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  NTMail Outpaces Solid Pack of IMAP Mail Servers May 3, 1999 Gordano NTMail 
NTMail has the winning looks to go with its decked out undercarriage. The package boasts the most refined and complete WUI for both mail administrators and end users. All the other products we tested fell down in this area. Combined with extensive relay, host and content policies, NTMail can be locked up tight. Along with CommuniGate Pro and Mail Site, NTMail can use RBLs of open SMTP relay hosts. RBLs keep track of unprotected SMTP relay hosts that can be used as entry point for spammers. With comprehensive antispam measures and a feature-rich Web interface, NTMail is a clear-cut Editor's Choice winner.NTMail supports both NT user and external databases--for example, ODBC on the local NT server--which makes configuration quick and painless. We were able to import the entire NT user database into NTMail in just a few minutes, something we couldn't do with WorldMail or N-Plex Global. NTMail also employs an NT user group corresponding to the e-mail domain names in use. With a few clicks we added users to the preconfigured "p2.uw.nwc.com" user group using NT User Manager, and then added the entire group of users to NTMail with a single click. Unfortunately, new users must be added to the user group before they appear within NTMail. Security was clearly a primary concern to the developers of NTMail and we appreciate their efforts. From SMTP relay to client and domain message restrictions, including restrictions on message size, mailbox size and mail frequency, NTMail has it covered. Quickly, we were able to add common problem domains--such as aol.com and hotmail.com--to our list of blocked domains. An add-on package for blocking JUCE (junk and unsolicited commercial e-mail) provides additional spam protection. When mail appears from an unrecognized domain--meaning it is not listed as an acceptable sender--NTMail queries the RBL list. If the domain is listed there, the mail is rejected before it enters your system. This protects your users from spam. The crown jewel of NTMail is its management interface. Completely Web-based NTMail makes good use of Java to create a WUI that is easy to navigate and helpful. Context-sensitive help and a toolbar-like menu clearly display all aspects of the NTMail server. During testing we had no problem negotiating the interface and frequently found the solutions to our problems within the appropriately designed "life preserver" help icon. We also like the mailing list management utilities available through the WUI. We created a mailing list called "networkcomputing" and began to add users to the list via the WUI. We were also able to control list privileges on a per-user basis as well as configure multiple moderators.
IPSwitch IMail Server 5.0 for Windows NT IMail's main strength lies in the mail client that is incorporated within the Web interface. Users can access and send e-mail messages from within the Web browser--a very nice feature for road warriors who don't always carry a laptop. NTMail and CommuniGate Pro have similar features. Pointing our Web browser at the standard HTTP port (80), we were prompted for a user name and password. After authenticating, we composed a few messages and finished entering our test user information for the user directory. In addition to basic mail functionality, IMail has mail filters or rules that can be modified by the user from the WUI. During testing we created a mail filter to sort some of our internal mail from spam. Eager to take advantage of public IMAP folders, we were able to create a shared folder and dictate that a few choice users would automatically be subscribed to the folder. The WUI also can be modified to include news of the day, custom graphics via HTML templates and ad information for ISPs. Two additional features make IMail even more solid. The mail-to-pager feature can redirect e-mail destined for a specific address to a pager gateway. Sender information and 250-character messages are routed to your pager while a backup copy of the message is sent to the user mailbox. The mail-to-fax option can route incoming or outgoing e-mails to a fax machine and send them to their destination. The mail-to-pager gateway is standard; the mail-to-fax is sold separately.
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