email routing

24 Apr 2009 6:45 PM

Roger Fink

Not a W2K problem, or a problem at all - just an interesting situation, and
surprising, to me at least.

I'm in the process of switching ISPs, from Verizon to Comcast. I have email
accounts with both. Currently they are both active, so I can connect either
modem, one at a time, by broadband cable to the broadband plug on the
computer and switch ISPs (reboot required).

What seems strange is that I'm now on ComCast but I can send an email to
myself from my Verizon email account to my Verizon email subaccount. Since
at this moment there is no active outgoing or incoming Verizon server, how
can this be?

24 Apr 2009 6:52 PM

Pegasus [MVP]

Show quote Hide quote

"Roger Fink" <f***@manana.org> wrote in message
news:e2au7yQxJHA.3364@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Not a W2K problem, or a problem at all - just an interesting situation,
> and
> surprising, to me at least.
>
> I'm in the process of switching ISPs, from Verizon to Comcast. I have
> email
> accounts with both. Currently they are both active, so I can connect
> either
> modem, one at a time, by broadband cable to the broadband plug on the
> computer and switch ISPs (reboot required).
>
> What seems strange is that I'm now on ComCast but I can send an email to
> myself from my Verizon email account to my Verizon email subaccount. Since
> at this moment there is no active outgoing or incoming Verizon server, how
> can this be?

Perhaps because you're using the ComCast SMTP server. You should examine the
Internet Headers of the puzzling EMail - they tell you exactly which servers
were involved in its transport.

25 Apr 2009 2:27 AM

Roger Fink

Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
Show quoteHide quote

> "Roger Fink" <f***@manana.org> wrote in message
> news:e2au7yQxJHA.3364@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> Not a W2K problem, or a problem at all - just an interesting
>> situation, and
>> surprising, to me at least.
>>
>> I'm in the process of switching ISPs, from Verizon to Comcast. I have
>> email
>> accounts with both. Currently they are both active, so I can connect
>> either
>> modem, one at a time, by broadband cable to the broadband plug on the
>> computer and switch ISPs (reboot required).
>>
>> What seems strange is that I'm now on ComCast but I can send an
>> email to myself from my Verizon email account to my Verizon email
>> subaccount. Since at this moment there is no active outgoing or
>> incoming Verizon server, how can this be?
>
> Perhaps because you're using the ComCast SMTP server. You should
> examine the Internet Headers of the puzzling EMail - they tell you
> exactly which servers were involved in its transport.

I assume you are referring to the expanded email headers (in Thunderbird).
They aren't really identifying any mail servers that I can pick up, but in
any case, with only a connection to the Comcast i/o mail servers in use it
seems apparent that the message has to be routed through them irrespective
of the email addresses.

28 Apr 2009 3:28 AM

Greg Russell

"Roger Fink" <f***@manana.org> wrote in message
news:e2au7yQxJHA.3364@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> I'm in the process of switching ISPs, from Verizon to Comcast. I have
email
> accounts with both. Currently they are both active, so I can connect
either
> modem, one at a time, by broadband cable to the broadband plug on the
> computer and switch ISPs (reboot required).

Why not just disable the network connection, then enable it to pick up the
new DHCP configuration? A reboot is only required for those with no
knowledge of how a computer works, but there are far too many of them.

> What seems strange is that I'm now on ComCast but I can send an email to
> myself from my Verizon email account to my Verizon email subaccount. Since
> at this moment there is no active outgoing or incoming Verizon server, how
> can this be?

It's called "Authentication." You authenticate your use of the Verizon SMTP
server by supplying your username and password, and the Verizon SMTP server
then "relays" your email, regardless of your source IP address.

7 May 2009 3:28 AM

Roger Fink

>
> Why not just disable the network connection, then enable it to pick
> up the new DHCP configuration? A reboot is only required for those
> with no knowledge of how a computer works, but there are far too many
> of them.
>

Yes, something should be done about us.