Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!wugate!uunet!bloom-beacon!spdcc!eli
From: eli@spdcc.COM (Steve Elias)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: fax over tcp/ip.
Message-ID: <254@ursa-major.SPDCC.COM>
Date: 15 Oct 89 16:36:16 GMT
Reply-To: eli@ursa-major.spdcc.COM (Steve Elias)
Lines: 47

In article <[A.ISI.EDU]15-Oct-89.10:30:31.CERF> CERF@A.ISI.EDU writes:
>If you FAX IN to your PC, how does it figure out where to send the
>file via FTP? Or convey to the far end what fax number to call
>to deliver it? Or have I confused the service functionality?
>
>Vint

	hi Vint!  nice rap on gigabit networking at interop!
	i surely won't complain about wasting bandwidth on fax, ok?

	the two questions...

	1 -- how to specify the destination fax number for the email2fax
	     direction?  grepping the subject line or some such scheme
	     is a simple solution.
	2 -- how to specify the destination email address from an inbound fax?
	     this is the more interesting question, i think.  

	the bruteforce way to deal with inbound faxes to standard phone
	lines on PCs or other unix systems is to have some sort of character
	recognition and a standard for where (or how) to write/print the
	destination email address...  i needn't explain the difficulties
	with such a scheme, however.  

	the reliable method is to use DID phone lines and DID capable 
	PC-fax cards in the fax2email server PCs.  such phone lines are
	a bit expensive -- $100 per month per 100 phone numbers, with some
	additional charges for the number of trunks.  for those who aren't
	familiar with DID (Direct Inward Dial) -- it is the method the phone
	company CO uses to transmit phone numbers down to big PBXs and other
	automated phone equipment.  (such as voice mail.)

	each 'subscriber' to the fax2email service could have a specific
	fax phone number assigned.  simple database lookup in the fax2email
	server could provide the proper email destination address for the
	fax.  the only chance for misdelivery would be if the source fax
	hardware dials the wrong phone number.  (DID numbers are assigned
	in big blocks, as in 555-5400 to 555-5599).





-- 
 ... Steve Elias (eli@spdcc.com);6178906844;6179325598; {}
 /* free email2fax!  send email for info. */
 /* be rude to a headhunter today and win free prizes! */