Is it OK to run my own mail server for email forwarding? [closed]

Solution 1:

It's going to take work. If you're not opposed to it taking work, then you're completely fine. Gmail works so well because they have a team of people dedicated to it.

Make sure you set up the SPF record(s) properly. Then, figure out some way to set up a fallback - If your server suddenly gets blacklisted, how do you get email flowing again?

I recommend you do it, but start with emails not so mission critical e.g. an email account you use for newsletters. It'll be fun and a great learning experience. If you like it and it seems to work well, add the rest. Just check it daily at first and set up some sort of monitoring.

Solution 2:

I realise I won't have the expertise to handle spam or large loads or email, but as I'm forwarding straight onto a reliable email service, is this still an issue?

Yes. Without a spam filtering on your relay, you will also forward spam mails to gmail. This will lead to temporary blocking on their side.

• Am I really getting in too deep?
• What other problems might I face?

You will have to setup a Sender Rewrite Scheme (SRS) daemon to rewrite the Sender. Using simple aliases for forwarding won't change the sender's address to one belonging to you. Thus gmail will notice you are sending mails in behalf of others', thus you are sending pure "spam".

So yes, you need to grapple with mail servers and protocols.