Coming Changes to Easy Antispam Service - Comments Needed
by George RobertsWe’ve been working on some new things here at Easy Antispam and I wanted to let you all know that we’re planning some changes to how the service works and get your feedback.
As those of you using our service know, we currently use the “auto-domains” feature of the MailFoundry appliances to automatically map domains to the appropriate servers. While this reduces the amount of work that everyone has to do, it also adds a lot of overhead to our gateways and causes a lot of extraneous SMTP connections to our customers’ servers, as you probably have noticed, to check for who handles mail for a domain. There are some other issues with this process as well, but suffice to say that we don’t think it’s the best method, but until recently we didn’t have a choice.
However, we’ve recently developed an API that allows us to interact directly with the MailFoundry appliances, allowing us to automate the process of setting up domains and doing various other administrative tasks without using “auto-domains.”
What we’re proposing to do is to have our customers configure which domains are on their server. This will be able to be done in one of two ways: through a web-based portal and/or through access to an API that can be integrated into our systems.
We’re in development on these systems right now, but we wanted to get some feedback on what you thought about these changes. Please feel free to post comments here or to email support@easyantispam.com with any thoughts you might have.
September 24th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
I think this would be a great addition to the EasyAntiSpam service.
I’m a relatively new customer of EAS and have so far been impressed by the service. I was suprised however at just how many SMTP connections my server received for mail which it does not manage, as a direct result of using the auto-domains feature.
Ultimately this will also make for a more secure infrastructure as I know that if I setup a new domain delivery will only be attempted to my mail server and no other.
Of the two options I would say the web interface is essential, for me at least, maybe in time I will come to also make use of API calls direct from my website.
What are the timings for this and would existing domains be unaffected as part of the migration?
September 24th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
I find the auto-domain feature very useful, I for one do not mind the extra traffic if it means that I don’t have yet another “feature” to administer. Plus I’m in the process of automating my domain setup for the users, so I would need to have my systems talk to your systems to automate the setup. Perhaps if certian domain administrators don’t wan’t the traffic then they could setup a “do not include in auto-domain flag” and then add their domains manually, this would allow “keep it simple” administrators to be happy, and keep the traffic down for the industrious admins.
September 25th, 2007 at 12:31 am
I think this would be a great edition, being able to reduce the SMTP load on both EAS and my servers would be a bonus, other companies which I work with such as gradwell.com for secondary DNS backup allow either a web based update of domains to manage or they allow me to dump an FTP file via script which I run as a scheduled task on the server.
Having an API would be a big advantage to me as I could integrate it into my registration process.
September 25th, 2007 at 1:38 am
“dump an FTP file via script which I run as a scheduled task on the server” this one is a good idea as we could send the localdomains file when modified and that’s it, it would work for any linux server, you could even do an example script so people have an easier migration.
Cpanel and plesk modules would be ideal.
Regards.
September 25th, 2007 at 5:36 am
I’m torn, I would like less traffic to our SMTP servers, but I also have two EAS accounts, so that would mean integrating it for two systems.
If it is a simple upload a list of domains to your sFTP server or something that would be great. Getting into some fancier SOAP or REST api’s could really bog things down for clients unless you give them the java/php code etc.
September 25th, 2007 at 8:55 am
I would like to see this administered via a web-based portal. I don’t mind if there’s an API, but also want the option of web-based.
Otherwise, sounds like a great idea. Keep up the great work.
September 30th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Boy, this is a great solution for us - having both the API and web interface will be a HUGE bonus! Thanks for the hard work guys, can’t wait to see this rolled out
October 1st, 2007 at 12:15 am
Just a follow up with some additional information now that we’ve fleshed some of this out internally:
1) There will be a web-based interface that will allow account holders to administer the domains on their servers. If you have service for more than one server, you’ll be able to manage them all from one login. You’ll be able to manage domains individually and will also have the option to paste in a list of domains to add, one per line, to a single server account. This will help for adding domains for new server accounts to speed things up.
2) There will also be an API, likely SOAP-based. This will come AFTER the web interface is available. We’re also thinking there will be php code available for API client interactions that can be used for commandline operations to make integration easier.
3) To enable all these features, we’re developing a new account management system which will include all the service management features as well as billing and reporting. ModernBill will be going away.
4) When we’re ready to go to this system there will be no impact for existing servers and domains. We’ll be bringing in all the current domain mapping so you won’t need to add all the existing domains into the new system.
We’re working on the new system right now and our tentative timeline is 3-4 weeks.
October 1st, 2007 at 9:01 pm
This will be great! Having the web interface and less SMTP traffic will both be HUGE improvements. I’m sure I’ll utilize the API eventually, too. Since I’m still rolling this out to my clients, having the ability to add batches of domains will be very beneficial.
Thanks for your great service! Keep up the great work!
October 9th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Sounds good to me! Would be a good addition!
October 10th, 2007 at 9:54 am
This is a great idea, and can’t wait for it to be implenented. What is ETA on it?