which OP system to use?

[sillyme]

Just wondering what the general opinions are about using XP or one of the 2003 server versions as a mail server?
Currently AMS is on a 2003 server web edition that is also serving up web sites.

I am getting ready to make some upgrades and am leaning toward using XP with mirrored drives.

Thanks for your your input

[rob]

Many of our customers use XP to host the mail server and from what we can tell, XP is pretty much just as stable as 2003 and operates as well. Switching to XP shouldn't cause any issues with the mail server service.

[KrisC]

I use XP pro, and works great for me.

[Pugglewuggle]

We used XP Pro 32-bit in the past and are currently using Windows Server 2003 Web Edition 32-bit.

Does anybody (probably Chris or Rob) know if AMS is going to be compatible with Windows Web Server 2008 (x64 or x86 versions)? We'll probably be using the x64 version when we migrate in a few months (IIS7 is AMAZING!), so I am just curious.

Has anybody tried it out on the Release Candidate? I'm going to give it a shot on WWS 2008 x64 here in a few minutes and I'll let you know...

[Pugglewuggle]

Okay, I just installed AMS 2.61 and ran the diagnostic with no errors on Windows Web Server 2008 x64 RC1 with no problems... almost.

The application mode runs, but when the NT service is used, the AMS GUI cannot be accessed. I have a feeling this has to do with the Vista-style UAC in WS 08. I don't recall any prompts asking for administrative priveleges when installing AMS... perhaps this is the issue? Shouldn't the program (even in app mode) still have to have admin priveleges to function correctly?

I hope the AMS team addresses this because WS 08 is coming out next month and anyone migrating will be at least a little confused about this! I don't want to see Code Crafters get screwed by this!

Perhaps having the seperate administration utility in AMS 3 will eliminate this issue as the console will run independently of the service? I would think so, but I would like some clarification.

Also, will there be both a 64-bit and a 32-bit version of AMS 3? Just curious!

Thanks!

[rob]

With the Vista interface and when it is running in NT service mode, the normal AMS dialog interface cannot be accessible. However, clicking the short cut should prompt to switch into application more or allow easy access to remote admin. But you are correct that this needs addressing and we are currently working on the solution. Basically in the next major release (version 3), we will be creating a true dialog client interface which will be capable of administrating the software remotely. This will allow the simple tray area icon to access the admin interface again, but also allow you to do the same from any computer anywhere. We also plan many other new features such as detailed monitoring information and a user/mail migration tool. At the moment the date of this is not certain but I would guess some time in spring this year.

[waterman34]

I use AMS on both Windows 2003 and XP Pro and both run as sweet as each other, you'll have no problems running on either.

[BBMB32]

I used to use WIndows XP Professional (used it for about 1 year) and had no problem. I just moved my mail server to a new Dell and Windows 2003 and it works just like the other setup.

Brandon

[ColinABQ]

Just a quick note on running AMS, or other server packages, under Windows XP Home SP2: it limits concurrent, incomplete outgoing connections to 10 (per second, or some such). This is typically not an issue for most users, but might impact the performance of fairly busy server systems that rely on concurrent outgoing connections – such as those used for spam filtering services (RBLs, etc.), DNS requests, and so on. If you investigoogle the phrase “Windows XP connection limits,” or similar phrases, you can find the details. There are workarounds but we’re on our own there, as Microsoft apparently does not support or sanction them for XP Home. I do not know if this is also true of XP Pro, and it certainly isn’t for Server 2003.

Meanwhile, I’ve been running AMS under XP Home for a long time, albeit on a tiny scale, with no apparent issues. But that’s the rub – there may, in fact, be occasional performance hits that I have not measured, and would not know how to measure without better metrics at my local DNS server.

Again, this is just a note – I am not requesting support, suggesting changes, or even suggesting that users monkey with this -- I'm just planting seeds of thought.

[Pugglewuggle]

Do we have a fix yet for the GUI not being available when running as a service on Windows Server 08? I can't switch to App mode every time I need to change something as it will kill current connections.

Thank you!

[rob]

Unfortunatly the software still is not fully compatability with 2008 but version 3.xx should address all these issues, which should be available next year.

[Pugglewuggle]

Very good then!