> From: Amrit Takhar <[log in to unmask]>

There are a couple of sensible points here and then the usual sarcastic, but
true comment:-

The NHS Infozone, correct me if I am wrong, is available only on NHS Net Web
connections, and yet it is being used to report a fault affecting ony users
outside the NHS Net...
I move that the relevant page be placed in the NHS Net DMZ, or alternatively
and as a temporary measure which could be effected within half an hour of
someone who understands this reading it in NHS Net, mirrored to a site
outside NHS Net.  If there is a shortage of space I will provide it.

All orgs with noticeable numbers of correspondents outside, using SMTP email
to do business with them should either set up a daily commcheck with one of
those correspondents, non-return of a commcheck email causing telephone
activity and escalation, or <heresy> they should buy in an outside ISP
connection for one isolated PC </heresy>, and do the check themselves.
If it fails, then an email to their list of correspondents to admit the
problem would not be an unreasonable thing to do - secrecy suggests an
attempt to cover up incompetence, not hordes of techies beavering away in
the background.

As a parallel my local HA moved its voice phones from BT to Eurobell to save
money and secure technical advantages...(Centrex, since you ask.)
Did they, you ask, remove every BT line and phone from the place and go
entirely over to Eurobell, trusting in the lord?
No.  They kept a couple of BT lines here and there, with a warning to
minimise use because they are more expensive, and inthe event of a problem
with one supplier they use the other.

One of the recurring NHS management cockups[1] in IM&T is to go for a big
bang and commit to a single supplier/solution etc.  While nobody wants
massive duplication, a degree of redundancy is to be encouraged.

> A serious issue has arisen with the SMTP gateway which receives email
> from the Internet. We suspect it is a malign flaming of emails from the
> internet, and not necessarily exclusive to NHSnet.
It would be entirely sensible to publicise any details of a flamer should
they be ascertained, and if we meet them we could _discuss_ it with them.
Sounds a bit odd though, what sort of volume is involved in stuffing a major
corporate gateway?  Or is the gateway on one old 486?
I think a T3 line would probably be sufficient for the primary, and a couple
of separate T1 lines for backup and peak periods.


>The NHS
> Telecommunications Branch are doing everything in their power to remove
> the resultant backlog of messages, but there could be a delivery delay
> of SMTP email of up to a few days. New equipment is being installed to
> improve the performance of the gateway by a factor of 10 and should be
> operational by the end of the month.

<sarcasm?>  er, pick up from shop, take out of box, plug in, go...</sarcasm?


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[1] CockUPS: synonym for Viagra



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