slow to boot

[Ed Wilts]

On Fri, Jul 30, 2004 at 05:16:53PM -0700, Mark Dadgar wrote:
> On Jul 30, 2004, at 4:24 PM, Ed Wilts wrote:
> >>I do not use sendmail [yet - will it work with
> >>comcast?]
> >
> >Yup.  You should make sure that sendmail.mc has a SMART_HOST entry
> >pointing to Comcast's mail server though - this prevents other hosts
> >from blocking your outbound mail.
> 
> If you run a mailing list, even a small one, it's distinctly possible 
> that your ISP will get grumpy about the load you are putting on their 
> (apparently candy-*ssed) servers.
> 
> Ask me how I know.

I happen to have Comcast and so far they don't care.  I push through a
reasonable amount of mail and do have a very low volume 100-member
mailing list.  Whenever mailman sends a batch out, I see the throttle
messages from Comcast's server.  This introduces a delay but it's
perfectly fine for what I'm doing - I'm not trying to run redhat-list or
anything.

What I've seen over the years here is that as long as you're reasonable,
you stay under their radar.  I have heard lots of horror stories from
other ISPs who are extremely picky about their terms and conditions.
Even the web and e-mail servers I run don't see to bother Comcast.  I
keep them low volume and for non-profit organizations.  I scan all my
e-mail, including those messages I simply act as a virtusertable entry
for.  I don't run IIS and don't open myself up for massive outbound 
attacks.  So far, so good.  

I see Comcast e-mail scanning regularly looking for open relays.  I like
that in an ISP - it shows they care about the global problem.  They know
I'm running an SMTP server but don't do anything about it.  I'm not in
any hurry to switch ISPs.  I still suspect my overall network traffic is
considerably less than those people downloading CDs and MP3s all day
long.

-- 
Ed Wilts, RHCE
Mounds View, MN, USA
mailto:ewilts at ewilts.org
Member #1, Red Hat Community Ambassador Program