Automated List Server
The IMail List Server automates mailing list and digest processing. Lists relay posted messages to subscriber addresses. Digests accumulate posts into one larger message, relayed to subscribers on a scheduled basis.

IMail lists can be private (subscribers added manually) or public (automated subscription). Posting can be restricted to subscribers, authorized posters, anyone with the correct password, or the list owner. IMail can add "header" and "trailer" text to posts and message delimiters to digests. Processing rules can be applied to each list (just like to user accounts) to reduce spam, and a "kill list" can reject posts by known offenders.

Lists can be created, modified, or deleted through any IMail admin interface, based on "list administration" privileges. Although I had no trouble creating lists, I found web admin somewhat awkward: the List Administration page is long, and an odd "modify" scheme requires retyping. To monitor list posting and digest results, check the SMTP log and "List Log", respectively.

Once a list is created, ongoing management is fully automated. Users send messages to imailsrv@yourdomain.com with commands in the message body: help, list, subscribe, unsubscribe, and set mode. The "List" command returns all lists or subscribers on a specified list, but can be disabled for greater security. Responses returned to "Help" and "Subscribe" can be customized for individual lists.

Parting Thoughts
We found IMail full of features that make it attractive for the small-to-midsize ISP: straightforward installation and configuration, virtual domains with delegate-able administration, full-featured customizable webmail clients, anti-relay and anti-spam controls, remote service monitoring, and CLI utilities that simplify volume updates and system integration.

At less than $1,500 for an unlimited user license, IMail isn't expensive. But it isn't "free" like sendmail or QMail. So why use IMail instead of a UNIX mail server? Ipswitch suggests that the attraction to both NT and IMail is ease-of-use and lower total cost of ownership. According to Karp, "Our ISP customers find IMail economical and easy to use because it lets them focus on making money by selling services instead of making their mail server work."

IMail setup is simple, web messaging reduces client config hassles, account administration can be delegated to customers, and virtual domains allow an ISP to support many customer domains on the same server. IMail allows ISPs to sell basic mail service and charge extra for a la carte add-ons like custom web messaging and mailing lists.

 

IMail Server for Windows NT v6 $995 (250 users); $1,495 (unlimited users) Includes 60 days of free tech support Annual service agreement $345-$445 Ipswitch, Inc. Lexington, MA http://www.ipswitch.com