William, Not at all...do the math. One-time cost of $1-2k for a server, plus MS Small Business Server. For individual licenses, MS Action pack for ~$300. Then add in $800-$1600 for implementation costs. So, the total initial outlay is ~$2-3.5k, with monthly ongoing ISP costs of ~$100/month, and ongoing internal support (for PCs, servers, networking, etc.) of $200 or so a month. Going to T1s would incur the same overall support costs (since they still have internal PCs, servers, network etc.), but now the monthly ISP cost is $500-$1000/month instead of $100. So, the total first year outlay goes from $7k or less to $12-18k.
You tell me which one they'll pick...especially now that cable providers have upped the ante by providing 5Mbps down instead of 1.5 or 3. As Rod pointed out, gatewaying could solve the problem for them with email admins who choose to block all DSL/cable static IPs, and we do that for a number of our customers. However, many others don't see any value in the gatewaying, or their budget is already maxed out for IT services, or choose to spend that budget on other things they deem more critical. You can argue that at that point they have made their bed...but we choose instead to find ways to accommodate the need and make everything work as well as possible for them at the least expense. I think the main problem here is that DSL/cable business class service is sold as being just that: business class service. It is designed to allow customers to host just such services if their business needs dictate. While we do not recommend they host mail services in house, we do provide support for those that so choose. If we are brought in early enough in the process, we try to avoid the issue entirely, but in most cases we come in when the decision has been made and budgets for the year are frozen. Until the market changes to inform customers of the risk of hosting email services internally on DSL/cable lines, we will have to live with the realization that a large percentage of small businesses will operate this way, and find ways to make the system work. That's it for me on this topic...before it runs into the ground more than it already has been. Darin. ----- Original Message ----- From: "William Van Hefner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 1:18 PM Subject: RE: [IMail Forum] reverse DNS Darin, It must be a pretty odd business that can afford all of the hardware and software licensing for an Exchange server (not to mention for an admin that can set it up and maintain it) and multiple copies of Outlook, yet can't afford anything more than a single ADSL line. If such legitimate traffic makes up even .1% of all ADSL traffic, I'd be shocked. In the end, you get what you pay for. Those running ADSL will have to expect that some of their mail will get blocked, just as they have to expect that support will likely not be as good as they would get with a more reliable circuit. ADSL is primarily a residential product. You will never see any ethical service provider selling ADSL as a service that should be relied upon for something as mission critical as e-mail. I would never advise a customer to use ADSL for any type of hosting without first alerting them to the possibility/probability that their mail is going to be blocked by a lot of other mail servers. William Van Hefner Network Administrator Vantek Communications, Inc. > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Darin Cox > Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 9:29 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [IMail Forum] reverse DNS > > > >I am pretty sure that most providers do not recommend running a mail > >server on their ADSL lines, even ones with static Ips. I > think that if > >you opt for a residential class service, you are bound to > run into all > >kinds of problems. Getting your mail rejected by tons of other mail > >servers is only going to be one of your many worries. > > It's not residental service, we're talking business service > via DSL/cable. > > >Any business that is so small as to not be able to afford something > >better than an ADSL line should probably not be running > their own mail > >server to begin with. > > There are all sorts of reasons as to why small businesses > might need to run their own mail server, but see no need to > spend several times the $$$ for a T1 line as opposed to DSL > or cable. Many of the businesses we work with have their own > internal Exchange servers for reason of collaboration needs, > or integration with other internal processes. > > Could they opt to spend more money on data lines, yes. Could > they achieve their collaboration/integration needs in other > ways without needing an internal mail server, yes. Do these > other possibilities mean that the business should be forced > to do so, no. > > If the reliability of the DSL/cable line (or multiple lines > for redundancy in some cases) meets their needs, it would not > be smart as a business to spend more money just because a > particular email admin somewhere in the world decides to > start blocking all mail from static IP DSL/cable subscribers. > The fact that there is no consensus in this discussion bears > testament to the fact that T1 lines or better are not a de > facto standard for email server connectivity. > > Bottom line is businesses have to make budgetary decisions > like this based on technical merit and financial feasability. > They would be foolish to spend more than necessary to meet > their needs. From that perspective, business class DSL/cable > should be considered viable connectivity solutions. > > Darin. > > > To Unsubscribe: http://www.ipswitch.com/support/mailing-lists.html > List Archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/imail_forum%40list.ipswitch.com/ > Knowledge Base/FAQ: http://www.ipswitch.com/support/IMail/ > To Unsubscribe: http://www.ipswitch.com/support/mailing-lists.html List Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/imail_forum%40list.ipswitch.com/ Knowledge Base/FAQ: http://www.ipswitch.com/support/IMail/ To Unsubscribe: http://www.ipswitch.com/support/mailing-lists.html List Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/imail_forum%40list.ipswitch.com/ Knowledge Base/FAQ: http://www.ipswitch.com/support/IMail/
