Re: Why use external email hosts?



In news:huals1h2hv77ddfrk0dsmklsq0k2adj9dh@xxxxxxx,
Ezra Herman <eherman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> typed:
> On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 12:23:38 -0500, "Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
> <lanwench@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
>> Ezra Herman <eherman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> typed:
>>> I posted a request for external email host service recommendations
>>> in a different thread and received a question on why someone would
>>> want an external host when they have Exchange.
>>>
>>> I have a few clients who haven't used Exchange as their default
>>> external mail host and the reasons varied.
>>>
>
>>> 1) The client used and liked a different internal email solution and
>>> didn't want to bother with Exchange.
>>
>> Show them what Exchange *does*. Explain also that if they don't use
>> it, and use only POP/SMTP, not only can they notshare any
>> information or use OWA, they can't reasonably back up & maintain
>> their e-mail. PST files must be stored/accessed from the local hard
>> drive of the workstation, not across a LAN/WAN connection (it isn't
>> supported and *will* invariably cause problems). One of my tasks as
>> a consultant is to train & teach and advise on Best Practices....I'm
>> supposed to know more about this than they do, and advise
>> accordingly.
>
> Well, there are other small business mail/groupware solutions out
> there besides Exchange that don't use Outlook or PST files.

Links?
There's Groupwise, Notes....I'd rather not support those again, myself.

>
>>> 2) The security posture of the company dictated no open ports
>>> directly into a domain controller.
>>
>> So put a Postfix/sendmail box in a DMZ, set it up to relay mail to
>> your SBS server's LAN IP, set up your SMTP virtual server to receive
>> mail *only* from the IP of the other server, and open up port 25 to
>> the other server. Although allowing port 25 inbound is not really a
>> valid cause for panic, from a security standpoint.
>>
>
> Yes, but this causes added expense and maintenance. And you have to
> open up more than that if you want anybody to get their email when
> they are out of the office.

No you don't. RPC over HTTPs on port 443.... again, not a real security
hole.

>
>> Also, re security, if you don't use an internal mail server of some
>> sort, you can't do centralized antivirus/content filtering from your
>> own server...
>>> 3) Too little bandwidth on the internet connection.
>>
>> You'll still have the same issue, and in fact it will be worse, if
>> each client is downloading/uploading mail via the same connection
>> from their workstations.
>
> With an external host you can do spam and malware filtering before it
> ever hits your network.

Sure, and you can do the same thing if you host your own mail and have it
relayed through something like www.postini.com or www.messagelabs.com. And
you ought to be running good Exchange-aware antivirus on the server
regardless.
>
>>> 4) Unreliable internet connectivity.
>>
>> Same issue as in #3, but a) fix the unreliability as best you can,
>> even if it involves getting another ISP/connection type, b) get
>> someone else to act as backup so their server queues mail and
>> automatically retries delivery every X hours - Mail Hop BackupMX at
>> www.dyndns.org is one option if the ISP won't doe it.
>
> This isn't much of an issue anymore.

Why not? I prefer it, as I don't want a sender getting a delivery status
notification/delay msg just because I'm working on the server...or the DSL
is down, etc.

>
>>>
>>> These are the only reasons that I've run into and thankfully they
>>> are less and less common (except for the security justification).
>>>
>
>
> However, I should make it clear that I don't recommend this setup as a
> general rule, believing that Exchange is best for most situations. (I
> do still recommend an external spam filtering service in some cases.)

Me too. It depends.

>
> Most of my early SBS clients (4.5 and 2000) weren't particularly
> interested in Exchange. Usually, SQL Server was the draw. Now Exchange
> and RWW are the big sellers, SQL Server after that and ISA way in the
> rear, with only the clients who want to do close web access monitoring
> and control expressing much interest. I try to flog Sharepoint but
> it's hard getting any traction with clients.

Yes, agreed.
>
> -Ezra Herman


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: EX address displays in Outlook Contacts instead of SMTP
    ... The side issue of how a company uses an Exchange server is in my ... Are all your clients connecting to your ISP's ... login credentials over the Internet in clear text. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: Why use external email hosts?
    ... >> an external host when they have Exchange. ... >the IP of the other server, and open up port 25 to the other server. ... Most of my early SBS clients weren't particularly ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: EX address displays in Outlook Contacts instead of SMTP
    ... Outlook clients display users by their EX address instead of their SMTP ... how a company uses an Exchange server is in my opinion irrelevant. ... external pop3 server for internet email is not that uncommon. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • MS-SQL Internet Hosting
    ... While the host management backs up one's ... utility is provided that backs up the database to one's web-server site. ... By internet enabled I mean that one, or one's clients can connect ... noticeable is the same as when connecting to a local server. ...
    (comp.databases.ms-access)
  • Creeping Oulook connectivity problems
    ... Smallish office, 25 users or so. ... Exchange server to scan for viruses. ... Clients are all XP Pro SP2, ... I hard coded the mail server IP into the hosts file. ...
    (microsoft.public.exchange.admin)
Loading