[PLUG] Linux Fax Server

[Roderick A. Anderson]

On Fri, 19 Jul 2002, Matt Alexander wrote:

> I was asked to setup a fax server so we can eliminate the numerous fax
> machines around our company and just use printers instead.  Has anyone had
> any good success with this on Linux?  The server would have several modems
> for each fax number and then I'd like the faxes to go to a particular
> printer, depending on which phone number the fax came in on.  Also, the
> user should be able to send faxes out as well, but I'm not sure how this
> would work.  We have a mixture of Windows and Linux desktop systems.
> Thank you for any suggestions.

I set up a single line in-bound only fax on a Linux box ( file and print 
server ) using mgetty+sendfax.  I tryed HylaFAX but it was way too picky 
about modems it liked or would work with.  Heck even slightly 
different models were giving folks the fits.  Came down to a pretty 
expensive FAX modem was what worked the best.
   The Mgetty+sendfax was much less picky.  Ended up using a USR (3COM) 
internal for receiving FAXes.  They seems to be lots of options but at the 
time trying to get G3 to a printer wasn't a resonable solution.  And the 
truth of the matter is they only wanted to view the FAX and maybe pick a 
couple of pieces of information off it.  So I ended up dropping them in a 
temporary area and having a WinPopUp message sent to the two people that 
normally checked the FAX machine.  They used some MS Windows program to 
view them in whatever format they were coming in as and would print print 
if they really wanted a hardcopy.  Lots of other options come to mind but 
it was a low-hanging-fruit solution they liked.

Sending is another deal.  I'm looking at a really simple solution called 
lprfax.  Once my iDSL line comes in I'll be able to play with it.  Not 
sure if it scales to multiple FAX lines.  The copy says it works using the 
print spooler and there are clients for Windows (and MACs?).


Rod
-- 
  "Open Source Software - Sometimes you get more than you paid for..."