Every organization needs to plan and implement SIMS administration procedures that are customized to their individual situation. This chapter provides some guidelines about how to think about SIMS administration. It is not meant to a complete step-by-step planning guide, but may be useful in determining how to approach the problem of administering your mail system.

At this point in your installation process we assume you have completed the planning and architectural design of your email system. We assume that you have decided on an architecture--how many and what type of servers you will need to support your email needs--and how those systems will be connected and configured. See the SIMS Concepts Guide for information on various email architectures and topologies.

The SIMS administration tasks are divided into three categories:

Defining SIMS Operational Processes and Procedures.

Going from installation to getting on-line.

On-going SIMS administration procedures.

The following sections list some major tasks with references to further information.

Defining SIMS Operational Processes and Procedures

These tasks consists of processes to plan and consider before actual implementation.

Define an initial user provisioning plan. How to migrate your current email users into the SIMS directory? How to migrate existing mailboxes into the Sun Message Store?

SIMS Provisioning Guide.

SIMS Reference Manual, Chapter3, Directory Information Tree and Schema.

Chapter 3, User/Group Management".

"Migrating Mailboxes from /var/mail to SIMS" on page 315.

Define a daily provisioning process--how will new users, groups, and hosted domains be added, modified, and removed.

SIMS Provisioning Guide.

SIMS Reference Manual: Chapter 3, Directory Information Tree and Schema.

Chapter 3, User/Group Management.

Chapter 4, Hosted Domains.

Define a directory backup plan.

Sun Directory Services documentation (http://docs.sun.com:80/ab2/coll.297.1/@Ab2CollToc?subject=sysadmin).

Netscape Directory Services documentation (http://home.netscape.com/eng/server/directory/).

Define a message store backup plan.

"Message Store Backup and Restore" on page 237.

Define a system monitoring plan.

"SIMS Monitoring Plan" on page 261.

Define your LDAP directory design. That is, what are the names of the domains that you will support and how will they be reflected in the directory information tree. (Generally the DIT follows the DNS structure.)

SIMS Reference Manual, Chapter3, Directory Information Tree and Schema.

Chapter 4, Hosted Domains

From Installation to Going On-line

These tasks are performed after SIMS is installed on your machines.

Initial Configuration

These are tasks for configuring your system for pilot test. The pilot set up should consist of a subset of your SIMS system.

Configure and connect your servers. This includes proxy servers, Message Stores servers, SMTP internal and internet relays, Delegated Administrator servers, regular SIMS servers, LDAP servers, DNS servers, and so on.

Chapter 5, Internet Message Transport Agent (IMTA) Administration

Chapter 6, IMTA Security and Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE) Handling

Chapter 7, Message Store Administration.

Appendix A, Configuring SIMS as a Proxy Message Access Server.

SIMS Reference Manual.

Setup directory service configuration. Configure directory information tree. Set masters and replicas.

SIMS Reference Manual, Chapter3, Directory Information Tree and Schema.

Chapter 4, Hosted Domains.

SIMS Provisioning Guide.

Sun Directory Services documentation (http://docs.sun.com:80/ab2/coll.297.1/@Ab2CollToc?subject=sysadmin).

Netscape Directory Services documentation (http://home.netscape.com/eng/server/directory/).

Test pilot setup.

Full Configuration

These tasks are for configuring your system prior to going on-line. This setup should be as close to your on-line setup as possible.

Configure and create IMTA channels as necessary.

SIMS Reference Manual, Chapter 2, IMTA Configuration.

Chapter 5, Internet Message Transport Agent (IMTA) Administration.

Chapter 6, IMTA Security and Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE) Handling.

Set user quotas.

"Message Store Quotas" on page 162.

Set up SSL and Certificate Authority program.

"Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Support in SIMS" on page 215.

Configure security and unsolicited bulk email (UBE) handling.

Chapter 6, IMTA Security and Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE) Handling.

Chapter 5, Internet Message Transport Agent (IMTA) Administration.

Test full configuration setup.

Preparing for Deployment

For documentation references see "Defining SIMS Operational Processes and Procedures" on page 1.

Migrate and install users and groups.

Migrate mailboxes.

Going Live

Instruct users about any procedural and configuration changes they need to make due to SIMS installation.

Do the clients need to point to a new POP/IMAP server?

Do users need to enter +domainname along with their login uid?

Instruct users on how to change passwords and set vacation messages. Instruct delegated administrator on how to add and delete users.

SIMS Delegated Management Guide.

