__/ [ Kelsey Bjarnason ] on Saturday 20 January 2007 04:51 \__
> So here I am, working on a mail server. Problem is, I really need to set
> up another one - better load balancing. So I grab a machine.
>
> I pop in the CD. Install the OS. Install the mailer. Spam filters.
> Assorted other goodies.
>
> Tested it out, works like a charm. However, it'd be nice if I used
> another machine and really balanced things out. Fine, grab another box,
> pop in the CD, do the rain dance.
>
> I've got meaningful logging, but not locally to the machines; it's being
> done on a separate server, so all the logs from all the mailers go to a
> single coherent location - and the logs actually tell me what's going on.
>
> Each of the machines, of course, is firewalled and allows - under certain
> conditions - remote administration.
>
> SNMP and other such monitoring is, of course, readily available, though
> not yet installed.
>
> Total cost for each instance of the OS: $0.
> Total cost for each instance of the mail server software: $0.
> Total cost for firewalling and monitoring software: $0.
> Total concern that I might be unintentionally re-using the CD on multiple
> machines, having too many users connecting, or otherwise violating some
> pointless license restriction: zero.
>
> So there's four actual servers involved in this. Using MS's prices and
> assuming I can get away with just the basic W2K3 server, we're talking
> $999 per machine just for the OS. Basically, the cost, between them, of
> another server. With change left over. And that's before considering the
> actual Email server software.
>
> Someone want to explain to me why, exactly, Windows is a good thing? Seems
> to me it's nothing more than a needless expense and a pointless hassle.
Nobody ever gets fired for buying Microsoft. Until the server falls over. And
gets infected. And loses mail. Time. And time. Again.
http://schestowitz.com/Weblog/archives/2006/01/09/exchange-servers-failure/
The /true/ answer? Ignorance. People just don't know (or don't wish to know)
about Linux mail servers. In over 2 years of depending on a Linux mail
server I never had any issues. The very rare scheduled downtimes (maybe once
a year) held the mail on the queue and SpamAssassin has never marked a
legitimate messages as SPAM (threshold set at 8)... well, no message that I
found anyway. I can't say the same about others who use some pricey
Outlook/Exchange server, which at times intercepted my messages. Same with
Hotmail. It's like two completely different worlds. One is scientific and
one is business- money-driven. The former works much better. No amount of
marketing can get you a superior solution... apart from in the mind of the
careless cusotmer who opens up his/her wallet.
--
~~ Best wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | Play Othello: http://othellomaster.com
http://Schestowitz.com | GNU is Not UNIX | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
roy pts/2 Sat Jan 20 00:21 - 00:21 (00:00)
http://iuron.com - proposing a non-profit search engine
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