PMDF System Manager's Guide
PMDF-REF-6.0

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37.2.17 G3_TO_FAX channel

Outgoing FAX transmissions are handled by the G3_TO_FAX channel which acts as a driver for the FAX modem. E-mail messages presented to outgoing FAX channels are, at some point, converted to a G3 file by the PS_TO_G3 channel and then queued to the G3_TO_FAX channel for transmission. As the G3_TO_FAX channel is an ordinary (generic) PMDF channel, PMDF's store and forward capabilities are used to handle situations in which a FAX transmission cannot be effected immediately.

The master_debug channel keyword may be used with the G3_TO_FAX channel to produce debugging output in the message submission job's log file.

Currently, the DCE FaxBox/30, Fujitsu dexNET 200 (firmware version 1.9 or later), and selected Service Class 2 modems are the only FAX modems supported by this channel.

OpenVMS Note:

The G3_TO_FAX channel requires SYSLCK privilege. The G3_TO_FAX channel uses cluster-wide resource locks to control access to the G3 files it processes. By default, all PMDF processing jobs have SYSLCK privileges. If you have restricted the privileges available to PMDF processing jobs, then take the steps necessary to ensure that these jobs have SYSLCK privileges.

37.2.17.1 Previewing and editing G3 files

Note that G3 files are not plain text files. To inspect or edit the contents of a G3 file, use the PMDF G3 utility. See Chapter 30 for a description of the PMDF G3 utility.

37.2.17.2 Supported mapping tables

G3_TO_FAX channels support two special mapping tables which may be used to grant or deny permission for a FAX to be sent, and to alter a specified FAX telephone number. These two mapping tables are, respectively, the FAX_VALIDATE and FAX_NUMBER mappings. Familiarity with the mapping file is assumed in the following description of these mappings. Consult Chapter 5 for information on the location and use of the mapping file.

37.2.17.2.1 FAX_VALIDATE mapping table

The FAX_VALIDATE mapping table provides a simple mechanism to grant or deny permission to send a FAX based upon the name of the channel sending the FAX, the originator of the FAX, any authorization code they may have provided with the AUTH addressing attribute, and the telephone number to which the FAX is to be sent. For more sophisticated screening, use the FAX_VALIDATE shareable image hook described in Section 37.2.17.3 . Note that unlike that hook, the FAX_VALIDATE mapping may not be used to alter the FAX telephone number. Alterations may, however, be done with the FAX_NUMBER mapping described in Section 37.2.17.2.2 .

The left-hand side of each entry in the FAX_VALIDATE mapping table takes the form 

channel-name|from-address|auth|telephone-number
where channel-name is the name of the channel doing the check, from-address is the envelope From: address of the message's originator, auth is any authorization or access code specified with the AUTH addressing attribute, and telephone-number is the FAX telephone number to be dialed. Only the digits 0--9 should appear in the number.

The right-hand side of each entry should specify either $Y or $N. A $Y grants permission for the FAX to be sent; a $N denies permission. In the case of a $N, an optional text string giving a rejection message to be returned to the originator may also be specified as shown in Example 37-5 . If the mapping table lookup produces no result, then the FAX will be allowed to be sent. That is, only a result specifying $N will prevent the FAX from being sent.

In Example 37-5 below, there are five entries in the FAX_VALIDATE mapping table. In all of the entries, the channel name is considered immaterial and ignored. The first entry has the effect of allowing anyone from the innosoft.com domain to send a FAX anywhere. The second entry allows anyone to send a FAX anywhere provided that they specified "/AUTH=xyzzy/" in the FAX address when they addressed their message. The third entry allows anyone to send a FAX to any telephone number in the +1 909 area code while the fourth entry allows anyone to send a FAX to any seven digit telephone number which will presumably be a local call. The final entry rejects anything which was not permitted by any of the previous entries. In addition, it generated the rejection message "Non-local calls not permitted". The dollar signs in that message are required so as to "quote" the spaces in the string.

Example 37-5 FAX_VALIDATE mapping table 

FAX_VALIDATE 
 
  *|*@*innosoft.com|*|*        $Y 
  *|*|xyzzy|*                  $Y 
  *|*|*|1909*                  $Y 
  *|*|*|%%%%%%%                $Y 
  *|*|*|*                      $NNon-local$ calls$ not$ permitted

When both a FAX_VALIDATE image hook and mapping have been specified, the image hook will first be called. If it does not reject the FAX, then the mapping will next be applied. If a FAX_NUMBER mapping has also been supplied, then it will be applied after the FAX_VALIDATE mapping.

37.2.17.2.2 FAX_NUMBER mapping table

The FAX_NUMBER mapping table may be used to make simple changes to a FAX telephone number. For more sophisticated changes, use the FAX_VALIDATE shareable image hook described in Section 37.2.17.3 .

The left-hand side of each entry in the FAX_VALIDATE mapping table takes the form 

channel-name|device-name|auth|telephone-number
where channel-name is the name of the channel doing the mapping, device-name is the actual device name associated with the modem which will be used, auth is any authorization or access code specified with the AUTH addressing attribute, and telephone-number is the FAX telephone number to be dialed with all non-numeric characters removed.

The right-hand side of each entry should either specify $Y along with a new telephone number to use in place of telephone-number, or $N. When $N is specified or no matching entry is found, then telephone-number will be the number dialed.

Suppose that the modem on terminal line VAX$TXA6: uses a PBX line and requires that a "9,," be prefixed to the numbers to be dialed. The example below addresses this case. 

FAX_NUMBER 
 
  *|VAXA$TXA6:|*|*                 $Y9,,$2

The FAX_NUMBER mapping is always applied after any FAX_VALIDATE image or mapping.

37.2.17.3 Shareable image hooks

Sites may exercise two shareable image hooks: