Re: Localized mail servers, global scope

[Peter Corlett]

Andrew Staples <andrews@ltinet.net> wrote:
> [...] the group wants to consolidate email addresses across the
> group, i.e.. Xx.yy@groupname.com, regardless of where the mail
> account lives, yet still give local control over the email server.

Due to the potential for namespace clashes, you *must* have a single
central organisation to manage the localpart namespace. MX records can
also only route mail on a domain basis, and not by localpart. Again,
this tends to drive centralisation.

[...]
> Has anyone got any other ideas on how to skin this cat with a
> technological solution not mentioned?

I would probably be tempted to just contract the whole lot out to a
third party that is not involved in your internal politics, including
maintaining a localpart registry.

The third party can then make a commercial decision as to the best way
to design the network is an complicated geographically load-balanced
cluster, or just to waste bandwidth and take a simpler system. Unless
they've got somebody CV-polishing, KISS will probably prevail as
bandwidth is cheap.

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