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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)
Well, what you COULD do is obtain 20-30 modems, put a group of the same number 
lines up on a hunt group, and have 2-3 designated dialout modems. The problem 
with this is of course a) load of users and b) use of outgoing modems. The 
question you need to ask is wether or not you actually need dialout modems or 
not. The security risk is astounding, as is the liability for misuse of the 
modems. Having users use a corperate credit card to dial out, or if absolutly 
needed, have the company purchase a second line for the user. (i'm assuming 
this is what you mean by a bi-directional dialup gateway). Of the 45 users, 
you will have to assume most of them will not be logged on all at the same 
time. Perhaps if you have an ip address, you can have the users come in thru 
the IP that you have setup. The newest PCNFS allows you to conduct pc 
applications in a workstation environment. Setting up something like tia/slirp 
might be wise as well. And of course, security is always a concern.

: 2) Install IP dual stack, install router on LAN, and then get ???? account
: to support Internet full function access.  
Thats always an option, granted all (or a good portion) of the users have 
internet access elsewhere. Also, another option, if it is available, is take 2 
28.8 modems, and do a load balance on them, which gives you a goodly amount of 
speed, through your slip connection. This will usually support 10-15 users 
without a UNBEARABLE amount of lag (altho it will often cause it to lag after 
about 8 users, noticably). Theres also a few tricks that you can do given that 
your provider is able to handle a load that high.

: 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.
Well, you could get a slip account (granted the ISP will allow multiple users 
on your slip connection.) and you can have them deliver mail directly to your 
machine. Otherwise, if diskspace is a consideration, eudora might be the 
answer.

: Is the UUCP type of account usually the one used to support a LAN/router network?
Nope. UUCP is Unix to Unix Copy which basicly sends the host system a group of 
files (such as files in a certain directory, email, etc.) ..for efficient use 
of UUCP (you will have no direct connection, per se, to the internet.) you 
would have to poll your support machine every 15 minutes or so, which will be 
costly and slow. Also, depending on the network, you will have to run Novell 
TCP modules and packages to effectivly get it up and running. I'm not sure 
about the current version of Novell networking, but as of a year ago they 
didn't offer TCP support in the main package or updates. This will also fall 
into your budget considerations.


: 	EXCEPT for E-mail, the multi connections would require nothing from the ISP
: 	except bandwidth...   E-mail is a different story - what are the choices, pros/cons, 
: 	and pricing of these choices?
They pretty much come automaticly with any slip/uucp connection that you want, 
unless the provider is trying to rip you off.

: 3) Install a LAN/Internet Gateway (we are leaning this way) 
Try setting up a linux box on a P90 (if you can afford it in the budget), and 
run the slackware pcnfs modules if you want pc workstation support. MAKE SURE 
TO GET THE MOST RECENT VERSION. Aside from being a security problem, it is 
also buggy and has a tendancy to crash whenever signals are sent.

: However - we still have the E-mail question and set of choices.
: 	1)  Stay with the single account name/password for ALL e-mail?
Useful, but not very efficient/safe

: 	2)  Purchase additional E-mail accounts (45 of them) for each person?
: 	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.
Pretty much, if you're looking for simply email/telnet support, setup a linux 
box, with as many lines as you can afford, with a slip box with 2 loadbalanced 
28.8's, and you can have as many users as you can fit on your disk. 

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