Questions and answers about Hosting

Incoming email

• IMAP: mail.edis.at, port 993 with SSL/TLS
• POP3: mail.edis.at, port 995 with SSL/TLS

Outgoing email

SMTP: mailrelay.edis.at, port 587 with STARTTLS or port 465 with SSL/TLS.

Use your full email address and mailbox password for incoming mail and for SMTP authentication when sending email.

Webmail

Access your mailbox in a browser at EDIS webmail.

Archive: EDIS hosting plans offered before June 2019. The specifications, software versions and prices below are historical. See current EDIS web hosting plans for new orders.

All prices listed in this archive are net, excluding 20% VAT.

The documented plans included:

• Email autoresponders
• POP and IMAP access, including SSL
• SMTP authentication, including SSL
• Enterprise spam filtering, antivirus and DDoS protection
• MySQL InnoDB support at no extra charge
• A control panel for service administration
• Daily website, email and database backups, with 40 daily versions
• Paid backup restoration: EUR 49 per operation

About the historical PLUS package

FCGI keeps PHP processes available and can use an opcode cache. Cached PHP code does not need to be compiled again for every request. APCu can additionally cache application objects and variables when supported by the application.

The original plans used xCache through PHP 5.4 and Zend OPcache from PHP 5.5. APCu was available with PHP 5.6 and PHP 7. These are historical software versions.

RESTORE+

PLUS plans included one restoration of website data and/or databases per year at no additional charge, with a documented value of at least EUR 100 excluding 20% VAT.

The archived specification includes free daily backups of websites, databases and email accounts, with the most recent 40 daily versions available for restoration.

A hosts-file entry lets your own computer resolve a domain to a chosen IP address. Use it to test a website on a new server before changing public DNS.

Each entry starts with the server IP address, followed by the hostname. Lines beginning with # are comments. Replace the example address below with the IP address of your EDIS web host.

192.0.2.10 example.org
192.0.2.10 www.example.org

Windows

1. Open Notepad as an administrator.
2. Choose File → Open and open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. Select “All files” if the file is not shown.
3. Add the entries and save the file as plain text.

macOS and Linux

1. Open a terminal.
2. Run sudo nano /etc/hosts and enter your administrator password when prompted.
3. Add the entries. Save with Ctrl+O, confirm the filename and exit with Ctrl+X.

Use a plain-text editor. DNS or browser caches may need to be cleared before you see the change. Remove the temporary entries when testing is complete.

SPF defines which servers may send email for a domain. Forwarding can cause a problem: the forwarding server may not be authorised by the original sender’s SPF record.

This can lead to a rejection such as 550 rejecting for sender policy framework.

EDIS uses Sender Rewriting Scheme (SRS) when forwarding email. SRS rewrites the technical envelope sender so that forwarding can pass an SPF check.

SRS does not guarantee delivery under every recipient policy. If a forwarded message is rejected, send the complete error message and details of the forwarding route to EDIS support.

Once your website has a valid SSL/TLS certificate and works over HTTPS, you can redirect HTTP requests to HTTPS.

Current coffee hosting plans

In the vHost area, open HTTPS (SSL/TLS) and click aktivieren (activate). Alternatively, use Domain → SSL in the customer portal. Activation requires a technically available or already requested Let’s Encrypt certificate.

Redirect using .htaccess

The original EDIS documentation provides two alternatives for the .htaccess file in your website’s root directory. Use only the rule that matches your hosting setup. Ask EDIS support if you are unsure which HTTPS detection method applies.

Environment-based HTTPS detection

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{ENV:HTTPS} !=on
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Proxy-based HTTPS detection

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP:X-Forwarded-Proto} !https
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Back up the existing .htaccess file before editing it, preserve your application’s rules and check for redirect loops afterwards.

If Gmail rejects a message because authentication is missing or has failed, check the sending domain and the service that actually sent the email.

Google requires at least SPF or DKIM for senders. Bulk senders have additional requirements, including SPF, DKIM and DMARC. A missing SPF record is therefore not the only possible cause.

1. Read the complete delivery error.
2. Check the sending domain in your DNS panel. Include every sending service you use, such as EDIS, newsletter tools and external mail providers.
3. If you need help, send the error message to EDIS support and identify the sending service.

See Google email sender guidelines for the current requirements.

The GMX error 550 invalid DNS MX or A/AAAA resource record can indicate a DNS problem with the sending domain.

In one documented case, the MX record pointed to a hostname that was itself a CNAME alias for mail.edis.at.

