Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!pacbell.com!decwrl!uunet!mcsun!ukc!stl!robobar!ronald From: ronald@robobar.co.uk (Ronald S H Khoo) Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains Subject: Re: problems with nsfnet-relay.ac.uk Message-ID: <1991Feb27.232354.25858@robobar.co.uk> Date: 27 Feb 91 23:23:54 GMT References: <1991Feb22.181958.14608@ns.uoregon.edu> <1158@nikhefh.nikhef.nl> Organization: Robobar Ltd., Perivale, Middx., ENGLAND. Lines: 31 a20@nikhefh.nikhef.nl (Marten Terpstra) writes: > here is another way of getting mail to the UK, > but that one is not advertised via the DNS. It can be delivered via EUnet. > This goes via mcsun.eu.net and then to the UK EUnet backbone in Kent. This > however does not help you with your queues. And it does not help him at all if the destination site is not an EUNet customer because the mail will be bounced (probably at Kent). Yes, Virginia, there is a use for MMDF authorisation code. However, if you know a UK site takes news, you can safely assume that they will be authorised to take mail in %ified through mcsun.eu.net even though their postmaster may get annoyed with you -- because that mail will probably be charged to them. Odd how direct $$ charging wakes people up :-) But in general, the info in the DNS is correct. There is no MX pointing that way because the aren't allowed to get mail that way. There may well be two routes into the UK, but they aren't useable as backups for each other, because of the usage restrictions. A small number of sites can use both links, but I think they only advertise MX via NSFnet-relay.ac.uk. Similarly, my MX is mcsun.EU.net, and I can't get mail via NSFnet-relay.ac.uk, or at least I'm not allowed to. It's all very sad that business, politics, etc interfere with the common sense approach that it would be better for the users if the potential for dual-redundancy were to be exploited. But it aint politically acceptable. Sigh. Never mind that an entire comunity's mail gets stuck for half a week while they locate a shark stuck in an undersea cable somewhere. Pah. Politics. -- Ronald Khoo +44 81 991 1142 (O) +44 71 229 7741 (H)