Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 20:08:50 -0500 (EST) From: kfurge@worldnet.att.net To: Lanny Baron <beef@cybertouch.org> Cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: (Fwd) Info on replacing Windows NT with Linux or FreeBSD Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.981117193810.12011A-100000@kcfhome.my.domain> In-Reply-To: <199811171731.MAA06543@freedom.cybertouch.org>
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I have done nearly *exactly* what this guy wants to do in two small
offices that I take care of. I have been putting off documenting my
recipe, but perhaps now I should get off of my duff. In a nutshell,
here's how the whole system works:
Setup:
1. Hylafax/Samba/Ghostscript/IMAP4 setup and running on server.
2. Ghostview configured on PC to handle PS attachments to MIME mails.
3. Netscape 4.5 setup on PC to read the FAX user's mailbox on
the server.
Receiving a fax:
1. Hylafax receives a fax, packages it in postscript and attaches
it to an e-mail which is delivered to the FAX user. This part is
easy.
2. Client uses netscape to open the FAX mailbox. All incoming faxes
have the fax number and sender id on subject line. Clicking
on the attachment allows viewing with ghostview.
3. Administrator organizes incoming faxes however they chose using IMAP
folders.
Sending a fax:
1. Client prints to one of two fax printers. The first generates
a fax with no cover sheet, the second auto-generates a cover
sheet. The printer configured on the client is simply a generic
postscript printer. The "Digital Colormate PS" is my favorite.
2. The "printer" on the server is actually a clever perl script that
starts by connecting back to the client's machine.
3. The client machine is running a little program I discovered called
"Respond" which sits in the tool tray waiting for a connection.
When connected to, it pops up and asks for sender, receiver, fax
number, etc.
4. The perl script digests the response, and queues the fax for
delivery. It also sends a MIME e-mail with a postscript attachment
of the queued fax to the FAX user. This allows resending of the fax
if necessary.
5. The user is kept up-to-date about the status of the fax with
periodic winpopup messages. Events are also logged to a file
which is shared under samba.
This method has some unique benefits. First, all faxes are treated as
standard e-mails. Resending or forwarding a fax is as easy as reprinting
it. Built upon Hylafax, it should scale well (though I have never used it
in an environment with more than 5-6 active faxers). IMAP as the mail
server insures that faxes can be administered from any authorized
workstation. Faxes are always stored on the server and benefit from large
HDD space and regular backups, etc.
If you're interested in the details for your web site, let me know and I
can create a step-by-step how-to.
- K.C.
On Tue, 17 Nov 1998, Lanny Baron wrote:
> Hello Fellow FreeBSD'ers
>
> I am forwarding this message to the list for a reason. Why
> could the people involved below, recommend OUR system,
> FreeBSD??? As I am trying to get into setting up networks for
> small offices, its a shame I can't put this type of a letter right on
> my web site. (Although my site is not fully finished
> http://freedom.cybertouch.org) it would have been a big help. Some
> how the good name of FreeBSD must get out to the business
> community.
>
> Regards to all,
> Lanny Baron
>
> ------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
> Date sent: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 11:44:49 +1000
> To: beef@cybertouch.org
> From: Richard Sharpe <sharpe@ns.aus.com>
> Subject: Info on replacing Windows NT with Linux or FreeBSD
>
> >Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 17:54:45 +0000 (GMT)
> >From: Matthew Kirkwood <weejock@ferret.lmh.ox.ac.uk>
> >Subject: Re: flexfax: replacing an exchange fax server
> >Sender: owner-flexfax@celestial.com
> >To: Nico Kadel-Garcia <raoul@cirl.meei.harvard.edu>
> >Cc: flexfax@sgi.com
> >
> >On Mon, 16 Nov 1998, Nico Kadel-Garcia wrote:
> >
> >> > I'm helping someone to replace an NT box with
> >> > a RedHat system, and we're satisfied that we can
> >> > get Linux to do everything that his current dying
> >> > Small Business Server can, with the exception of
> >> > fax services.
> >>
> >> I've set this up on a consulting basis for several sites. Let me know
> >> if you need help.
> >
> >Thanks,
> >
> >> > His users work almost entirely from Outlook 98,
> >> > and send faxes by mailing word documents as
> >> > attachments to email addresses which look like
> >> > '[fax:NUMBER]'
> >>
> >> So far, so good.
> >
> >Apart from the Outlook bit :)
> >
> >> > It seems that Outlook then sends the document
> >> > through to Exchange which hands it to the fax service
> >> > for rendering and faxing.
> >>
> >> ***GACK***. Exchange is one of the most unreliable products
> >> known to modern computing, beaten for poor service only by
> >> its predecessor MSMail and a misbegotten product called
> >> "First Class" written for the Macintosh.
> >
> >And one of the reasons that the bloke wants a Linux server :)
> >
> >> > I was wondering if anyone had done something like
> >> > this before; I suspect that it could be done quite
> >> > simply with some VBA at the client side, but he
> >> > doesn't want to have to alter the clients and
> >> > especially his users way of working.
> >>
> >> It can be done with built-in tools for HylaFAX and
> >> a modern Linux system. Incoming mail goes to "fax@linux-server",
> >> and includes an extra header for "Fax Recipient:"
> >
> >Yep, that's what I suggested.
> >
> >> > Ideally, there would be a Linux word->tiff renderer
> >> > available, but I suspect that to be a pipe-dream.
> >>
> >> Definitely. There are some tools for Word document translation, but
> >> what you really want to work with is Postscript output. Instead of
> >> sending the documents as Word documents, the easiest solution is to
> >> print them to the Fax server. The Star Office suite
> >> (www.stardivision.com) may be able to translate Word documents
> >> directly to Postscript: you might write to them and ask.
> >
> >That's a good idea - thanks.
> >
> >> The same functionality may be available via "WHFC", which uses
> >> *printing* to send a job to the fax server instead of email. This
> >> raises security issues of protecting your fax server, but no greater
> >> than those of letting email be sent through your fax server.
> >
> >I've been trying to convince him that this is the answer, but he's
> >(unreasonably, IMHO) convinced that this will require significant
> >changes in his Outlook/Access application. (In a past life, I did
> >a disturbing amount of VB/VBA, and I'm not convinced of the truth of
> >this one.)
> >
> >Thanks - I can now safely claim that the hf experts say I'm right
> >and that he should let me to a half-hour client hack instead of a
> >six-month-plus Word document renderer... :)
> >
> >Matthew.
> >
> >
>
> Regards
> -------
> Richard Sharpe, sharpe@ns.aus.com, NIC-Handle:RJS96
> NS Computer Software and Services P/L,
> Ph: +61-8-8281-0063, FAX: +61-8-8250-2080,
> Samba, Linux, Apache, Digital UNIX, AIX, Netscape, Stronghold, C, ...
>
>
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