Sending GoDaddy packing...

[wsuffa]

For some time, I've had a virtual server on GoDaddy, primarily as a spam filter (filters and forwards to my main/local server) and backup/remote mail system if my local server goes down. It also serves at the IMAP endpoint for my mobile devices and my DNS server. It's had it's issues over time, and I've considered alternate solutions, but it's not been so bad that I had to move. Until today.

Apparently there was a hardware failure sometime last night (around 4:27 Eastern). It took 3 hours to get an ack to a trouble ticket (sent to an alternate email address). 4 hours after that, I called. They were "troubleshooting" the server and had no idea how long it would be to even get me a status. 10 hours after the trouble ticket went in, I got an email stating that there was a hardware failure and time to resolution was "unknown". Given how GD loads their virtual boxes, I expect there are a lot of other users in the same fix.

Which gets me to where I am now.

What I need is... 1) an outside DNS (this is easy, I can use the domain registrar, which is NOT GD), 2) a spam filtering system that I can control the parameters & not forward on certain types of garbage while flagging other potential spam, 3) backup MX server, and 4) IMAP capabilities for mobile devices and times when the main/local server is down.

From what I can tell, I have a couple of solutions. I can find another dedicated/virtual server. I can sign on with a company that provides filtering service with backup MX. Or (least desirable) I can set up another server host at a location I have access to.

Of the first two options, does anyone have recommendations?

I'd like to not pay per-mailbox as I give different email addresses for different purposes (one for certain professional reasons, one for mail ordering, one for personal, etc). I've probably got 30-50 email addresses that forward or alias down to just a couple.

The local box is running BSD, behind a Sonicwall router (email filter not turned on) and a second-level linux-based firewall. I'd like to minimize local/last-mile broadband traffic, hence the reason for outsourcing the spam filtering, but I don't want to fully outsource the server for other reasons.

Thoughts?

 

[denverpilot]

Fastmail.fm had the most screaming fast, accurate spam filtered, always up mail servers I ever paid for. There's something to be said about a bunch of freaks who do mail and nothing but mail for a living. Some of their patches to various projects like Courier were finding obscure bugs only a massive mail system operator would ever find.

There was something "right" about them. They were bought by Opera (the browser folks) around the time I left them. Hopefully they didn't screw up a good thing.

 

[Chip Sylverne]

I've been pretty happy with Fatcow. However, I have little need for mobile support. Might be one to look into though.

 

[DaleB]

Linode. No question. I gave GD the boot last October and have been very happy with Linode's cheaper, better service with FAR more control over my own stuff. I think I even heard about them here... I believe the boss is a pilot.

 

[RJM62]

If you want a vps, I've found VPS.net to be better than most.

-Rich

 

[wsuffa]

3-1/2 days for GD to restore the virtual machine. They actually recovered data through the 12th (a week ago).

I'm already set up on Linode with Ubuntu. Still some minor configuration, but working OK. Fast/easy setup.

As for spam filtering, is anyone familiar with spam-filter.com? They seem to provide the best value proposition in a pay-for hosted service, but I sure don't want to end up sending email through a scammer.

 

[Old Geek]

I don't know how much of this applies to you, but thought you might be interested.

I've ran linux/sendmail myself forever with Mozilla clients and used dnsmadeeasy.com for my dns service. I put a Barracuda spam filter in front of the linux box several years ago, and then when the Barracuda's hard drive failed and they were asshats about getting it fixed for a reasonable price, I switched to Spam Titan on my own box. Which is cheaper and much better.

We are currently in the process of setting up Microsoft Small Business Server. We'll run the Spam Titan as a virtualized machine on the SBS server and switch to Exchange and Outlook Web. Everyone is looking forward to the change.

 

[jesse]

It sounds like you want to run it Bill -- if that is the case -- I'd use Linode. It's a well ran service that has a clean interface. The owner is a pilot that has posted on PoA a few times.

