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When Your Email Goes Down

Introducing the 911 for Kerio Connect Mail Servers

Secure, Reliable backup with fast seamless restoration all at your fingertips.

Backup From Mac or Windows-Based servers
Backup To Mac, Windows or Linux Operating Systems

Email Phoenix allows you to backup and restore your Kerio mail store all from within the app.

If your mail server goes offline, just simply activate Kerio on your backup server and you are running.

When your primary server comes back online, simply click the restore tab and return the mail to it’s proper place.

It couldn’t be easier!

Email Phoenix is only $30/month!

 Stop Waiting and Backup Today

We know you have questions

This sounds too good to be true – is it?

Of course it’s true. Email Phoenix will sync your data to your backup server so you never have to lose time or money when your server is offline.

How Does Email Phoenix Work?

Email Phoenix uses secure technologies to transport your Kerio Connect data to either your server. You install the app on your source computer (the one running Kerio Connect). You connect to your backup server and you click Go. That first backup will take time, but you can close the program and let the service run in the background. You can log into your backup server to see the data flowing but we also suggest running your own fire drill to test.

DNS? What DNS?

DNS is a database system that translates computers fully qualified domain name into an IP address. Essentially it converts the words mail.yourdomain.com into an IP address of your mail server.

For Email Phoenix to work you need to point your DNS entry of mail.yourdomain.com to your backup server. There are two ways to do this:

  • Manually – go to your DNS host and change it, the speed of this will depend on the TTL for your DNS host.
  • Use a round-robin service like dnsmadeasy or dyndns.

For more information on Round Robin DNS go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_robin_dns

What is needed for the Email Phoenix to work?

You need the following:

  • Your source server – the one running Kerio Connect currently.
  • A licensed copy of Email Phoenix.
  • A backup server running Linux, Mac, or Windows with a copy of Kerio Connect installed, but the Kerio Connect service turned off. You will need root access to the Mac or Linux versions. For Windows please read the question related to “How do I setup Windows for SSH?”.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed the Email Phoenix, you will be prompted to enter the IP address and root password of your backup server. If you are going to use a Windows backup server just enter anything and let the script fail the first time. Once the script has closed, in the Email Phoenix application enter in your backup server IP, the Kerio Connect folder on the source server, and the OS of the remote server:
Email Phoenix setup screen
Click GO!. If you are using Windows, the Email Phoenix application will say permission denied and rerun the script – this time use the proper IP and winroot password. Once GO! has been clicked you can close the application as the ’emailphoenixservice’ will be running.

What gets backed up and restored?

Email Phoenix backs up certain parts of your Kerio Connect installation. Included is the user configuration file, the mailserver configuration file, the license configuration file, the SSL folder and the mail folder. This allows for your remote Kerio Connect installation to keep running. On the restore all of the same files except the mailserver config file are restored. This is because if you cross platforms and change the mailserver.cfg, you don’t want to accidentally overwrite the original file.
Note: The backup folder and archive folder do not get backed up in either instance of Email Phoenix. Only the Mail folder inside the Store directory is transferred.

I’m getting a “Permission Denied” error. Help?

Permission Denied in the Email Phoenix app means the incorrect key is in place. You need to delete the id_rsa file and relaunch the Email Phoenix application so the initial script reruns. To delete the id_rsa file in Email Phoenix:

On Mac OS X

Quit the Email Phoenix app. Right click the Email Phoenix application and choose Show Package Contents. Double-click on Contents. Double-click on MacOS. The id_rsa and id_rsa.pub files are in there. Move them to your trash.

In Windows

Quit the Email Phoenix app. Click Start. Click My Computer. Double click C:/. Double-click Program Files (in a 64-bit Windows OS, double-click Program Files (x86)). Double click the Email Phoenix folder. Double click the bin folder. The id_rsa and id_rsa.pub files are in there. Delete them.

When you restart the Email Phoenix application it will rerun the script and you can fix your permissions.

What if my store directory is not in the Mailserver folder on the main server.

As of the July 1, 2014 update – yes it does. Email Phoenix will read your mailserver.cfg and find where your store location is and backup from there. If you have any questions feel free to ask for support

What if my store directory is not in the Mailserver folder on the backup server?

