Simple Fax Solution for Small Office?

I'm not sure where to ask this so I hope I'm not OT.

My friend has a title company with about 6 workstations. She was using a fax
server that depended on NT. The fax server's motherboard went bad so now
it's time to find another solution. She's looking for a very simple network
fax solution. She handles pdf files often and faxes out loan packages of
around 100 pages. She wants to get away from the NT server. I know she uses
Linux for her regular server. Any ideas for which software and hardware (if
necessary) to use? I'm know nothing about networking so I don't know how to
help her.

--
Warmest regards,

Stephen Horrillo, Realtor / C.Ht.
For MLS & Computer Training: http://www.BrokerAgentTraining.com
Realtors Earn Over 100% at EXIT: http://www.over100percent.com


Stephen Horrillo

"Stephen Horrillo" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:KRe0e.49753$(E-Mail Removed). ..
> I'm not sure where to ask this so I hope I'm not OT.
>
> My friend has a title company with about 6 workstations. She was using a
> fax
> server that depended on NT. The fax server's motherboard went bad so now
> it's time to find another solution. She's looking for a very simple
> network
> fax solution. She handles pdf files often and faxes out loan packages of
> around 100 pages. She wants to get away from the NT server. I know she
> uses
> Linux for her regular server. Any ideas for which software and hardware
> (if
> necessary) to use? I'm know nothing about networking so I don't know how
> to
> help her.
>
> --
> Warmest regards,
>
> Stephen Horrillo, Realtor / C.Ht.
> For MLS & Computer Training: http://www.BrokerAgentTraining.com
> Realtors Earn Over 100% at EXIT: http://www.over100percent.com

There's two solutions that I would recommend. The first one is called
ActiveFax and can be found at http://www.actfax.com. It is a client/server
solution, but the server does not have to be a high-powered machine running
a server OS, it can run on a 98/w2k/XP machine.

The other solution would be the NiN (net-inter-net) which can be found at
http://www.net-inter-net.co.uk. This is a linux-based server, but also runs
a file and print service as well as internet/intranet services

S

How about hylafax at www.hylafax.org ?

The linux server obviously needs a modem or ISDN device connected. There
are clients like Cypheus www.cypheus.de that allow faxing from
Microsoft clients on the network via the server. The server can be
configured to print, store or mail incoming faxes.


Paul

Stephen Horrillo wrote:
> I'm not sure where to ask this so I hope I'm not OT.
>
> My friend has a title company with about 6 workstations. She was
using a fax
> server that depended on NT. The fax server's motherboard went bad so
now
> it's time to find another solution. She's looking for a very simple
network
> fax solution. She handles pdf files often and faxes out loan packages
of
> around 100 pages. She wants to get away from the NT server. I know
she uses
> Linux for her regular server. Any ideas for which software and
hardware (if
> necessary) to use? I'm know nothing about networking so I don't know
how to
> help her.

Faxing is, by its nature, not necessarily easy ;-)

Sounds like she needs reliable, rock solid performance more than
"software for idiots". You get what you work for

That said, I _highly_ recommend HylaFAX running on Linux. You can DIY,
hire a local consultant to set it up and provide tech support, or
purchase commercial tech support. At the very least you can view the
documentation and try to set it up yourself, then decide if you need
outside help. Give yourself a week rather than trying to "make it
work" by setting it up on the weekend. Handles pdf/conversions pretty
well. Can be "integated" into a network running Samba for Windows
clients.

The primary things to look for:
-- fax/modem compatibility for Linux. Winmodems with software uart
emulation are very iffy. Good Linux support is improving, so you
should be able to find something to fit your needs (eg.,
multi-port/multi-line boards).

-- current fax clients and how they are used. Some are "speciality"
programs, some are print filters that allow other apps to "print a
fax", others are back-end conversion programs that are meant to be
"transparent" once set up. Is there (preferably) a way for current
usage to continue with HylaFAX or is there a close "replacement"?

-- decide if you want a dedicated fax server. It's much easier to use
an older dedicated machine than getting a spanking new, fully loaded,
does everything you ever imagined possible, box that provides every
imaginable network service. Combining fax and printing services would
be my personal limit. Neither should tax the capabilities of even 6-7
year old PCs.

-- familiarity and comfort with current Linux distro. Did it include
HylaFAX on install CD? Any quirks? Mandrake has a pretty long history
with HylaFAX. Not sure about Suse. I've installed/used it on Redhat
boxes (by hand).

Note that the options can be daunting if you're clueless about
networking and faxing. If you are a bit knowledgeable a "simple"
configuration is not really that difficult. Most set up problems are
likely to be hardware/driver related and unfamiliarity with diagnosing
"why doesn't it work" on your first attempt. Integrating network
printing may prove more of a challenge (or maybe not).

Look at these:
http://www.hylafax.org/ << primary site
http://www.hylafax.org/archive/2005-02/threads.html << mailing list
http://www.ifax.com/ << commercial tech support
http://www.real-time.com/linuxsolutions/faxserver.html

Use Google to get some other ideas/perspectives about using HylaFAX.

There are other Linux possibilities, but I've no real experience with
them in a fax server setup. Eg., mgetty+Sendfax:
http://www.webforum.de/mgetty-faq.html

hth,
prg

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 09:23:11 -0800, prg wrote:

> Faxing is, by its nature, not necessarily easy ;-)
>
> Sounds like she needs reliable, rock solid performance more than
> "software for idiots". You get what you work for
>
> That said, I _highly_ recommend HylaFAX running on Linux. You can DIY,
> hire a local consultant to set it up and provide tech support, or
> purchase commercial tech support. At the very least you can view the
> documentation and try to set it up yourself, then decide if you need
> outside help. Give yourself a week rather than trying to "make it
> work" by setting it up on the weekend. Handles pdf/conversions pretty
> well. Can be "integated" into a network running Samba for Windows
> clients.

I second the Hylafax route. Hylafax is a bear to set up, but once set up,
it is absolutely rock solid. I've been running the same hylafax
implementation, untouched, for about 3 years. Before that, I was running
Zetafax (a Win NT fax server) that needed major tweaking about every 6
months.

Hylafax now has a commercial support arm, http://www.ifax.com (I think) so
if the mailing list is not sufficient, you can pay for support.

From my experience, Zetafax tech support was far less knowledgeable than
the expertise on the hylafax mailing list....

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