Ongoing SIMS Administration

Most of these are tasks were planned in "Defining SIMS Operational Processes and Procedures" on page 1. See the documentation references in this section.

Adding, modifying, and removing users and groups.

Adding, modifying, and removing hosted domains.

Message purge and folder check schedule.

"Message Purge" on page 172.

Message store backup schedule.

Monitoring policy and procedures.

Setup directory backup schedule.

"SIMS Periodic Maintenance Procedures" on page 231.

"SIMS Troubleshooting" on page 269.

SIMS Quick Task and Reference List

TABLE 1-1, "SIMS Admin Console Task List" on page 5

TABLE 1-2, "User Manager Tasks" on page 6

TABLE 1-3, "Hosted Domain Tasks" on page 6

TABLE 1-4, "General IMTA Tasks" on page 7

TABLE 1-5, "IMTA Channel Tasks" on page 8

TABLE 1-6, "IMTA Security and Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE) Handling Tasks" on page 9

TABLE 1-7, "General Message Store/Message Access Tasks" on page 10

TABLE 1-8, "Directory Service Tasks" on page 11

TABLE 1-9, "Populating SIMS with Users and Mailboxes" on page 12

TABLE 1-10, "SIMS Monitoring and Logging Tasks" on page 12

TABLE 1-11, "Unclassified SIMS Topics and Tasks" on page 12

TABLE  1-1   SIMS Admin Console Task List  

Task	CLI/GUI/Configuration File Parameter Interface	Page
To Start the SIMS Admin Console	On Netscape 4.06 or greater. http://<machine-name>/sims/ Note: Must modify .preferences file.	15
Creating SIMS Administrators	imadmin-add-admin	19
Viewing SIMS Administrators	imadmin-search-admin	20
Removing SIMS Administrator Privileges	imadmin-remove-admin	20
To Stop SIMS Components	/etc/init.d/im.server stop AdminConsole>SIMS Console>Stop all	21
To Start SIMS Components	/etc/init.d/im.server start AdminConsole>SIMS Console>Start all	21
To Log Out of the Administration Console	AdminConsole>SIMS Console>Logout	21
To Access SIMS Version Information	AdminConsole>SIMS Console>About SIMS	22
Troubleshooting the Admin Console	See the full text.	270
Troubleshooting the Administration Server	See the full text.	271

TABLE  1-2   User Manager Tasks¹  

Topic/Task	Description	Page
To Create a User Entry	imadmin-add-user AdminConsole>User Manager>Select Domain>Create pulldown>User	28
To Create a Group Entry	imadmin-add-group AdminConsole>User Manager>Create pulldown>Group	33
View a Domain	AdminConsole>User Manager>Choose Domain to Browse	38
To Find and View User/Group Entries	imadmin-search-user/group AdminConsole>User Manager>Highlight People or Groups>Find	38
To Delete a User or Group Entry from the Directory	imadmin-delete-user/group, imadmin-purge-user/group AdminConsole>User Manager>Highlight user>Selected Delete	41
To Modify a User Entry	imadmin-modify-user AdminConsole>User Manager>Display & double click the user entry	41
To Modify a Group Entry	imadmin-modify-group AdminConsole>User Manager>Display & double click Group Entry	49

1 See also the SIMS Provisioning Guide.

TABLE  1-3   Hosted Domain Tasks¹  

Topic/Task	Description	Page
Mail Client Login to Hosted Domains	Default domain: uid Non-default domain: uid+domain	62
Changing the Default Separator	See the full text.	62
Allowing Users in Subdomains to Log In Using the Domain Name	See the full text.	62
To Create an Hosted Domain	imadmin-create-domain AdminConsole>User Manager>Create pulldown>Domain	64
To Create Hosted Domain Alias	imadmin-add-alias, imadmin-delete-alias & imadmin-modify-alias	66
To Delete a Hosted Domain	imadmin-delete-domain & imadmin-purge-domain AdminConsole>User Manager>Selected domain >Selected-Delete	66
Modifying a Hosted Domain	See the full text.	67
To Set Up the System So that Users Can Log in Without Entering their Domain Name	See the full text.	67
Creating Delegated Administrators	Create a user then use imadmin-add-admin	71
Viewing Delegated Administrators	imadmin-search-admin	72
Removing Delegated Administrator Privileges	imadmin-remove-admin	72
Creating Domain Postmaster Mailboxes	See the full text.	72
Delegated Management Console Customization	See the full text.	73

