[ntp:questions] Re: Trimble Setup Question

Brad Knowles brad.knowles at skynet.be
Sat Aug 30 23:40:16 UTC 2003


At 2:58 PM -0600 2003/08/30, Vernon Schryver wrote:

>  That's not how it looks lately from out here in comp.protocols.time.ntp.

	In what way have we not been applying best practices?

>  Your screed like your other recent messages seen in this newsgroup
>  does suggest "a party official assigned to teach party principles
>  and policies and to ensure party loyalty," along with connatations
>  of self-aggrandizement.

	Not at all.  I am just a more vocal person who stands up for 
himself and his colleagues when I feel that we are being slighted or 
mistreated, and I refuse to be a doormat or a pushover.

>  By the way, why did also you send me a private copy by email and
>  with a 13 second retry interval to get through my new greylisting
>  filter?  13 seconds is far less than the minimum 30 minutes required
>  by RFC 2821.

	From <http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt>:

4.5.4.1 Sending Strategy

    The general model for an SMTP client is one or more processes that
    periodically attempt to transmit outgoing mail.  In a typical system,
    the program that composes a message has some method for requesting
    immediate attention for a new piece of outgoing mail, while mail that
    cannot be transmitted immediately MUST be queued and periodically
    retried by the sender.  A mail queue entry will include not only the
    message itself but also the envelope information.

    The sender MUST delay retrying a particular destination after one
    attempt has failed.  In general, the retry interval SHOULD be at
    least 30 minutes; however, more sophisticated and variable strategies
    will be beneficial when the SMTP client can determine the reason for
    non-delivery.


	Note the use of the word "SHOULD" in the second paragraph, 
relating to this 30 minute retry interval.  Then note the last 
sentence in the paragraph.


	To be honest, for my outbound mail I use an ssh tunnel to a 
machine in the US on which I have an account, and some confidence 
that they will be run reasonably well.  I do not yet have my own 
co-lo set up, although I am working on that.  When I do, I will route 
all my outbound mail through my own machine.

	I do this because Skynet has deteriorated rapidly since the 
parent company (Belgacom, the former PTT for the country and still 
51% owned by the gov't) decided to re-absorb them back in as a 
division, instead of allowing them to operate as a separate 
subsidiary.

	My broadband choices are Brutele (cablemodem) and Belgacom (by 
law, Belgacom is the only DSL provider in the country, although other 
companies can resell Belgacom connectivity, and Belgacom makes damn 
sure that everybody else's DSL service really sucks while theirs 
sucks less).  Last time I spoke with the people at Brutele, they told 
me that they were re-wiring the cable plant on a street-by-street 
basis, and they anticipated that it would be at least three years 
before they got to our street.  They told me they'd call me back when 
they had a better estimate of when we might be able to get cablemodem 
service.

	So, since Skynet can no longer be trusted to operate outbound 
mail relays that aren't on every known black list in existence, I 
have little choice but to use the ssh tunnel that I've set up to the 
other machine.  I can't control how they administer their system, but 
so far it has seemed to be a heck of a lot better than what I can now 
get out of Skynet.

>                I've long felt that "courtesty copies" of public
>  messages suggest an exaggerated view of the imporance of one's words,
>  but 13 seconds between retries is extreme.

	Then I will endeavor to ensure that you never again receive a 
courtesy-copy of any post of mine.

-- 
Brad Knowles, <brad.knowles at skynet.be>

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
     -Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania.

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