🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3tdl7a$8fe@news1.mcs.net>,
Phil N. Schuman <pschuman@interserv.com> wrote:
>We have 45 folks on a Novell 4.1 LAN that need occasional access to various
>things on the 'Net - FTP, News, Listservs, E-mail, Web pages.
>We have been using ATTmail for years - and it is currently connected to the LAN
>via MSmail and a bi-directional dialup gateway.
>
>I'm looking for some discussion on the choices - 
>
>1) Install 45 dialup modems/lines and get 45 personal accounts.
>	(I don't think so)

This is sometimes a good choice, and sometimes a bad one.  Depends on your
environment.  If you're seriously security-paranoid, this is your best bet.
We have a number of large corporations which have MCSNet block accounts that
do exactly this for both security and "roaming" (ie: access from home)
reasons.

>2) Install IP dual stack, install router on LAN, and then get ???? account
>to support Internet full function access.  
>
>Just what type of account would we get - 
>and would the E-mail be at the ISP, or would we need an E-mail server.
>Is the UUCP type of account usually the one used to support a LAN/router network?

Generally, you would not want UUCP, as that is batch mode only.  What you
would be looking for from MCSNet, as an example, is a LINK account, which is
full IP access.  If you're in dedicated mode then you want your mail
delivered via SMTP to a local mail gateway (CCMail and MSMail have these
products available, albiet at a fairly high cost).

This kind of link runs anywhere from $125 a month on up, depending on speed.
Examples are $450/month for 56kbps, $250/month for 1B ISDN, $400/month for
2b ISDN, and $1250 a month for T1 LV (avg use under 128kbps, but full
bandwidth is available.)  All of these have an additional component -- that
of the physical line and possible usage (in the case of ISDN) from either 
Ameritech or a CAP (competitive access provider) such as MFS.

Other ISPs are similar in the way they set this kind of thing up.

>3) Install a LAN/Internet Gateway (we are leaning this way) 
>
>the gateway has only a single IP address - and can provide a dialup (analog or ISDN)
>connection to support a minimal amount of traffic - great for the occasional set of users.
>These were just recently detailed in PC magazine - though we have been looking at one
>for a few months now.... 
>However - we still have the E-mail question and set of choices.
>	1)  Stay with the single account name/password for ALL e-mail?

No; if you get a LINK account in this environment you can run your CCMail or
other gateway on the LAN and use two IP addresses.

>	2)  Purchase additional E-mail accounts (45 of them) for each person?

I wouldn't recommend this, but you *could* do that kind of thing.

>	3)  Stay with our ATTmail account and our local LAN server?
>	4)  Have the ISP's support this new breed of connection ( the LAN Gateway)
>	with a special type of account that conserves IP addresses, yet yields additional
>	paid E-mail addresses.

This is relatively simple if you use, for example, ELINK accounts here for
email storage.  You can connect to the mail server via POP3 over a dedicated
line in this environment yet keep the mail here.  For some this is an idea
situation -- for others, it stinks.  It just depends on what you're looking
for.

>I appreciate any and all comments and discussions on these topics.
>Phil - 

--
--
Karl Denninger (karl@MCS.Net)| MCSNet - The Finest Internet Connectivity
Modem: [+1 312 248-0900]     | (shell, PPP, SLIP, leased) in Chicagoland
Voice: [+1 312 248-8649]     | 7 Chicagoland POPs, ISDN, 28.8, much more
Fax: [+1 312 248-9865]       | Email to "info@mcs.net" WWW: http://www.mcs.net
ISDN - Get it here TODAY!    | Home of Chicago's only FULL AP Clarinet feed!