Yes, Email Phoenix will still work, but you need to create a symbolic link to match the store location to the default Kerio store. For Windows users that follow this guide. For Mac users please follow this guide

Can I run both my main server and backup servers Kerio Connect at the same time?

To guarantee the data transfers from your main server to your backup server you should not be running Kerio Connect on your backup server until you need it. Also, according to Kerio’s Terms and Conditions of their licenses, your license is for “one instance” of your server. This means you can only run one server at a time. We suggest having Kerio Connect installed on your backup server, but turn the service off.

On a Mac how do I use my own logos inside the app?

Right click on the application and choose “Show Package Contents”. Follow this path: Contents/Mac OS/images . Replace the png with your own png. The maximum size is 365 × 358 pixels. Your logo must use the name “phoenix2.png”

On a PC how do I use my own logos inside the app?

Head to C:/Program Files/EmailPhoenix/bin/images/ (if 64-bit Windows go to C:/Program Files (x86)/EmailPhoenix/bin/images/) and replace phoenix2.png with your own png. The maximum size is 365 × 358 pixels. Your logo must use the name “phoenix2.png”

What if my company uses Active Directory or Open Directory?

If your Kerio is attached to your directory system (Active for Windows, Open for OS X), and your directory is offline your users will not be able to connect. Email Phoenix will transfer the data, but your backup server would need to be able to talk to your directory system for password management.

I’m using Email Phoenix and backing up to a different platform. Do I need to change anything on the remote server?

Yes you need to change the mailserver.cfg file located inside the Kerio/mailserver/ folder. Depending on which OS you are backing up and which OS you are backing up to we have created this guide:

Going from Mac to Linux

  1. Open Terminal
  2. sudo nano /opt/kerio/mailserver/mailserver.cfg
  3. Scroll to the line that starts with …
  4. replace “/usr/local/kerio/mailserver/store” with “/opt/kerio/mailserver/store”
    Line should read: /opt/kerio/mailserver/store
  5. Run these commands in Terminal to shut off the IPTables Firewall:
    /etc/init.d/iptables stop chkconfig iptables off
  6. Start Kerio Connect in Terminal:
    /etc/rc.d/init.d/kerio-connect start

Going from Mac to Windows 32-bit

  1. Open Notepad as administrator, then File -> Open ->
  2. Open C:/Program Files/Kerio/mailserver.cfg
  3. Scroll to the line that starts with …
  4. Replace “/usr/local/kerio/mailserver/store/” with “C:\Program Files\Kerio\MailServer\store\”
    Line should read: C:\Program Files\Kerio\MailServer\store\
  5. Start Kerio Connect by right clicking on taskbar icon and selecting Start

Going from Mac to Windows 64-bit

  1. Open Notepad as administrator, then File -> Open ->
  2. Open C:/Program Files/Kerio/mailserver.cfg
  3. Scroll to the line that starts with …
  4. Replace “/usr/local/kerio/mailserver/store/” with “C:\Program Files (x86)\Kerio\MailServer\store\”
    Line should read: C:\Program Files (x86)\Kerio\MailServer\store\
  5. Start Kerio Connect by right clicking on taskbar icon and selecting Start

Going from Windows 32-bit to Linux

  1. Open Terminal
  2. sudo nano /opt/kerio/mailserver/mailserver.cfg
  3. Scroll to the line that starts with …
  4. replace “C:\Program Files\Kerio\MailServer\store\” with “/opt/kerio/mailserver/store”
    Line should read: /opt/kerio/mailserver/store
  5. Run these commands in Terminal to shut off the IPTables Firewall:
    /etc/init.d/iptables stop chkconfig iptables off
  6. Start Kerio Connect in Terminal:
    /etc/rc.d/init.d/kerio-connect start

Going from Windows 64-bit to Linux

  1. Open Terminal
  2. sudo nano /opt/kerio/mailserver/mailserver.cfg
  3. Scroll to the line that starts with …
  4. replace “C:\Program Files (x86)\Kerio\MailServer\store\” with “/opt/kerio/mailserver/store”
    Line should read: /opt/kerio/mailserver/store
  5. Run these commands in Terminal to shut off the IPTables Firewall:
    /etc/init.d/iptables stop chkconfig iptables off
  6. Start Kerio Connect in Terminal:
    /etc/rc.d/init.d/kerio-connect start

