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I'll be impressed when I see mainframes running Exchange.

Aw, now, why would you want to go and do that to a nice mainframe? :-) If you really want to "run Exchange" on a mainframe, give Bynari a call. They've ported TradeServer to Linux/390. So yes, you can move your MS-Outlook users to Linux/390-based email. Today! Just ask Winnebago - they're doing it.

I'll be impressed when I see mainframes running Exchange.

Aw, now, why would you want to go and do that to a nice mainframe? :-) If you really want to "run Exchange" on a mainframe, give Bynari a call. They've ported TradeServer to Linux/390. So yes, you can move your MS-Outlook users to Linux/390-based email. Today! Just ask Winnebago - they're doing it.

Bynari's Insight Server provides services to Microsoft Outlook clients and various Linux and UNIX clients provided by the Open Source community and Insight Client. Insight which can come bundled with Insight Server works on various Linux distributions, Sun Solaris for Sparc and x86, and SCO UnixWare and Compaq's Non-Stop Clusters using Proliants and UnixWare. In the glass house, Insight Server runs on IBM zSeries and S/390 mainframes under TurboLinux.

It's not Free Software, but it uses free software components, eg., Exim, OpenLDAP, etc. And it has a very modest price compared to Exchange:

Insight allows unlimited users to access its services based on the platform. With Insight Server the cost of the product is based on the size of the user base each version supports. For example, a 100 user version of Insight Server costs $2.99 per user. A 500 user version would cost $1.19 per user. That's a one time charge.

Compared to Exchange:

The cost of Exchange 2000 Enterprise Server with 25 CALs is $6,999. Each new Client Access License costs $67.

A company with 5025 users on Microsoft Exchange would pay $335,000 for new Client Access Licenses and $6,999 for the server. The total cost in this scenario would run $341,999.

(yikes!)

Here's what a company called Bynari sells for about $600 and bills as a replacement for exchange:

Insight Server incorporates RFC standards based protocols, open source software and Bynari's web based management interface which makes a powerful messaging and collaboration tool for your organization. Insight Server provides support for messaging and collaboration functions of Exchange without the usage of closed protocols. Components include IMAP, LDAP, iCalendar, SMTP, and POP3. The management and administration tool and the install/configuration scripts provide a value-add many UNIX and Linux administrators appreciate. BONUS* Use Insight Server as your messaging and collaboration tool for Microsoft(tm) Outlook. Our configuration guide can help you set up Outlook to work with and use Insight server as it's service provider.

I bet it would be pretty easy to set up the programs yourself. Bynari even provides a pdf-file that explains how to set-up Outlook to speak to the free products. here's a partial list that their product installs for you:

• exim
• sendmail
• IMAP -- There are a lot of these around, but they don't mention which one.
• OpenLDAP
• Calendaring -- Again, they don't say which one.

http://www.bynari.net/Products/products.html

What other flavors ya got?

Here are two systems I found in less than five minutes:

• JCS
• Request Tracker

The Open Directory is also a good source of information - the have a whole page of Help Desk programs (though not all are OSS).

That's not something I wanted to hear. I would have liked to implement it. Now that they're giving up, I don't think anyone would want to move to it.

Don't give up *all* hope, however. There is a little known product from Bynari called TradeServer. It's compatible with Outlook (100% I'm told), $500 for unlimited users, runs on Linux, and (here's the kicker) the fully featured UNIX client is open source. They even host it on SourceForge.

It doesn't have PGP support yet, but the client is quite impressive, usable as a standalone client.

I don't know why nobody has been mentioning it here, though.

So for all of you that have been trying to stave off that management push for an Exchange install by showing them OpenMail info (like I have), here's a solution they might like (plus they wouldn't know the difference if you just installed it, wink, wink).

"the only thing stopping me from doing my job on Linux is Microsoft Exchange Server...inability to "natively" (i.e. without POP3/IMAP) interoperate with Exchange is a showstopper for any corporate installation."

Well, I know a product that may solve some of your interoperability problems. Look into bynari products here.

The have client software for linux called 'TradeXCH' that will communicate with exchange and outlook. They also have their 'Trade Server' product which is a standards based suite of mail, directory and collaboration services.

For those that don't know, Outlook was really designed to be run with MS Exchange server. The server can be configured to handle mail translation for it's clients, so internally, an office can have the benefits of a more advanced(?) mail system (in an office workgroup sense), and externally, the world can get ASCII.

However, Outlook can be used with Unix based TradeServer from Bynari.

disclaimer: I do work for Bynari, Inc.

For those that don't know, Outlook was really designed to be run with MS Exchange server. The server can be configured to handle mail translation for it's clients, so internally, an office can have the benefits of a more advanced(?) mail system (in an office workgroup sense), and externally, the world can get ASCII.

However, Outlook can be used with Unix based TradeServer from Bynari.

disclaimer: I do work for Bynari, Inc.

Next we will be releasing our server side solution for Linux integration. I won't spoil it for you ;) We do have projects planned in the future which will expand the normal-everyday usage of linux to provide a more attractive alternative.