1 See also the SIMS Provisioning Guide.

TABLE  1-4   General IMTA Tasks  

Topic/Task	Description	Page
To Stop And Start the IMTA	imta-start & imta-stop AdminConsole>IMTA>IMTA pulldown>Start IMTA	83
To Restart the IMTA	imta-restart AdminConsole>IMTA>IMTA pulldown>Restart IMTA	84
To BackUp and Restore the IMTA Configuration	AdminConsole>IMTA>IMTA pulldown>Save Current Config AdminConsole>IMTA>IMTA pulldown>Restore Def/Backup Config	84
To Monitor Channel Status	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels	85
To Make Delivery Programs Available to Users	imta-program	86
To Reconfigure the Alias Synchronization Schedule	imta-dirsync AdminConsole>IMTA>Full/Incremental Alias Synchronization	89
To Disable Full and Incremental Synchronization	AdminConsole>IMTA>Full/Incremental Alias Synchronization>Inactive	90
To Configure IMTA Position Relative to the Internet	AdminConsole>IMTA>Position Vs. Internet	91
To Configure Routability Scope	AdminConsole>IMTA>Routability Scope	93
Maintenance: Adjusting Post Job Frequency	See the full text.	232
Maintenance: Adjusting the Frequency of the Return Old Messages Program	See the full text.	232
Troubleshooting the IMTA	See the full text.	278

TABLE  1-5   IMTA Channel Tasks  

Topic/Task	Description	Page
To Create a Channel	AdminConsole>IMTA>Create pulldown>Channel	96
To Delete a Channel	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>Selected pulldown>Delete Channel	97
To Access a Channel's Property Book	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels	97
To Configure a Channel Description	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>desired channel description>Selected Menu>Properties	98
To Configure Routability Scope	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>selected channel>Selected Menu>Properties>Router	93
To Configure a Router Host	imta-dirsync AdminConsole>IMTA>Full/Incremental Alias Synchronization	99
To Configure Character Set Labels	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>selected channel>Selected Menu>Properties	100
To Configure Message Limitation	imadmin-modify-msglimits & imadmin-search-msglimits AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>selected channel>Selected Menu>Properties>Message Limitation	101
To Configure Delivery Status Notification	imadmin-modify-notary & imadmin-search-notary AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>selected channel>Selected Menu>Properties>Delivery Status Notification	102
To Change the Notary Message Locale	See the full text.	103
To Configure Report Failures to the Postmaster	imadmin-modify-postmaster & imadmin-search-postmaster AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>selected channel>Selected Menu>Properties>Report Problems to Postmaster	104
To Configure Diagnostics Output	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>selected channel>Selected Menu>Properties>Diagnostics Output	105
To Set Recipient Limitation	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>double-click channel>Properties>Performance Tuning	106
To Configure Message Logging	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>double-click channel>Properties>Logging	107
To Enable Reassembly of Message Fragments	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>double-click channel>Properties>MIME Fragmentation	109
To Add, Delete, or Modify a Rewrite Rule	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>double-click channel>Properties>Rewrite Rules	110
Monitoring Channel Queues	Utilities: imta-counters, immonitor-queue, SMTP command: xstra	112
To Monitor the IMTA Channel Queues on Admin Console	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>select channel>Selected pulldown>Monitor Queue	113
To Monitor the IMTA Channel Queues Using xsta	SMTP command: xsta	115
To View Messages Stored In the IMTA Channel Queues	AdminConsole>IMTA>Channels>selected channel>Selected Menu>Monitor Queue>Show Stored Message	116
DNS-based Canonicalization	See the full text.	118

TABLE  1-6   IMTA Security and Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE) Handling Tasks 

Topic/Task	Description	Page
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Support in SIMS	See the full text.	215
SMTP AUTH Configuration	See the full text.	140
SMTP Access Restrictions by IP Address and Port Number	See the full text.	124
SMTP Access Restrictions by Source and Destination Email Address	See the full text.	125
SMTP Access Restrictions by IP Address, Port, and Email Address	See the full text.	127
Limiting the Number of Recipients Per Message or the Number of Messages Per Session	See the full text.	127
DNS-based Email Access Control	See the full text.	128
Access and Relay Restrictions with the Admin Console	See the full text.	131
Optimizing Access and Relay Restrictions	See the full text.	138
Identifying the Source of Incoming SMTP Messages	See the full text.	143
Logging Messages Passing Through IMTA	See the full text.	143
Snapshot of Message Traffic Through IMTA	See the full text.	144
Imposing Message Size Limits	See the full text.	145
Message Priority Limits	See the full text.	145
Imposing Message Sensitivity Limits	See the full text.	145
Checking or Filtering Message Content	See the full text.	146
Separating External and Internal Message Traffic	See the full text.	147
Restricting SMTP Probe Commands	See the full text.	150
Removing Internal Names in Received Headers	See the full text.	151

