Getting Started

Pretzel Logic offers you 2 ways to get going. The Piggy-Back method, and the Direct method.

The Piggy-Back method is ideal if you want to get things running immediately, or want to move your mailboxes over slowly over time. The Direct method is best for the long term, as mail routing is faster and more reliable.

If you wish, you may start with the Piggy-Back method, move your mailboxes, then switch to the Direct method.

Both of these methods use your alternate address space.
The alternate address space is a way to allow you to use Pretzel Logic's services immediately after your service is setup - even before your DNS and MX records have been updated. It works by simply mapping your domain onto Pretzel-Logic.ca, and is setup automatically for you.

For example - normally, you would access the web interface with an address like: groupware.example.ca. The alternate address to the exact same resources is: example.ca.pretzel-logic.ca.
This also works for e-mail. if your e-mail address is daffy.duck@example.ca, then the alternate address for this address is: daffy.duck@example.ca.pretzel-logic.ca

All of your primary and alternate addresses are fully interchangeable - the only difference is how they look.

The Piggy-Back method

The Piggy-Back method is done by simply forwarding your existing e-mail address to a new address. The advantage is that you don't need to change DNS and wait for the new information to propagation, and you can take your time moving your mailboxes over one at a time. The disadvantage is that it creates one more hop for your mail to filter through, which may slow the speed of your mail. In addition, not all of Pretzel Logic's anti-SPAM measures can be used.
The Piggy-Back method should only be used in the short-term.

To use the Piggy-Back method:
  1. Login to your groupware site as the admin user using your alternate web address (http://<domain>.pretzel-logic.ca) and use the user manager to create your new mailbox.
  2. Logout, then log back in as the user you just created.
  3. Go to the "Inbox", and enter your mailbox login information:
    • Login is the full e-mail address (user@domain)
    • Password is the password you assigned to that account
    • Host should be: imap.pretzel-logic.ca
    When you login to the e-mail server for the first time, the mailboxes are created by the system. That user will not be able to receive mail until the mailboxes are created.
  4. Log into your current e-mail account at your old e-mail provider
  5. forward your current e-mail address to your alternate address space: <YourAddress>.pretzel-logic.ca (For example, if your e-mail address is daffy.duck@example.ca, then forward your e-mail to daffy.duck@example.ca.pretzel-logic.ca)

That's it. Send yourself a test message, and you should see it appear in your groupware mailbox.
Repeat the steps above for every mailbox you wish to move to Pretzel Logic.

The Direct method

The Direct method is the traditional way of moving e-mail providers. It's done by changing the MX records in DNS for your domain. The advantage is that mail is routed directly to Pretzel Logic, and full power of Pretzel Logic's spam filters van be applied. The downside is that you may have to wait for the new DNS information to propagate throughout the Internet. This means you may have mail delivered to both your new and old mailboxes while you wait for all the DNS servers on the Internet to update with your new information.

To use the Direct method:
  1. Login to your groupware site as the admin user, using your alternate web address (http://<domain>.pretzel-logic.ca), and use the user manager to create all the accounts.
  2. Logout, and have all the users login to their accounts.
  3. Have each user go to the "Inbox", and enter the following information:
    • Login is the full e-mail address (user@domain)
    • Password is the password you assigned to that account
    • Host should be: imap.pretzel-logic.ca
    NOTE: The user will not be able to receive any mail until they've logged into the mail-server at least once.
  4. It's recommended that all the accounts are tested by sending e-mail to their alternate e-mail address: <e-mailAddress>.pretzel-logic.ca (For example, if your e-mail address is daffy.duck@example.ca, then your alternate address is daffy.duck@example.ca.pretzel-logic.ca)
  5. Once step 2 and 3 is done for every user, contact your DNS provider and have them make the following changes to your profile:
    • Change the primary MX record to point to mx.pretzel-logic.ca
    • Add a CNAME record for the host groupware, pointing to groupware.pretzel-logic.ca.
  6. Wait for the DNS propagation to happen (usually within 24 hours) and then check to ensure mail is being routed properly by sending yourself an e-mail.
    NOTE: DNS profiles can vary widely, so propagation may happen slower or faster.
  7. Once the new DNS information has been updated, you should be able to access your web interface with the address groupware.<domain>

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at support@Pretzel-Logic.ca.