First thing you'll need to work on! SQL is not
intuitive, you really need to learn the server first. The advantage here is
that once you figure it out, you'll be using it for everything. All of our
auth processes, RADIUS, Web Server, VBScript management and customer access
use the SQL server. This now includes custom "start" pages, automatic
customer home page creation, billing, signup and account management, and
many more. It's great to have a centralized database that all processes can
talk to. :)
1. Are there any negatives to using an EXTERNAL database vs. the
imail DB?
(any features that do NOT work once we move to External?)
Are there any positives?
We have been using SQL for our Imail servers for about 4 years
now. The negatives include the usual, another point of failure, maintaining an
SQL server, slight reduction in access time, etc. Early on there were some
rather severe problems with the DLL file that linked Imail with the ODBC
connection but, that has been solved and is quite stable now. Many of the
problems I've seen are NT security related, not Imail or SQL directly but
within the network security structure.
The positives include easy access to your user data, custom web
scripts (VBscript, Java, etc) for account management by your staff and
customers, as well as centralized database management.
1a: How stable is this solution??
If set up correctly and, given the stability of the under lying
network, it is a very stable solution. We have had no failures of the combined
setup in over a year now. (tempting fate here...)
2. Can SQL server run on the same box as imail?
Not at all recommended. SQL will suck all the memory it can for
itself. Use a seperate server. Period!
3. Can we use SQL for some of our domains and the imail internal db
for the rest?
(none of our mail domains are "virtual" -- they all have individual
public IP's)
Yes, no problem here. You just point the ones you want on SQL to the ODBC
connection and the others to Imail internal databases. We have 12 using SQL
and about 200 using Imail databases. We only use SQL for our own Mail servers,
hosted customers use internal. This is just our preference, you do whatever
you want here.
4. Can imail "reach out across the internet" to validate users on
another SQL server
at a remote location?
Haven't tried this but, if you can make an ODBC connection from
the Imail server to the remote SQL server over the Net, don't see why
it wouldn't work.
5. How good is HKSI's SQL Utility?
Haven't used that but we are using HKSI's KWM without
problems.
Thanks!!
