16.4 LMTP Overview

For the most part, the MTA itself can be basically absent from the back end server. The only necessary MTA components are:

• The dispatcher

• libimta

• The LMTP server

• The imta.cnf file

• The mappings file

• The imta.tailor file

While the dispatcher requires MTA configuration files, these files can be very short. The dispatcher must run on the back end server so that it can start the LMTP servers which run under it. Because the dispatcher and the LMTP server use various functions of libimta, this needs to be present on the back end server as well.

The LMTP server does not perform any of the usual MTA enqueuing or dequeuing functions, header processing, or address translations. The relay system performs all the manipulation of the content of the messages and addresses which then presents to the LMTP server the message in exactly the form to be delivered to the message store and with the delivery address already in the form required by the store. Additional recipient information that is usually available as a message is delivered to the store, such as the user’s quota, is presented along with the recipient address as LMTP parameters. Should a delivery attempt fail, the message is left enqueued in the LMTP queue on the relay system.