Using AWS to forward email addresses

Question

I want to use my domain name in Amazon Web Services. I know about transferring DNS records and the like, but the problem is that I used LCN (low cost names) to buy my domain. He has been with them for several years, and they send free e-mail as part of the service. If I transfer my domain, I need to set up forwarding email addresses to AWS so that AWS will forward the email address I receive from LCN. I'm trying to learn all I can about Amazon AWS to rekindle books, but I'm not sure about the most efficient email sending approach. I would think that I could create something like Postfix in an EC2 instance and see if I can configure AWS DNS settings to use the EC2 instance as the mail server for the domain. Am I on the right track? Is there a better way to do this? I need to set up call forwarding first of all, when I move a domain, I risk that any messages sent to addresses on my hosting domain are not able to respond to me.

Answer 1

You are not going to "move your domain" to AWS, AWS does not offer domain registration services (I hope that someday they will, but they do not)

EDIT: Starting in the summer of 2014, AWS now provides domain hosting services.

Thus, your domain will remain with the domain registrar, this is necessary. Assuming your domain registrar is offering DNS, and assuming that all you want to do is start hosting your website on AWS instead of where it is now, all you have to do is install / specify A record in their AWS instances - they will remain records, MX records presumably will point to your current mail host.

If your current host does not do this for you (because they are a "type of all or nothing"), you still have many options, you can still save your domain with the current registrar and use the AWS 53 route to process your DNS. You set a / cname records to point to your site (presumably what you want on EC2), and you can set MX records to point to the mail server on which you host yourself on AWS (a really bad idea), or an external provider such as gmail or in person, I use Rackspace email hosting.

You need to understand how DNS works much better, and as soon as you do this, you will understand that if you control your DNS, you can have different bits and parts of the same domain, divided into many places / providers, do different parts of what you need.

My typical setup is this:

• Namecheap has my domain
• AWS Route 53 has my DNS (I forward DNS from Namecheap to route 53)
• EC2 hosts my sites
• My incoming POP3 messages are sent to Rackspace
• AWS SES handles all my outgoing emails (just a preference, Rackspace can do this).

Regarding hosting your own mail server on Ec2, this is usually not a good idea - first of all, hosting a mail server is a pain in the neck - leave it to someone who does this all day and pays them about $ 1- $ 2 / month for the privilege . Sending e-mail from an EC2 instance directly is an even more complicated idea - almost everyone will blacklist your e-mail in a short time.

So you have many options - you are not locked anything.