I run ColdFusion on a server at home and cannot get my SMTP server to
function. I am able to point ColdFusion at any mail server (IP number
or domain) and would like to pay for access to someone else's SMTP
server. This server must permit me to send to any email address, from
any email address and allow normal and HTML mail. Due to the nature of
ColdFusion, the only verification that can be permitted is screening
for my IP number, which is fixed (i.e. no username and password). Can
you direct me towards a company which can sell me access to such an
SMTP mail server.

---

Clarification of Question by nestormakhno-ga on 01 Sep 2003 12:59 PDT

Thank you, but sorry, as you have stated, this is not an answer to my
question. I followed instructions as to configuring the Win2k SMTP
server and ran against the same problem: mail stuck in queue. Of note
is the fact that I have had the SMTP server configured correctly
before, ColdFusion has been able to send emails, and after a period of
weeks the whole thing crashed. I am not satisfied with the stability
of this software, and even were I able to configure it, I would not
wish to use it. I am seeking a professional solution, and as such do
not wish to run free software on my internet server. To clarify, I
want an SMTP server which will accept mail from my IP number.
Regards, Judas.

your ISP doesn't supply you with an SMTP server?  usually those
servers are totally open.

Hi, nestormakhno.

There are lots of companies that will sell you SMTP service.  But,
what kind of mail are you trying to send?  How much mail?  Most
service providers will refuse to let you send spam, and, if you're
looking for high volume, (thousands of messages a day,) that will cost
more.

"This server must permit me to send to any email address, from 
any email address"
That's a lot to ask of a service provider..  Maybe you should run your
own smtp server.  It's very easy.  But, make sure that you don't
violate your ISPs Terms Of Service.  And, again, if you're doing spam,
you have to worry about getting blacklisted...

snsh-ga: the mail servers that I have access to (through domain
registrations and work) are not totally open. They require a username
and password, and ColdFusion will not support the provision of these
when executing the tag <CFMAIL>.

hobbes1220-ga: If there are lots of companies that will sell me SMTP
service, I just wish to know who they are. When searching on SMTP
related products, all that I can find is SMTP server software, not
provision. The volume of mail is unimportant to me. I would not
envisage sending thousands of messages per day, but am happy to pay
for access to high volume traffic if this becomes necessary. The
messages will not be spam. The <CFMAIL> tag in ColdFusion, which I
wish to use, will permit any address in the to and from fields of a
sent email. I do not think that allowing this functionality will be
too much to ask of a service provider. You suggested that I run my own
STMP server. This is my preferred option. My server came with factory
installed software (Win 2k), including a virtual SMTP server which did
not require configuration. My internet server works fine but when I
attempt to send mail with the SMTP server the mail just gets stuck in
the /inetpub/mailroot/queue folder. After searching the relevant
groups, this seems to be the commonest problem with MS virtual SMTP
server, and the problem does not seem to be adequately answered. I and
others have looked at my computer over the last month, and cannot get
the SMTP services to run. I have given up hope, and decided that the
easiest solution is to purchase this service, but I don't know where
to. Thanks for your comment.

Nestor

You may be interested in one of my previous answers.

Send emails with Win 2000 SMTP Server 
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=133192

It covers how to setup and use Windows 2000's built in SMTP server and
also free third-party SMTP servers. It's not quite an answer to your
question, so, I'm posting it only as a comment. But, if it the
information proves to be a satisfactory answer to your question, let
me know and I can always re-post it here as an official "answer".

Thanks,

Legolas-ga

Thank you, but sorry, as you have stated, this is not an answer to my
question. I followed instructions as to configuring the Win2k SMTP
server and ran against the same problem: mail stuck in queue. Of note
is the fact that I have had the SMTP server configured correctly
before, ColdFusion has been able to send emails, and after a period of
weeks the whole thing crashed. I am not satisfied with the stability
of this software, and even were I able to configure it, I would not
wish to use it. I am seeking a professional solution, and as such do
not wish to run free software on my internet server. To clarify, I
want an SMTP server which will accept mail from my IP number.
Regards, Judas.

