[svlug] Maximum outbound mail connections?

[Karsten M. Self]

Background:  I'm writing a few pieces on teergrubing, an anti-spam
defense.  The question isn't strictly GNU/Linux related, though the
GNU/Linux case is useful.

I'm curious as to the typical, high-end, and theoretical maximum number
of outbound mail connections which can be maintained by a server.  I'm
assuming a relatively standard network stack, e.g.:  GNU/Linux, BSD, or
legacy MS Windows, all of which I understand use the same fundamental
BSD stack anyway.

From my own experience with mailer configurations, typical outbound
concurrencies tend to be in the range of low double-digits -- say, 10 -
40 outbound.  And the network stack is limited to a maximum of 65,535
ports (right?).  So, a high-end mailserver would have how many outbound
connections?   I'm thinking specialized spamware here.

Clues appreciated.

Peace.

-- 
Karsten M. Self <kmself at ix.netcom.com>        http://kmself.home.netcom.com/
 What Part of "Gestalt" don't you understand?
    A few years ago you could buy a CD, knowing that it was a standard
    product... Now, you...find that you can play it in your hi-fi, but
    not in your car.  Next time, you're not going to make that mistake,
    you'll just log on to Kazaa and download an MP3.
    -- Pete Chown, on why DRM promotes piracy.
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