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Prior to running the PMDF-MR configuration utility you must have installed PMDF-MTA with PMDF-MR support and have configured PMDF-MTA. Refer to Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 if you have not already installed and configured PMDF.
Unless you will be using PMDF-MR as a Message Router Transfer Service
replacement, obviating the need for Message Router itself, you must
also have Message Router V3.1 or later installed, configured, and
running; and if you are using Message Router, you should be familiar
with the Message Router management utility, MRMAN, as you
will need to run MRMAN to create your PMDF-MR gateway
mailbox and to gather a small amount of information about your Message
Router environment. In particular, the PMDF CONFIGURE MR
utility will ask about "null routes"; these are any names
that show up with an empty "Replace=" entry when
the MRMAN command SHOW * is issued.
15.1.1 PMDF-MR Gateway Naming
The PMDF-MR Message Router gateway works by accepting messages that
come into PMDF that PMDF decides should be routed to the PMDF-MR
gateway. This routing decision is based on the host name portion of the
address presented to PMDF by the message. In order for PMDF to know
that a message is destined for Message Router or for a Message Router
agent, the message must appear to be addressed to a special host name.
That host name is the name of the gateway. This name is generally
not the same as your computer's host name or your PMDF
official host name. The gateway name is something new that will look to
the rest of your network like a new host name which can receive mail
only if mail for the new host is directed to the host running PMDF and
PMDF-MR.
On the Internet routing through a host to another host name is done using the Mail Exchanger, or MX, record facility of the Domain Name System. If the Domain Name System is not being used, you can get the same effect by putting the gateway name into your TCP/IP host tables as a synonym for the host name of the machine running the gateway.
For example, if NAPLES.EXAMPLE.COM is running PMDF and PMDF-MR, the Message Router gateway is given a name like MR.EXAMPLE.COM. With proper MX or host table entries, mail from the rest of the network can be sent to
mr-destination@MR.EXAMPLE.COM |
Other networks might require that addresses explicitly route a message first to the host running the gateway and then to the gateway itself. Again, using NAPLES.EXAMPLE.COM as the machine running the gateway, and MR.EXAMPLE.COM as the gateway name, such explicit routing would look like:
mr-destination%MR.EXAMPLE.COM@NAPLES.EXAMPLE.COM |
15.1.2 Mailbox Names Within Message Router
Addresses are further complicated by the fact that Message Router
requires explicit routing to a mailbox once the message passes through
the gateway. For example, A1 is commonly used as the Message Router
mailbox name for ALL-IN-1. In order to reach user FRED's ALL-IN-1
account, the message must be addressed to the gateway and then to the
A1 mailbox within Message Router, and finally to Fred.
In the case where the gateway is visible to the rest of the network as MR.EXAMPLE.COM, FRED's address would look like:
FRED%A1@MR.EXAMPLE.COM |
FRED%A1%MR.EXAMPLE.COM@NAPLES.EXAMPLE.COM |
15.1.3 Simplifying Message Router Addresses
You should strive to avoid requiring that users, especially those
outside of your immediate environment who are likely to know little or
nothing about Message Router, explicitly specify message routing in
their addresses. PMDF-MR allows additional domain names to be defined
at the PMDF level so that all this routing can be hidden. The PMDF-MR
configuration utility gives you the opportunity to define a separate
domain name for any mailbox on your Message Router network.
Following our example with EXAMPLE, an additional domain name, A1.EXAMPLE.COM can easily be defined to hide routing to the A1 mailbox. FRED's address would then be simply:
FRED@A1.EXAMPLE.COM |
Remember that routing of messages can only be hidden if machines on the rest of the network can hand mail to what they think is a machine called A1.EXAMPLE.COM and have it actually be processed transparently through NAPLES.EXAMPLE.COM (the gateway to Message Router). This will require an additional MX record or host table entry for each domain name you create for a Message Router component.
Process Software recommends that you create a domain name and corresponding MX record (if you use a Domain Name Server) for each MAILbus User Agent and/or Gateway that you have in your Message Router network. Doing so provides each such user community with a separate domain name. This greatly simplifies addressing, routing, and user training by providing simple, consistent addresses that conform to the RFC 822 standard. In addition, by providing domain names for each of your MAILbus facilities, you can avoid the need for users outside of Message Router to specify explicit routing in addresses they use to reach users within the Message Router environment. |
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