The fix in that case: Point the MX record directly to mail.edis.at. Use this destination only if EDIS actually handles incoming email for your domain.

An MX target must not be a CNAME alias and must have appropriate address records. See RFC 2181, section 10.3.

For other configurations, ask EDIS support to review the complete error message and your DNS records.

A Google rejection mentioning missing or failed authentication means that the message did not meet the recipient’s authentication checks. The full error message is needed to identify the cause.

The original EDIS documentation provides this SPF example for EDIS sending systems:

v=spf1 a:spf.edis.at ~all

Do not copy it unchanged if other providers also send email for your domain. Ask your administrator or EDIS support to check the complete configuration before changing the DNS record.

A neutral SPF policy alone is not a reliable solution to every delivery error. Refer to the current Google email sender guidelines.

HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) tells browsers to use HTTPS for a website. A working HTTPS configuration is required.

This article concerns only the older Smart, Starter, Basic, Advanced, Premium and Platinum hosting plans in Austria. It does not apply to coffee hosting plans such as Mokka, Ristretto or Doppio.

The original setup instructions used a DNS change from 91.227.204.35 to 91.227.204.45.

These are legacy addresses. Before changing DNS, ask EDIS support whether this setup still applies to your specific hosting account and how to enable HSTS for it.

If your iPhone or iPad displays Cannot Verify Server Identity, check the incoming mail server name in your email account settings.

For EDIS mailboxes, use mail.edis.at as the incoming server instead of your own domain. The server name must match the TLS certificate.

Open the Mail account settings on your device and update the incoming server name. The exact menu path depends on your iOS or iPadOS version.

Keep SSL/TLS encryption enabled. If the warning remains, contact EDIS support before accepting an unverified certificate.

Open the password reset page and enter your customer number. You can find it at the top right of your hosting or domain invoice.

After submitting the form, you will receive a reset link at the email address saved in your customer account.

The link is valid for 15 minutes. Request a new link if it expires.

If FileZilla shows server file timestamps that differ by whole hours, check its server timezone offset setting.

FileZilla can apply an offset to server times. An unsuitable setting may explain the difference you see. Compare the timestamps and adjust the offset if necessary.

See the FileZilla documentation on server timezone offsets for instructions.

The PHP versions and settings available depend on your EDIS hosting plan. Choose a supported version that is compatible with your website.

Adjust individual settings with .user.ini

When PHP runs through CGI/FastCGI, permitted settings can be added in a .user.ini file. Keep the leading dot in the filename. Place the file in the appropriate website directory; changes may take time to become effective.

A complete custom php.ini may replace important EDIS defaults, including extensions or caching settings. Change only the values you need and ask support if you are unsure.

For older PLUS plans, the original instructions describe placing .user.ini in the Document Root and reloading PHP processes in the control panel. The exact procedure depends on your plan.

Command-line PHP

For plans with SSH access, the PHP CLI path depends on the selected version. The PHP 5 and PHP 7 examples previously listed here are outdated. Ask for the correct path for your current hosting configuration.

• PHP documentation for .user.ini
• Supported PHP versions

ImageMagick and GraphicsMagick paths depend on your EDIS hosting product. The paths below come from the original hosting documentation and include historical versions.

Hosting plans introduced from June 2019

• /usr/bin/convert — GraphicsMagick 1.4, snapshot from April 2019.
• /usr/bin/im_6.9/convert — ImageMagick 6.9.10-23.

Older plans: Smart, Starter, Basic, Advanced and Premium

The original documentation lists these directories:

• /usr/bin/ — ImageMagick 6.2.4
• /usr/bin/im_6.5/ — ImageMagick 6.5.5-3
• /usr/bin/im_6.6/ — ImageMagick 6.6.0-4
• /usr/bin/im_6.7/ — ImageMagick 6.7.7
• /usr/bin/im_6.9/ — ImageMagick 6.9.2-8
• /usr/bin/im_7.0/ — ImageMagick 7.0.7-28

Confirm which path and version are available for your hosting account before configuring an application. EDIS support can help you choose the correct setting.

For command options, see the official ImageMagick documentation.

If accented letters display incorrectly, your files and website settings may use different character encodings.

Apache can set a default encoding for HTML and plain-text responses. For files saved as UTF-8, use this line in your .htaccess file:

AddDefaultCharset utf-8

Use AddDefaultCharset Off to disable this default. The setting also applies to subdirectories unless overridden.

This directive does not convert files. Select the encoding in which your content is actually saved. See the Apache documentation for details.

