Overview

GFI MailEssentials uses different ways to connect with the users inside the organization and it completely depends upon what kind of environment an organization is using. GFI MailEssentials uses 4 different ways to retrieve users depending on the installation environment. Choose the type of user mode during installation. The number of users retrieved is also used for licensing purposes.

Information

GFI MailEssentials installed in Active Directory mode

When GFI MailEssentials is not installed on the same machine as your mail server and Active Directory is present, then GFI MailEssentials retrieves mail-enabled users from the Active Directory domain of which the GFI MailEssentials machine forms part.

GFI MailEssentials installed in Remote Active Directory mode

When GFI MailEssentials is installed on a machine that is not joined to a domain, it can be configured to retrieve mail-enabled users from a remote Active Directory domain using LDAP.

This mode can be used for example, when installing GFI MailEssentials in a DMZ, before the firewall that separates your internal and external networks. In this example, the GFI MailEssentials is typically not joined to the internal domain. In this mode, all other features of GFI MailEssentials function similarly to when GFI MailEssentials is joined to a domain.

Configure the Remote Active Directory server from the Switchboard. For more information refer to Remote Active Directory mode.

GFI MailEssentials installed in SMTP mode

When you choose to install GFI MailEssentials in SMTP mode, the list of local users is stored in a database managed by GFI MailEssentials.

To populate and manage the user list when GFI MailEssentials is installed in SMTP mode, go to General > Settings and select the User Manager tab.

The User Manager tab displays the list of local users and allows you to add or remove local users. The list of local users is used when configuring user-based rules, such as Attachment Filtering rules and Content Filtering rules.

GFI MailEssentials installed on the Microsoft® Exchange machine

When GFI MailEssentials is installed on the same machine as Microsoft® Exchange, GFI MailEssentials retrieves the Active Directory users that have a mailbox on the same Microsoft® Exchange Server.

Note: GFI MailEssentials automatically populates the list of local users using the sender’s email address in outbound emails.

To add a new local user:

1. Enter the email address in the Email address box.
2. Click on Add.
3. Repeat to add more local users and click on Apply.

To remove a local user:

1. Select the local user you want to remove from the Local Users list and click on Remove.
2. Repeat to remove more local users and click on Apply.