(Replying to multiple postings here :)
Kevin P. Fleming wrote:
>
> Kevin M. Barrett wrote:
> > Are there any technical, standards based arguments why one should
> > not use exchange? Does it misapply or just plain break the
> > standards? I need to know that my "personal feelings" are not what is
> > making the judgment.
No, Exchange in and of itself does not break any RFC that I know of if you
are on Exchange 2003, please remember that the message MIME encoding
'problems' are with the Outlook products and not the Exchange products.
> Here's a big reason: Exchange Server generates collateral spam, because
> it has no ability to verify recipient addresses at RCPT TO: time. It
> accepts all inbound mail for domains it has been told to handle, and
> then later generates bounces for local parts that are invalid.
This is not true for Exchange 2003 (the only version I would recomend).
> This does not happen because the information isn't there, it just
> happens because Microsoft chose to implement it that way and refuses to
> change it.
Again, they have changed that in Exchange 2003, this is no longer a valid
argument for that particular version.
> Fronting Exchange Server with something like Exim that can do
> LDAP or other types of lookups at SMTP time allows you to keep Exchange
> Server from ever receiving mail that it won't be able to deliver.
(Please see below...)
Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote:
>
> >Kevin M. Barrett wrote:
> >
> > all the "eggs in one basket" ie: all of the mail is in a database.
No more destructive with proper backups than having the files spread over
thousands of individual files.
> > But I can not address the worthiness of Exchange as an SMTP server,
> > let's not go down the whole path of not putting any MS product on the
> > Internet argument, I agree. but let's assume that this is a safe
> > install...
>
> Exchange is an excellent groupware tool. It is not an excellent
> mailserver.
I would disagree, I find exim much better product for my needs, but
a properly installed Exchange server works just fine as a mailserver,
Microsoft does so on a daily basis; just stay away from the old and out
dated Exchange 5.x and 2000 products. If they insist on Exchange I very
strongly suggest the latest version (Exchange 2003), it is much better than
the previous releases.
> There is no reason not to run exchange in an office lan, as long as the
> exchange server is frontended by exim / postfix etc which scans for
> viruses / spam, prevents open relaying of the exchange box etc.
*nix MTA's are just as easily configured as an open relay as Exchange is,
that argument just does not hold water. Also, I do not believe there have
ever been any security problems with Exchange over TCP port 25, which is
all that is needed to deiver email, even for Exchange, so a properly
firewalled Exchange server is no more a security risk than a poorly
firewalled *nix box.
There are add-on productes for Exchange that can do the virus/spam
scanning, most you pay for (i.e. Sophos MailMonitor), Exchange 2003 also
has some built in functionality for message filtering. However, the real
discussion comes down to who is going to run and manage the server. An
in-experienced MTA admin will screw up exim, postfix, sendmail, etc, just
as easily as one will Exchange. If the clients are going to manage their
own servers, and they have no clue about *nix, I would not suggest a *nix
solution, nor would I suggest an Exchange solution unless those that are
going to manage the server are very well versed in both Windows and
Exchange environments.
If you have not read any of the white papers, or looked at the information
for 'best practices' on Micosoft's Technet website, I would suggest you do
so if you are getting into discussion's with clients about why they should
or should not use Exchange, like any thing, the more that you do know, the
better you can defend your position, or answer thier questions.
Also something else that needs to be considered when making a choice of a
mailserver, do they need, or want, or use the groupware functions in an
Exchange or Lotus Domino product?
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