Techs / Devs, just a quick question:-

Apart from the additional resilience provided by having mail queued in Xeams whilst Exchange might be down, what other benefits are actually present when running Xeams in SMTP server mode over Proxy mode..?  I am having troubles really identifying any weaknesses Proxy mode has over SMTP mode in order to make the move to setting up SMTP server mode as the preferred option?
The only benefits I presently see are:
1. Extra resilience as mail can be stored until exchange is back up (proxy mode cannot do this)
2. Exchange is not exposed to MAIL commands
3. Spam is dealt with at the front door before even contacting exchange server
4. The hiding of the SMTP banner and the mail server used internally (Proxy shows this)

P.s. I am not talking about outbound mail via smart host as that will add many features such as DKIM, DMARC. 

I am just talking about incoming email via Xeams in SMTP server mode.

Many Thanks!

James,

I see you're using the phrase "Proxy Mode", which could potentially be confusing. The word "Mode" in Xeams has a slightly different meaning and therefore, I wanted to clarify that before answering your actual question.

1. Xeams has 3 modes - Stand-Alone, Firewall and Hybrid
2. It has two types of SMTP Servers - Proxy and Regular

I assume your running Xeams in Firewall mode and are trying to decide whether to use Proxy Server or the Regular Server, correct?

We DO NOT recommend you use the Proxy server any more. Check https://www.xeams.com/SwitchingProxy2Regular.htm for details.

Yes, you are correct. My exact question is Proxy server vs Regular server when the backend is running Exchange server.
Setting up systems for clients can sometimes be confusing and trying to weigh options can be time consuming at times.

Modes used on setups is normally always Firewall mode with either Proxy or Full SMTP Server. So can we get summarised advantages apart from the ones listed earlier?

Deprecating the feature as stated on: https://xeams.com/SwitchingProxy2Regular.htm doesn't really show its disadvantages or its issues.  It could simply mean no more work is being put into the 'code' which is still perfectly functional, etc. Windows Server 2016 is still fully functional amidst missing some of the latest cloud features. 

Thanks!

Just a quick message to follow up on this / if any reason to move to SMTP server as above etc.?

Many Thanks Devs/Techs!

As mentioned in the article, the Proxy server is less secure. Therefore, we recommend you move to the regular SMTP server.

When Xeams was first introduced administrators had to manually add users. Later on, features like LDAP and DRV were added that make using the regular SMTP server easier. Therefore, don't use the Proxy server.

Ok - I'll look into it.  Thanks.

p.s. The site (https://xeams.com/SwitchingProxy2Regular.htm) mentions the Proxy feature will be deprecated.  That article was written in 2015 and we are fast approaching 2021.

When do you think this feature will actually be deprecated - for forward planning purposes?

Even though we have been recommending users not to use Proxy, we still get support tickets showing Proxy server is still being used in production. I assume folks who have been using Xeams for a long time have not switched yet. We will officially deprecate it once we feel comfortable everyone has switched to regular SMTP.