The quest for the perfect mail server

The network business is an endless series of quests. There's the quest for a perfectly configured and fully loaded network server (OK, so I can dream), the quest for the perfect backup system and the quest for the perfect management system.

Another search that has occupied me for some time is the quest for the perfect Simple Mail Transfer Protocol/ Post Office Protocol 3 (SMTP/POP3) server. I don't want much, just a graphical user interface, remote e-mail-based administration, stability, POP relay, a list server and automation features. What a surprise! My quest has ended with FTGate, from the curiously named Floosietek, Ltd.

FTGate runs under Windows 95, 98 and NT, and takes 10 minutes to install - unusually painless. Under NT it can run as an application or as an NT service. To configure and manage FTGate you run a separate control program.

Configuration is straightforward. If you are on a dial-up connection you need to tell FTGate the dial-up settings and the schedule you want to use. You also must specify the rest of the basics, such as the ISP SMTP server you use and the SMTP and POP3 ports you want to support (you can also restrict these ports to specific IP addresses).

FTGate has a spam "kill" list that allows you to suppress known senders of unsolicited bulk e-mail. There is also control over which domains are allowed to relay mail through the server. This is important because spammers can use relaying to distribute messages, and you end up getting the blame for their activities.

FTGate also supports direct delivery to target SMTP hosts through Domain Name System lookup of mail exchange records, and falls back to the defined ISP's SMTP server or holds the failed messages in the local mail queue.

FTGate offers six types of mailboxes: User, a named individual; Alias, an alternative name for a user; Mailing list, a full list server; Autoresponder, which delivers canned responses and can add or remove a sender's name to a mailing list; Robot, which passes received messages to external applications; and Group, which provides a way to send to a group of users without having to set up a list server.

FTGate also uses two system mailboxes: Null, which sends messages into the bit bucket; and Command, the remote management interface.

The e-mail-based remote management interface for e-mail is terrific. It allows user and administrator access and lets you add, modify or delete any type of mailbox. You can also get system status information (listing mailboxes and the number of messages waiting in each), tweak autoresponder messages and access more or less any configuration setting that you can get to from the management interface.

Combine the remote management with the robot features and you can create very complex mail-handling systems and even extend the services of FTGate to run management and utility tasks. Floosietek's documentation is much better than average and even contains instructions on how to send mail by dropping files into the mail queue, a useful trick for sending messages from quick-and-dirty tools such as batch files.

The product includes a finger server and an HTTP server that return information on the status of user mailboxes. But there is no access security on either server and no apparent way to modify the output to provide better privacy. If you make these services available you're really just making life easier for hackers by telling them the names of users with mailboxes.

This is one of the best mail servers I've come across. Gearhead gives FTGate five out of five gear teeth. Outstanding.

Pricing ranges from $40 for five mailboxes to $550 for an unlimited number of mailboxes. For one mailbox, FTGate is free.

Found any products you think are really great? Recommendations to gearhead@gibbs.com.