>We're about ready to start up a new ISP using NT Server and were
>considering MCIS as our software package.
Sucker. ;-)
>MS is currently pricing the
>entire suite(mail, news, chat, replication/personalization, membership) at
>$3,995 and includes 2000 CAL's for mail and membership if purchased before
>June 30. Not cheap, but compared to what I have found for similar
>individual products it doesn't seem out of line - if it works.
I've heard that performance is horrendous. I think you'd be better off,
both performance and price-wise, to go with:
News: OUTSOURCE to supernews.com for $100 a month. No hardware, nor
headaches. Excellent service. No bandwidth wasted on news.
Mail: Many alternatives NOT based on per-user, but unlimited accounts:
www.rockliffe.com $595 (?)
www.ntmail.co.uk $995 give or take, depending on options
www.ipswich.com $495
www.software.com DON'T USE -- they want $5 per user!
Chat: You don't need your own chat server. Seriously. A waste.
Membership: RADIUSNT and/or Emerald from IEA. www.emerald.iea.com.
FTP: Serv-U from Catsoft. $25. Unlimited. Bargain of the century.
Web: IIS already comes with NT Server, free. Just buy NT Server or get
a copy as part of a special offer at any MS Seminar, or as a dealer.
You'll spend about the same, and be able to mix and match to get the
servers you want, and you know work best.