[PLUG] Email on Linux vs MS

[Cooper Stevenson]

Stuart,


Your instincts about using Linux as a mail server are correct. The
primary mailing application for Linux--Sendmail--has proven itself for
over 25 year in enterprise and academic use.

But you don't have to be a large business to run it. I use Sendmail for
as my personal email. Mail gets sent to a server in the garage running
on an AMD 450.

There are other excellent email servers available. Exim is is an
example.

I would like to just offer you two things overall. 

First, I built a Sendmail mail server for a company I used to work for.
I left the company before that server (also running FTP, File and Print
services) ever saw a minute of downtime.

Second, when you use Exchange server for your mail system you will run
into several issues. Chief among them is trying to gel Exchange 2000
Server's Active directory paradigm with older clients.

A company I know of with 1600 seats is learning this the hard way. It's
a mess. Believe me.

The primary argument against using Linux for your mail server is a
perceived lack of group collaboration tools. Look to Ximian's Connector
to solve this. Evanite Fiber did, and they've never looked back. 

So overall you can really heap on the reliability and reduce
infrastructure entanglements by using Linux.

Oh, and by the way, you can use a lot less machine to do the same work
primarily as the server does not need to run the GUI or unnecessary
background processes.

Look, Microsoft's done here. Email services are increasingly becoming a
commodity. I have solid information to the effect that large
organizations are making pointed migration plans to Linux. Put this
email in your ``predictions'' subfolder: your customer will look ``so
yesterday'' within five years if you go with MS. That's a promise.


Best,


Cooper




On Wed, 2002-12-04 at 16:41, stuart mathews wrote:
> Sorry for this vague request.  I am looking for some direction.
> 
> An associate of mine and I are trying to help someone identify the optimal path
> for creating a custom-built email system that will forward / route lots of emails.
>  She had assumed the solution would be deployed on Microsoft technology.  As
> a Linux newbie, my instinct is telling me the would be better served to deploy
> this solution on Linux, but I don't know enough about email systems or Linux.
> 
> 
> Can someone give me some pointers on why Linux would be superior for this?
> 
> Thanks in advance.... 
> 
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