Hello All
Am new on the list but some may know who I am or met me at Linux.conf
I am involved with ...
LPI www.lpi.org
ELC www.embedded-linux.org
Among many other organizations and projects :) , anyway, on with an
answer...
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On 23/01/01 at 8:08 Ricky C wrote:
>Rating: mildly OT (probably more networking than Linux)
>
>hi All,
>
>We are in the process of setting up a new email server in our US office.
>
>The box we are evaulating is a VA Linux 1000 1U form factor running RedHat
>6.2 It is more than adequate as an email server.
>
>my questions
>
>1) what is the best way to achieve redundancy on an email server ?
A few extra boxes, hopefully not on the same network (read subnet & DNS),
and as many backup mx records as you have hosts..... otherwise you have to
go into something larger.... you do not say how many users, but cannot be
that many if Sendmail and one box alone will handle the mail....
>2) is RAID worth it for an email server ?
for sure, RAID would be worth using wherever you can use it, its one more
step in data security....
>3) for those working for ISP.... how does ISP provide redundancy ? and I
>need a Linux solution, as this is the only network OS we use.
Most small to mid ISPs will use backup hosts as mentioned, otherwise you
get into having front ends and backend boxes, you better decide first on
your exact requirements and possible growth......
>4) backups is not a solution for us, we bascially need something that can
>take over with minimal down time
Are you asking the same question? answers the same..... :)
>
>5) is there any disadvantage running a web server (Apache) off the same
>box
>? eg. performance, security...etc
Gee, you sure you wanna look after this box ?
Sorry, but so many "how long is a piece of string" questions, again depends
on usage, on the first question I thought you must have decided what the
users and load may be, so running Apache as well could be anything from
totally acceptable, to totally stupid. If the load on Apache for example is
to give some basic directions for those who use e-mail, then its not likely
to be hit hard and therefore having a low load level, if its going to run a
busy website with SSI enabled etc & do virtual hosting, then that is
different.
Any service you add to any box where ports are opened up add security risk,
security is a relative word also. Do you really want to analyze security of
this box ? if yes, then its probably crack able before you add the wire, RH
6.2 + Sendmail with a Kernel below 2.2.16x is broken :( , but then again
there are thousands of ISP's in the US and here that run old broken
Sendmail box's.
You better fire off another message with how many users & what
Kernel/Sendmail/Apache combo you are using.
Regards
Greg Wright
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