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So we are planning to use AWS SES for sending emails. But how do we set up the email receivers? And how do we create an email accounts? When activating AWS SES, it asks to verify an email account (eg. help@example.org)...

I tried to create a mail server on one of the instances using postfix following this article: http://flurdy.com/docs/postfix/, but it's not easy at all... Does anybody know any better alternatives?

Thanks.

Sherzod
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  • What program language do you use? Download SDK for it and send email via SDK – Sergey Dec 25 '12 at 10:53
  • @sergey: If you re-read the question... what I want is something that receives the email. For sending it, I will be using AWS SES. FYI, I'm using PHP CodeIgniter framework, but it can't receive the emails unless I set up an email server. Thanks – Sherzod Dec 25 '12 at 21:42
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    `But how do we set up the email receivers?` - You just create mailbox at any free mail system and use it. – Sergey Dec 26 '12 at 05:19
  • @sergey: I think you missed the point. I don't want gmail or yahoo mail as an email service. I want something that's customizable using my own domain name, eg. help@mydomain.com – Sherzod Dec 26 '12 at 05:38
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    set up your mail server, set MX records and so on? Or your do not want to setup your mail server? If not you may use GMail (yandex, yahoo and so on) for your domain as mail server. – Sergey Dec 26 '12 at 10:12
  • any chance is there in amazon aws for something that's customizable using my own domain name, eg. help@mydomain.com – Raju Sidda Oct 06 '14 at 09:11

2 Answers2

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SES is for sending email only. As you note, you must have some other way set up to receive email at least at the "From" address you intend to use, because Amazon will verify it before letting you send.

While you certainly could set up an email server and domain on an EC2 instance, it's very complicated. I recommend that you get an email service for just that purpose. If you only need a single address for all your messages, just get a free address from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc.

If you need multiple addresses, consider getting Google Apps for Business, either for an existing or new domain name (it's easiest to set up if you have it register a new domain name for you). It's no longer free, but it's still quite cheap. A single user account can receive emails for every address in the domain, it's flexible, and it's reliable. It's a good companion to using SES for sending automated emails.

Charles Engelke
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  • also note that in google apps you don't pay per email. you can have infinite email addresses using groups and catch-all address – Moshe Shaham Jan 23 '14 at 14:20
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    present any chance is there in amazon aws for something that's customizable using my own domain name, eg. help@mydomain.com – Raju Sidda Oct 06 '14 at 09:11
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    Note: SES does now allow receiving email, but this not intended for end-user use. It's intended for automated email processing. – jordanm Apr 13 '18 at 04:31
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Use Amazon WorkMail if you prefer AWS. Gmail for work, Office 365, Hostgator, are some other examples. FYI, none of these providers simply provide domain emails. They come bundled with many other things such as chat clients, calenders, etc. Pricing of these services depends on what other things they are bundled with.

  • $4/user/month for AWS
  • $5/user/month for Google
  • $5/user/month for Microsoft

Since you are in AWS cloud, I will tell you a few things about Amazon WorkMail.

  1. You get your own domain and 50GB of storage per user.
  2. You get calendars for free.
  3. You cannot use just any desktop mail client. You have to either use Outlook, or Mac's mail client, or the web interface. This is their weakest point. However, including other IMAP clients is in their roadmap (I guess atleast a year).
  4. Integrates nicely with SES.
  5. Important links:
  6. There are many more features such as remotely removing emails from a device, managing your users, and so on.

What I can recommend you is to use Amazon WorkMail because they almost provide all the features supported by others, and you are tied with AWS anyway. AWS also recently launched Workspace and Workdocs (both separately billed) that will allow you to create a complete work solution. These services also combine nicely with IAM.

Timo
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Rash
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