TABLE  1-7   General Message Store/Message Access Tasks 

Topic/Task	Description	Page
Enabling APOP	apop	157
Enabling POP Before SMTP	popb4smtp	157
Message Store Support for Failover LDAP Hosts	See the full text.	157
To Back Up and Restore the Sun Message Store Configuration	AdminConsole>Sun Message Store Pulldown>Backup config	159
To Monitor Mail Store Space Usage and Settings	AdminConsole>Sun Message Store>General Options>Message Store Space Usage	160
To View Sun Message Store Paths	AdminConsole>Sun Message Store>General Options> Store Paths	161
Message Store Quotas	AdminConsole>User Manager>Dsiplay then double click the user entry>Mail Information	162
To Activate Message Store Quota Enforcement on an Installed System	See the full text.	163
To Set a User's Mail Store Quota	AdminConsole>User Manager>Display & double click the user entry	164
To Monitor User Quotas	imquotacheck -v	165
To Warn Users When Their Mail Store Usage Is Approaching Their Mail Store Quota	imquotacheck -f	166
Setting Soft Quotas	See the full text.	167
To Configure Advanced Options	AdminConsole>Sun Message Store>Advanced Options	170
To Configure Purge Options	AdminConsole>Sun Message Store>Purge Options	174
To Configure the Purge Schedule	AdminConsole>Sun Message Store>Schedule For Purging Deleted Messages	175
Message Access Protocol Connections	AdminConsole>Message Access	176
Sun Message Store Maintenance	See the full text.	234
Message Store Backup and Restore	imbackup & imrestore See the full text.	237
Message Store Data Check	imcheck	244
Importing /var/mail Users	imimportmbox (see also "Migrating Mailboxes from /var/mail to SIMS" on page 315)	245
Deleting Old Messages	imexpire	245
To Disable Automatic Quota Synchronization	See the full text.	246
Deleting the User	imadmin-delete-user	246
Troubleshooting the Message Store	See the full text.	274

TABLE  1-8   Directory Service Tasks 

Topic/Task	Description	Page
Sun Directory Services documentation	http://docs.sun.com:80/ab2/coll.297.1/@Ab2CollToc?subject=sysadmin
Netscape Directory Services documentation	http://home.netscape.com/eng/server/directory/
Specifying Current and Backup LDAP Servers for SIMS	imadmin-modify-currentldap & imadmin-add-ldapserver	180
Starting and Stopping the Sun Directory Services	# /etc/init.d/dsservd start # /etc/init.d/dsservd restart # /etc/init.d/dsservd stop	181
Viewing Sun Directory Services Configuration for SIMS	See the full text.	182
Troubleshooting the Directory Service	See the full text.	295

TABLE  1-9   Populating SIMS with Users and Mailboxes

Topic/Task	Description	Page
Populating the Directory	SIMS Provisioning Guide
Populating the Directory from NIS, NIS+, or /etc Files Entries	See the full text.	190
Populating the Directory with User Data--Sample Session	See the full text.	321
Populating the Directory with User Aliases Data and Distribution Lists --Sample Session	See the full text.	325
Migrating Mailboxes from /var/mail to SIMS	See the full text.	315

TABLE  1-10   SIMS Monitoring and Logging Tasks

Topic/Task	Description	Page
Logging Facilities	See the full text.	250
Message Store/Message Access Log Files	Log messages in /var/log/syslog and prefixed with SUNWmail.ims	250
Sun Directory Service Log Files	/var/opt/SUNWconn/ldap/log	251
IMTA Log Files	/var/opt/SUNWmail/imta/log	252
Identifying the Source of Incoming SMTP Messages	See the full text.	254
Logging Messages Passing Through the IMTA	See the full text.	254
Snapshots of Message Traffic through the IMTA	imta-counters (See the full text.)	257
SIMS Monitoring Plan	See the full text.	261

TABLE  1-11   Unclassified SIMS Topics and Tasks 

Topic/Task	Description	Page
Crash Recovery	See the full text.	297
Configuring SIMS as a Proxy Message Access Server	See the full text.	301