Configuring Channels

To Create a Channel  

120  

To Delete A Channel  

121  

To Access Channels Property Book  

121  

To Configure A Channel Description  

122  

To Configure a Router Host  

123  

To Configure Character Set Labels  

124  

Message Limitation  

125  

Delivery Status Notification  

126  

To Configure Failed Delivery Reports to the Postmaster  

127  

Diagnostics Output  

128  

Performance Tuning  

129  

Message Logging  

130  

Reassembling MIME Messages  

131  

Rewrite Rules  

132  

Monitoring Channel Queues  

135  

Viewing Enqueued Messages  

138  

This section describes how to configure channel attributes. The IMTA supplied with the SIMS Enterprise Edition includes the following configurable channels:

Internet SMTP channel
Intranet SMTP channel
Router SMTP channel
Sun Message Store channel
/var/mail channel
Pipe channel

Note that the number of SMTP channels will depend on the mail server's position versus the internet. With the Sun Messaging Connectivity Package installed, you also get these channels:

cc:Mail channel
PROFS channel
Microsoft Mail channel

This section only describes configuring non-connectivity channels. See the Sun Messaging Connectivity Services Channel Guides for connectivity channel information.

Note - SIMS does not support the configuration of the UNIX to UNIX Copy Program (UUCP) channel using the Admin Console. You can configure the UUCP channel by editing the imta.cnf file. For more information on imta.cnf, refer to the SIMS Reference Manual.

TABLE 4-2 summarizes the configurable attributes of these channels, specifically which channels each attribute applies to.

TABLE  4-2   Configuring Non-Connectivity Channels  
Configurable Aspect
 Channel Applies To
 Description

Channel description  

Applies to all channels  

You can generate a description of a channel for administrative purposes only.  

Router  

Applies only to SMTP router channels  

In the event that an IMTA cannot resolve a particular message address, you must configure a host to which the IMTA can route the message.  

Character set labels  

All channels  

Determines the label for 7-bit character sets and for 8-bit character sets to be used in plain text messages.  

Message Limitation  

Some attributes apply to SMTP channels only  

Determines how the channels handle large messages and messages with many recipients.  

Delivery Status Notification  

Applies to all channels  

Determines how a channel handles the messages that warn of or return undelivered mail.  

Report Problems to Postmaster  

Applies to all channels  

Determines how a channel handles the sending of warning messages to the postmaster.  

Diagnostics Output  

Applies to all channels  

Determines whether a channel produces diagnostic output for its master program, slave program, or both.  

Performance Tuning  

Applies to all channels  

Determines how the IMTA delivers messages and defers the processing of messages, thereby tuning its performance.  

Logging  

Applies to all channels  

When selected, provides logging information to the global log.  

Multiple Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Fragmentation  

Applies to Sun Internet Mail Server - Enterprise Edition only. Further applies to Sun Message Store, /var/mail, and pipe channels only.  

You can enable a channel to reassemble message fragments into one message upon receipt.  

Rewrite rules  

Applies to all channels  

You can add a new rewrite rule to an existing or newly created channel, or delete or modify an existing rewrite rule.  


 

To Create a Channel

If you have the Sun Internet Mail Server - Enterprise Edition, you can create additional channels. You can create channels of the type SMTP explicit router only through the Admin Console. No limitations exist for the overall number of channels that you can create and the number of a specific type of channel that you can create.



AdminConsole>IMTA>Create pulldown>Channel  

  1. In the Admin Console home page, click IMTA.
  2. In the IMTA property book, choose Channel from the Create menu.
  The Create Channel dialog box appears.
  3. Enter a name for your new channel.
  Valid entries include ASCII characters. A maximum of 40 characters is accepted.
  4. Click the Ok button.
 

FIGURE  4-10 New Channel Property Book

  5. Fill in the various sections and press OK
  Only two sections are mandatory at this time: Router and Message Limitation. Enter the Host to route to: field and change the Max. no. of recipients per msg field from 0 to whatever maximum number of recipients you wish to allow a single message to be sent by the IMTA. If you don't change this value, the channel will not work. The remaining fields can be entered at a later time. These fields are described in the remaining sections of this chapter.
  6. After the channel is created, you must configure rewrite rules for the new channel to process messages properly.
  Refer to "Configuring Channels" on page 118 and "Rewrite Rules" on page 132 for more information on rewrite rules and configuring the channel.

 

To Delete A Channel

If you have the Sun Internet Mail Server - Enterprise Edition, you can delete the router SMTP channel (explicit route) that you created.



AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>Selected pulldown>Delete Channel  

  1. In the IMTA property book, click Channels in the Sections list.
  The Channels section appears. This section displays a list of installed channels.
  2. Click the channel that you want to delete.
  The channel you want to delete is highlighted.
  3. Choose Delete Channel from the Selected menu.
  Confirm that you want to delete the channel.
  4. Click the Yes button.
  The deleted channel name, type, and status are removed from the channel list.

 

To Access Channels Property Book



AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels  

  1. In the Admin Console home page, click the IMTA icon.
  2. In the Sections list, click Channels.
  The Channels section appears. This section displays a list of channels.
  3. Either click the desired channel in the list and then select Properties from the Selected menu, or double-click the desired channel in the list.
  The channel property book appears, as shown in FIGURE 4-11.

FIGURE  4-11 Sample Channel Property Book


 

To Configure A Channel Description

By default, the IMTA generates a channel description. You can update this description with any desired notes or details. This description is for administrative purposes only and does not affect the configuration of the channel.



AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>desired channel description>Selected Menu>Properties  

  1. Click Channel Description from the Sections list of the channel property book.
 

FIGURE  4-12 Channel Description Section

  2. Update the text description of the channel with up to 256 characters.
  3. Click the Apply button.

 

To Configure a Router Host

Note - This section applies to SMTP router channels only. See "SMTP Channels" on page 10.

In order to route messages to a particular domain, the IMTA may rely on the DNS and deliver mail through the SMTP intranet/SMTP internet channels. An alternative is to specify the domain host to which to route mail. The messages are then delivered through an SMTP router channel

Note that if the IMTA is not connected to the internet, mail to all external domains is forwarded to a smart host by the default SMTP router channel. The smart host is the host to route to for the default SMTP router channel.



AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>selected channel>Selected Menu>Properties>Router  

  1. From the Sections list of the Channel property book, click Router.
 

FIGURE  4-13 Router Section

  2. Type the host name of the IMTA that functions as a router using the following syntax:
  hostname.domain
  A sample host name is mailhost.eng.bravo.com.
  3. Type the port number through which the routed messages should enter.
  4. Click the Apply button.
  You are prompted to restart the IMTA.
  5. Click the Yes button.

 

To Configure Character Set Labels

The MIME standard provides a means of labeling or naming the character set used in a plain text message. The character set labels are inserted in the Content-type header of a message, indicating what type of characters are used in the message.

For more information on MIME, refer to "Message Content/MIME" on page 8.



AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>selected channel>Selected Menu>Properties  

  1. In the Sections list of the Channel property book, click Character Set Labels.
  To find out how to access the channel property book, see "To Access Channels Property Book" on page 121.
  The Character Set Labels section appears as shown in FIGURE 4-14.

FIGURE  4-14 Select Character Set Section

  2. Use the menus to specify a label for the 7-bit character set and for the 8-bit character set.
  3. Click the Apply button.
  A dialog box appears prompting you to restart the IMTA. click Yes.


Copyright © 1999 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.