Fraudulent emails may claim that your mailbox or computer has been hacked and demand money. Some messages appear to come from your own email address.

The displayed sender address alone is not proof that your account was accessed. It can be forged. However, a suspicious message cannot establish whether your account is secure.

• Do not pay, reply, open attachments or follow links in the message.
• If the email includes a password you still use, change it through the official service website and replace it anywhere else you reused it.
• Contact EDIS support if you suspect unauthorised access to your EDIS mailbox.
• Keep a copy if you need to report the threat; otherwise mark the message as spam or delete it.

EDIS filters known fraudulent messages. No spam filter can guarantee that every scam email will be blocked.

EDIS web hosting supports TLS 1.2 for encrypted HTTPS connections. You can use a server test to check the protocols and cipher suites offered by your particular website.

Historical note: EDIS discontinued TLS 1.0 support on its web servers on 1 July 2018. Very old browsers may therefore be unable to establish an HTTPS connection.

Use an up-to-date browser and keep your operating system updated.

• Check your website HTTPS configuration with SSL Labs
• Check your browser TLS support

The test rating depends on your website configuration. Contact EDIS support if you need help.

In the hosting setup described here, your website’s root directory is www/home. It is also called the Document Root.

To load the website from a subfolder without showing the folder name in the URL, place these rules in the .htaccess file under www/home:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^Ihr-Domain-Name.at$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www.Ihr-Domain-Name.at$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !Verzeichnis/
RewriteRule (.*) /Verzeichnis/$1 [L]

Replace Verzeichnis with your subfolder name and Ihr-Domain-Name.at with your domain. Back up the existing .htaccess file and check that the rules are compatible with your application.

To change a domain’s document root directly, use Apache → Subdomains in the control panel.

For a website hosted by EDIS, you can activate a Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificate in the vHost control panel.

1. Sign in to manage.edis.at and open the vHost area.
2. Select HTTPS (SSL/TLS).
3. Click the icon with the green plus next to the domain and confirm the request.

If the request is unavailable, check the DNS records. The domain and every hostname required for the certificate must point to the correct hosting account. Use the IP address shown in your account instead of copying old example addresses.

The original instructions allow approximately 15 minutes for setup. Then check that your website opens with https://. Contact EDIS support if you need help.

To cancel a domain or web hosting contract, complete and sign the appropriate form:

• Domain cancellation form (German PDF)
• Web hosting cancellation form (German PDF)

Send the completed form by email to fax@edis.at.

Please observe the six-week notice period before the relevant product’s renewal date. The forms contain further details about deadlines and obligations.

Sign in to the EDIS customer portal with your customer number and password.

1. Open “Stammdaten” (customer details) in the left menu.
2. Select “Adresse/Zahlungsweise” (address/payment method).
3. Enter your new password twice at the bottom of the page.
4. Select “Speichern” (Save).

Your customer number remains unchanged. Use the new password the next time you sign in.

Change the contracting party

You can transfer services to a new contracting party. The existing contracting party must agree, and both parties must sign the transfer form.

The change applies to future invoices. Invoices already issued cannot be changed retroactively.

1. The new contracting party registers at https://shop.edis.at if they do not already have a customer account.
2. The existing contracting party agrees to transfer the domain or web host, including its content.
3. By signing, the new contracting party accepts future billing and the associated rights and responsibilities.

A change of billing recipient does not change the domain holder. A domain-holder change is a separate process. Contact our support team if you have questions.

Download the billing-recipient change form (German), complete it and have both parties sign it. Send it to EDIS by fax, post or email. Use fax@edis.at for digital submission.

To create or change your email signature, sign in to EDIS webmail.

1. Open Settings at the top right (Einstellungen in the German interface).
2. Select Email accounts (E-Mail-Konten).
3. Click your name next to Identity (Identität).
4. Open Signature (Signatur) and enter your text.
5. Click Save (Speichern) at the bottom of the page.

Set up and test your website on EDIS before transferring the domain or changing public DNS records.

A local hosts-file entry connects your domain to the new web host’s IP address on your own computer. This lets you test the future website while other visitors continue to see the existing site.

192.0.2.10 example.org
192.0.2.10 www.example.org

Replace the example IP address and domain with your EDIS web host details. Find “Use a hosts file to test your website” in the web hosting FAQs.

Check pages, forms and applications. You may need to clear browser or DNS caches. Remove the temporary hosts-file entries after testing and coordinate the public DNS change with your administrator.