source: trunk/third/nmh/man/mh-mts.man @ 12455

.\"
.\" %nmhwarning%
.\" $Id: mh-mts.man,v 1.1.1.1 1999-02-07 18:14:20 danw Exp $
.\"
.\" include the -mh macro file
.so %etcdir%/tmac.h
.\"
.TH MH-MTS %manext8% MH.6.8 [%nmhversion%]
.SH NAME
mh-mts \- the nmh interface to the message transport system
.SH SYNOPSIS
.in +.5i
.ti -.5i
SendMail

.ti .5i
Zmailer

.ti .5i
MMDF (any release)

.ti .5i
stand\-alone
.in -.5i
.SH DESCRIPTION
THIS IS OUT OF DATE AND NEEDS REWORKING.

\fInmh\fR can use a wide range of message transport systems to deliver
mail.  Although the \fInmh\fR administrator usually doesn't get to choose
which MTS to use (since it's already in place), this document briefly
describes the interfaces.

When communicating with \fISendMail\fR, \fInmh\fR always uses the SMTP to
post mail.  Depending on the \fInmh\fR configuration, \fISendMail\fR may
be invoked directly (via a \fIfork\fR and an \fIexec\fR), or \fInmh\fR
may open a TCP/IP connection to the SMTP server on the localhost.

When communicating with \fIzmailer\fP, the \fISendMail\fP compatibility
program is required to be installed in /usr/lib.  \fInmh\fP communicates
with \fIzmailer\fP by using the SMTP.  It does this by invoking the
\fB/usr/lib/sendmail\fP compatibility program directly, with the
`\-bs' option.

When communicating with \fIMMDF\fR, normally \fInmh\fR uses the
\*(lqmm\(ru\*(rq routines to post mail.  However, depending on the
\fInmh\fR configuration, \fInmh\fR instead may open a TCP/IP connection
to the SMTP server on the localhost.

If you are running a UNIX system with TCP/IP networking, then it is
felt that the best interface is achieved by using either \fISendMail\fR
or \fIMMDF\fR with the SMTP option.  This gives greater flexibility.
To enable this option you append the /smtp suffix to the mts option
in the \fInmh\fR configuration.  This yields two primary advantages:
First, you don't have to know where \fIsubmit\fR or \fISendMail\fR live.
This means that \fInmh\fR binaries (e.g., \fIpost\fR\0) don't have to have
this information hard\-coded, or can run different programs altogether;
and, second, you can post mail with the server on different systems, so
you don't need either \fIMMDF\fR or \fISendMail\fR on your local host.
Big win in conserving cycles and disk space.  Since \fInmh\fR supports
the notion of a server search\-list in this respect, this approach can
be tolerant of faults.  Be sure to set \*(lqservers:\*(rq as described
in mh\-tailor(8) if you use this option.

There are four disadvantages to using the SMTP option: First, only UNIX
systems with TCP/IP are supported.  Second, you need to have an SMTP
server running somewhere on any network your local host can reach.
Third, this bypasses any authentication mechanisms in \fIMMDF\fR
or \fISendMail\fR.  Fourth, the file \fB/etc/hosts\fR is used for
hostname lookups (although there is an exception file).  In response
to these disadvantages though: First, there's got to be an SMTP server
somewhere around if you're in the Internet or have a local network.
Since the server search\-list is very general, a wide\-range of options
are possible.  Second, SMTP should be fixed to have authentication
mechanisms in it, like POP.  Third, \fInmh\fR won't choke on mail to
hosts whose official names it can't verify, it'll just plug along (and
besides if you enable the DUMB configuration options, \fInmh\fR
ignores the hosts file altogether).
.Fi
^%etcdir%/mts.conf~^nmh mts configuration file
.Pr
None
.Sa
\fIMMDF\-II: A Technical Review\fR,
Proceedings, Usenix Summer '84 Conference
.br
\fISENDMAIL \-\- An Internetwork Mail Router\fR
.br
mh\-tailor(8), post(8)
.De
None
.Co
None
.Bu
The %etcdir%/mts.conf file ignores the information in the \fIMMDF\-II\fR
tailoring file.
.En