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Summary - Has messaging software grown up? Rawn Shah takes a look at Stalker Software's new CommuniGate Pro and finds a complete, configurable package that's worth downloading. (2,500 words)
an one software package do everything? Possibly, but would you want it to? You would if it offered well-conceived integration of the services. For running an ISP business, strong integration of the main user services is particularly important, especially if you have a thoughtful management interface to those services. That is where the messaging server from Stalker Software, called CommuniGate Pro, comes in handy.
CommuniGate Pro is more than a mail server. It handles most of the dial-up mail-user services an ISP can offer, including personal Web space, directory services, mailing lists, mail filtering, mail subdomains, address books, a Web browser-based mail interface, and roaming Web browser support. It handles antispamming filters, multiple and distributed domains, and delegation of mail management, and it can cluster several mail servers together. In addition, it allows you to manage everything through either a Web browser interface or a command-line interface, and it supports every known mail-related protocol in the TCP/IP family.
Surprisingly, pounding all those features into a single product has not made the product too complex to manage. Learning the intricacies and remembering where specific parameters are takes a while, but the Web-management interface presents everything in an orderly fashion.
Nice license
Unlike conventional software products, the complete commercial version of CommuniGate Pro can be downloaded from Stalker Software's Website. You can run the software without a license, but each message you send will include a promotional statement indicating it was sent through CommuniGate Pro. This version is a fully operational copy of the software complete with all features but clustering. Except for the annoying little banner attached to every message, it seems to be a workable deal for service providers just starting out.
The little banner is a smart idea, because it is a free advertisement. In addition, Stalker Software bypasses the expense of packaging the software, and prints manuals only as needed. And because email is often a locus for cracker attacks, the continually- updated package you download from the company's site has a better chance of keeping up-to-date with the bugs and loopholes.
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