Sorry, was sober when posting my last comment, and it seems a little
unpolite.
Thank you Legolas for your useful suggestions. Really need an answer
to this one so have upped the remuneration on it to $50. I really
think that were a company to provide this service it would be two
minutes work for hundreds of dollars, but just can't find it. Have
found
http://www.smtp.com/
but this seems to be for personal users, rather than business.

"Magnanimous Despair alone
Could show me so divine a thing,
Where feeble Hope could ne'er have flown
But vainly flapped its tinsel wing."

Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)

This is how I feel on this one.

I found this:

http://www.electricmail.com/
"The Electric Mail Company.   Email. Any way you want."
"We develop and deliver customized, outsourced email solutions for
both hosted and gateway clients, with seamless integration into
existing systems."

Hmm, they promise seamless intergration.. Well, tell them that your
current system requires an smtp server that works without
authentication.  This service seems expensive though.

My advice, get a shell account.  Find a kinda small time shell admin,
tell her what you need, and ask her how much a month it will cost you.
 First thing she'll ask is, "Why do you need this, are you going to
spam?"  You might suggest to said admin that you're willing to pay for
your own IP, so that if you get blacklisted, it won't affect the shell
provider's own mail services.  The second question the admin will ask
is how many emails per day.  .. This must be known in advance, so the
provider knows how much to charge you. =) One thousand 10KiB emails a
day = 300MiB of server traffic per month.

I know a shell admin that can provide this service.  He would
appreciate me bringing him a customer. =)  He's no different than
10000 other shell/web/email providers, but if you want to use him, I
can provide the contact information.  Maybe $15-20/month?  Assuming
that you are low-traffic, so that you don't impact the system in any
profound way.

Or maybe electricmail.com will work.  There's other email service
providers listed here:
http://directory.google.com/Top/Business/Business_Services/Communications/Mail_Services/Email_Services/

Hope this helps, hope I'm not just re-covering ground you've already
been over. =)

Thank you for your advice Hobbes. Electricmail.com doesn't seem to
provide what I need. If you could let me have contact details for the
shell admin service that you mentioned, this should answer my
question. $15 to $20 per month seems reasonable. Thanks.

Hi, nestormakhno.

Here's the contact info you requested.  http://www.whaddu.com
Take a look at the site.  They are a web/shell provider.  I asked the
admin about the smtp access you need, and he said "we should be able
to do that" and "tell em to contact us...".  Tell him that hobbes sent
you.

There ya go! =)  Hmm, they have a stupid 'contact' page.  I'll give
you his real email address instead. ;)  adamisp at whaddu`com.

Hope this helps.  .. I don't know how to post an answer, I think that
I'm not registered for that..  I'll look into it.

Hobbes is a leviathan.

I don't get it. ;P  Hmm, given my name, your use of the word must
carry more than just that I'm a big dumb beast.  Unfortunately, I
haven't read the work. =(

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=leviathan&r=67
Meanings one and two. Hobbes described the state as a
leviathan. Not necessarily pejorative, meant as a compliment.

Hobbes, your man from whaddu has replied to a mail, and all looks
good. You said:
"Hope this helps.  .. I don't know how to post an answer, I think that
I'm not registered for that..  I'll look into it." 
I would guess, although I am not sure, that I say the question is
answered, and tell Google to credit your credit card account (which
they have) with the $50. I
will do this when the first mail is sent. Thanks again for your help.
nestormakhno.

No, this don't work. Don't know how to answer a question.

Is this thing moderated or something?  I could have sworn that I made
a post here, but I don't see it now. ...

--Hobbes1220

The missing post said something to the effect of "Hi, Nestormakhno.  I
can't register as a Google Researcher at this time, but you can pay me
with PayPal (or similar service) if you really want to!"

.. Let's see if this post goes missing.  .. Maybe I just forgot to
click post on the previous one.  Dunno.  ;)

--Hobbes1220

You can send email to any server using ColdFusion MX, even if it
requires a username and password:

<cfmail from="me@myhouse.com" to="you@yourhouse.com" subject="Subject"
server="login:password@mail.3rdpartyserver.com">

</cfmail>

Got cut off there.

I was going to say that you can also provide CFMAIL with a
comma-seperated list of email servers in the format I provided, and it
will go down the list of servers until one accepts an email.  Good for
redundancy.

Just a bonus. :)

Seth