 

[SkyHog]

Note: Linode is run by a pilot. it drives Operation Fly.

 

[wsuffa]

I'm going to run some stuff on Linode (one domain runs from home & would use Linode as an initial filter/forwarder & Untangle behind a firewall on this end, one domain will run on Linode only). I'm quite happy with Linode so far.

What I'm trying to decide is whether I can wash more spam with a hosted spam washer as opposed to Spamassassin. SA's not cutting it quite as well as it used to.....

 

[denverpilot]

It came down to this for me: I could waste two hours a week fiddling with SA or I could let another pro in my industry deal with it for less than a price of a large coffee per month via almost any method or company chosen to deal with it. No brainer. I'll be at the airport for those two extra hours.

 

[DaleB]

It came down to this for me: I could waste two hours a week fiddling with SA or I could let another pro in my industry deal with it for less than a price of a large coffee per month via almost any method or company chosen to deal with it. No brainer. I'll be at the airport for those two extra hours.

Huh... weird. The only thing I ever have to do with SA is occasionally add a whitelist entry to local.cf.

I use Postfix, SpamAssassin, and procmail. If SA calls it spam, procmail drops it in a folder for me to review. I used to check through that a couple of times a day, but after a month of no false positives I just run a script to send it all to Vipul's Razor once a day.

I guess I do spend a little time adding the more common stuff to the Postfix filter files, but really it's not needed. It's stuff that's already flagged by SA, but if I see the same subject line or domain or whatever a dozen or two times I'll filter it. I probably spend less than half an hour a month on the whole thing.

I just have a problem with someone else filtering my email. I don't mind doing a little extra work myself, as long as I know I have some control over what gets screwed up.

 

[denverpilot]

I had the domain and the address for ... let's see...

Well, long enough it was first hosted at Network Solutions and they were the only registrar for .com domains and my server was on an ISDN line...

Prior to the SDSL, the ISDN router would start at 64K with a single B-channel and bond in the second B-channel if traffic load was high, or drop it and ring the phone if an inbound phone call came in while mass data was being pushed. "IDSL" where the D-channel was bonded hadn't been created yet, to gain another 16 Kb/s.

I was mostly just excited it had a 10Mb/s half-duplex Ethernet connection on the back.

SDSL came out a year or two later, followed by ADSL. 128Kbs up/down symmetric was screaming fast back then. Ethernet connection on the Copper Mountain CopperRocket was full-duplex. Whoo!

I also never made any attempt to use different accounts in public or private on that domain. It was one address the entire time.

That e-mail address was farmed by everything automated that was out there.

That and three or four users under the same domain who constantly signed up for spammy stuff which triggered more farming.

It was almost an experiment -- on purpose -- of how not to manage e-mail accounts for something like 15 years or ... Longer?

Not sure.

I finally let it go last month. The registrar is currently squatting on it trying to convince me to "recover" it for $150. Ha.

Comical and ironic since that was about the price NetSol charged per year to get it in the first place back then.

Now I have more "fun" domain names. Nothing anyone else would want to buy, though.

A friend was involved in selling Bing.com to Microsoft. They made a little coin...

 

[wsuffa]

I had the domain and the address for ... let's see...

Well, long enough it was first hosted at Network Solutions and they were the only registrar for .com domains and my server was on an ISDN line...

You never lived until you used 56K frame relay. With a very early FreeBSD box on the end.

 

[DaleB]

Yeah... I started an ISP. In 1994. I think I've had my personal domain, with everyone in the family using it, since shortly after that. We get more than our share of SPAM.

28.8, 33.6, 56K modems (yeah, right...), stacks of boxes, rack mount, D4 channel banks, Ascend Max, Pipelines, ISDN TAs, frame relay, data T1, voice T1 and on and on. After that my next job was the engineer in charge of ALL external network connectivity for one of the top 2 online brokers. Now my "real" job isn't nearly as fun, but I do manage to keep a couple of domains going.