called emailrelay.cfg that contains all the configuration options for running the E-MailRelay server. You must also have a one-line configuration file for the service wrapper called emailrelay-service.cfg and this must be in the same folder as the service wrapper executable.

The contents of the service-wrapper configuration file should be a single line that points to the folder containing the main E-MailRelay configuration file (emailrelay.cfg), like this:

dir-config="C:\ProgramData\E-MailRelay"

Then just run emailrelay-service --install from an Administrator command prompt to install the service.

For tighter security run the service under a virtual service account, either by using the Services tool's Log On tab or with the sc config command run from an administrator command prompt:

sc config emailrelay obj= "NT Service\emailrelay"

If you need to run multiple E-MailRelay services then put a unique service name and display name on the emailrelay-service --install <name> <display-name> command-line. The service name you give is used to derive the name of the configuration file (<name>.cfg) that contains the E-MailRelay server's configuration options, so you will need to create that first.

Note that a 'service specific' error code when starting the service is the main emailrelay program's exit code. This will have the value 2 if the listening socket is already in use, normally indicating that another E-MailRelay program is running. For any other error code first make sure that the configuration file is correct by running the startup batch file emailrelay-start.bat or run emailrelay-textmode emailrelay.cfg from a command prompt. For low-level diagnostic logging of the service wrapper set the path of a log file in the registry at HKLM/SOFTWARE/emailrelay-service/logfile.

Uninstall

To uninstall:

  • Stop the program and/or the service.

  • Uninstall the service, if installed (emailrelay-service --remove).

  • Delete the files from the E-MailRelay program files folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\E-MailRelay).

  • Delete the files from the E-MailRelay program data folder (e.g. C:\ProgramData\E-MailRelay).

  • Delete any desktop shortcuts (e.g. %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\E-MailRelay.lnk).

  • Delete any start menu shortcuts (e.g. %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\E-MailRelay.lnk).

  • Delete any auto-start shortcuts (e.g. %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\E-MailRelay.lnk).

  • Clean up the registry under HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\EventLog\Application\emailrelay.

Diagnostics

E-MailRelay logging is sent to the Windows Event Log and/or written to a log file, and individual failed mail messages will have the failure reason recorded inside the .bad envelope file.

The Windows Event Log can be accessed by running eventvwr.exe or searching for Event Viewer; from there look under Windows Logs and Application.

You can increase the verbosity of the logging by adding the --verbose option to the E-MailRelay options, typically by editing the emailrelay.cfg configuration file in the C:\ProgramData\E-MailRelay folder.

Testing with telnet

The telnet program can be used for testing an E-MailRelay server.

To install the program search for Manage Optional Features and enable the Telnet client checkbox under More Windows Features.

Then run telnet from a command prompt, using localhost and the E-MailRelay port number as command-line parameters:

telnet localhost 25

This should show a greeting from the E-MailRelay server and then you can start typing SMTP commands like EHLO, MAIL FROM:.., RCPT TO:.. and DATA. Refer to RFC-821 Appendix F for some examples.