Connection topologies for mail routing

Network mail routing occurs across a mix of hub-and-spoke and peer-to-peer connections.

In a hub-and-spoke topology, mail traffic passes between a central hub server and multiple spoke servers; no mail is exchanged directly among the spokes. A hub-and-spoke topology is suited to handling a high volume of mail across a large organization. In a peer-to-peer topology, on the other hand, every server connects to every other server.

  • In larger networks, create an IBM® Domino® server cluster to act as the mail hub and specify the cluster as the destination in connection documents originating from spoke servers.
  • When connecting Domino® domains, designate one server in each domain to connect to other domains. In larger networks, make this connecting server part of a Domino® cluster to provide failover.
  • When connecting domains across a wide-area network (WAN), ensure that the connection documents match the physical network path of the WAN. For example, in a network where multiple WAN connections originate from a central site (hub-to-spoke design), create connection documents that follow this same design, with Connection documents between the hub server or server cluster and each spoke server, and vice-versa.
  • When setting up a connection from a spoke server to a clustered hub, specify the name of the cluster as the destination server in connection documents.
  • Establish a single connection document to define routing from a hub server to each spoke server by creating a server group that includes each spoke server as a member and specifying this group as the destination server in the connection document from the hub server. For example, create a group MailSpokes and add the servers Mail1/renovations, Mail2/renovations, SalesMail/renovations, and HRMail/renovations to this group. Then create a connection document from the hub server that lists MailSpokes as the destination server.
    Note: You cannot use a wildcard character (*) to represent part of the source server's name in a Connection document that is used to define routing from all spoke servers in a domain to a central hub server or server cluster.