SMCS is structured as a common backend (server) and a family of messaging frontends, one frontend per foreign system. Frontends provide the direct interface with the proprietary system, while the backend server is responsible for services that are common to all other connectivity services. SMCS follows the "small footprint'" model for frontends: the frontend software is small and simple, requires little administration, and is not intrusive in the proprietary message system.
Specifically, the messaging frontend has the following responsibilities:
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Use the facilities of the proprietary system to submit and extract messages in their native format. |
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Use the facilities of the proprietary system to extract and update directory information. |
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Move messages and directory updates in their native format between the frontend and the backend server. |
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Expose the necessary administrative hooks so that the backend server can manage the frontends. It is especially important that the queuing between the frontend and backend be monitored for blockages and other problems, just as the server monitors its internal queues. |
The SMCS backend is responsible for:
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N-way mapping of message formats--This can become quite complex when the originating system has capabilities missing from the target. |
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Mapping recipient addresses--This is achieved by mapping native source recipient addresses into Internet domain form, then mapping back out to the destination native form. Mapping can be performed by rule (algorithmic translation), by table lookup, or a combination of rules and tables. |
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Routing messages to the destination, per the recipient addresses--In the initial release, SMCS will maintain its own router component, distinct from that in the IMTA. Since all routing is done per the directory, this will be invisible to the administrator. |
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Directory Synchronization--All proprietary systems maintain their own address books and user directories. SMCS is responsible for gathering these directories, merging them, resolving inconsistencies, and then exporting the master directory to the proprietary systems. |
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Mapping message content--For example, MIME, Microsoft Mail, and cc:Mail use different character sets for text, and different encoding formats for bitmaps. Other systems have limits on line length, or the maximum number of characters in a text body part. |
For more information on SMCS refer to the Sun Messaging Connectivity Services cc:Mail Channel Guide, the Sun Messaging Connectivity Services Microsoft Mail Channel Guide, or the Sun Messaging Connectivity Services PROFS Channel Guide.