Going from Windows 32-bit to Windows 64-bit

  1. Open Notepad as administrator, then File -> Open ->
  2. Open C:/Program Files/Kerio/mailserver.cfg
  3. Scroll to the line that starts with …
  4. replace “C:\Program Files\Kerio\MailServer\store\” with “C:\Program Files (x86)\Kerio\MailServer\store\”
    Line should read: C:\Program Files (x86)\Kerio\MailServer\store\
  5. Start Kerio Connect by right clicking on taskbar icon and selecting Start

Going from Windows 64-bit to Windows 32-bit

  1. Open Notepad as administrator, then File -> Open ->
  2. Open C:/Program Files/Kerio/mailserver.cfg
  3. Scroll to the line that starts with …
  4. replace “C:\Program Files (x86)\Kerio\MailServer\store\” with “C:\Program Files\Kerio\MailServer\store\”
    Line should read: C:\Program Files\Kerio\MailServer\store\
  5. Start Kerio Connect by right clicking on taskbar icon and selecting Start

Going from Windows 32-bit to Mac

  1. Open Notepad as administrator, then File -> Open ->
  2. Open C:/Program Files/Kerio/mailserver.cfg
  3. Scroll to the line that starts with …
  4. replace “C:\Program Files\Kerio\MailServer\store\” with “/usr/local/kerio/mailserver/store”
    Line should read: /usr/local/kerio/mailserver/store
  5. Start Kerio Connect by right clicking on taskbar icon and selecting Start

Going from Windows 64-bit to Mac

  1. Open Notepad as administrator, then File -> Open ->
  2. Open C:/Program Files/Kerio/mailserver.cfg
  3. Scroll to the line that starts with …
  4. replace “C:\Program Files (x86)\Kerio\MailServer\store\” with “/usr/local/kerio/mailserver/store”
    Line should read: /usr/local/kerio/mailserver/store
  5. Start Kerio Connect by right clicking on taskbar icon and selecting Start

How do I setup Windows for SSH?

1) Install MobaSSH. If using MobaSSH on a server version of windows, please purchase it for $50
2) Make sure MobaSSH is installed and the application is quit

In Windows Server 2003, 2008 or 2012:

  • Open Local Users and Groups by clicking the Start menu, clicking Run and typing in lursmgr.msc and clicking ok
  • Double click Users folder
  • Right click in white space and choose new user
  • Set Username to winroot. Fullname and Description are not needed (fill in if you wish)
  • Set the password to whatever you want
  • Uncheck “user must change password at next logon”
  • Check “User cannot change password”
  • Check “password never expires”
  • Leave “Account is disabled” unchecked
  • Click Create
  • Click Close
  • Right click the new winroot user from the list and choose Properties
  • Choose Member Of tab
  • Click Add
  • In “Enter the object name to select” type “administrators” and click Check Names
  • If Windows fixes the administrator name click Ok, otherwise if it opens a new window you have made a typo
  • Click Apply
  • Click Ok
  • Open Windows Explorer. In Windows Server 2003 choose Start Menu -> Windows Explorer. In Windows Server 2008 or 2012 click Windows Explorer from the taskbar.
  • Go to C:/Program Files/Kerio/ (if using 2003) or C:/Program Files (x86)/Kerio/ (if using 2008 or 2012)
  • Right click the folder “Mailserver” and choose Sharing and Security
  • Click the Security tab
  • Only in Windows Server 2008 or 2012 – Click Edit button
  • Click the Add button
  • Change “From this location:” to the local computer name.
  • In “Enter the object name to select” type “sshdsvc” and click Check Names
  • If Windows fixes the administrator name click Ok, otherwise if it opens a new window you have made a typo
  • While sshdsvc is highlighted, click the box next to Full Control
  • Click Apply
  • Click OK

Launch MobaSSH, and click the Users button. Click Apply Users if it’s highlighted.

If the MobaSSH is running while this was done – click Restart to restart service.
NOTE: You can test if this worked by opening an SSH session to your windows box by typing in ssh winroot@IPADDRESS from a machine that has a SSH-client.

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