Setting Channel Directionality

Keywords: master, slave, bidirectional

Three keywords are used to specify whether a channel is served by a master program (master), a slave program (slave), or both (bidirectional). The default, if none of these keywords are specified, is bidirectional. These keywords determine whether the MTA initiates delivery activity when a message is queued to the channel.

The use of these keywords reflects certain fundamental characteristics of the corresponding channel program or programs. The descriptions of the various channels the MTA supports indicate when and where these keywords should be used.