Purpose of This Manual

This manual describes the structure, configuration, and use of PMDF. The intended audience is system managers who want to become familiar with how PMDF operates. In particular, this document describes many customizable parts of PMDF that can be altered to adapt PMDF to a particular environment. The reader is assumed to be quite familiar with networking concepts and the operating system on which PMDF is to be installed.

This manual does not provide a description of PMDF suitable for end users; end users should refer to the appropriate edition of the PMDF User's Guide.

Overview of This Manual

This guide is a long and technical document. If you are new to PMDF, you should skim the entire document, skipping the discussion in Part 4 of those PMDF layered products which you will not be installing, as well as the channels described in Chapters 17--26 for which you do not have any use. Once you are somewhat familiar with PMDF you can then perform the installation described in the appropriate edition of the PMDF Installation Guide, referring back to this manual as needed.

PMDF is a large and complex package capable of being configured to meet almost any task. If your site is typical of most, the initial configuration generated by the configuration utilities will suffice to get you up and running in a minimal amount of time. After you have an initial configuration, study it and use it as an example as you read the following chapters. As you become comfortable with PMDF, you will find that you want to make changes here and there, modify the behavior of some channels, or even add additional channels to your configuration. Or perhaps you will want to set up some databases, or implement a centralized naming system. By all means do so.¹ PMDF, as you will find, has quite a few knobs and switches which you can manipulate and more often than not you will discover that there are not one but several means of dealing with a given issue. If anything, PMDF is too flexible.

This manual consists of four volumes, together comprising forty-two chapters:

Chapter 1, Structure and Overview, describes the overall structure of PMDF and the components which together form PMDF.
Chapter 2, The Configuration File: Domain Rewrite Rules & the Channel/Host Table, describes the PMDF configuration file, including domain rewriting rules and the channel/host table, channel definitions, and the available channel keywords.
Chapter 3, Aliases, Forwarding, and Centralized Naming, describes the alias file and database, and other means of changing addresses, forwarding mail, and establishing centralized naming schemes, including the directory channel.
Chapter 4, Mailing Lists and MAILSERV, describes mailing lists. It also describes automated message processing via the MAILSERV channel.
Chapter 5, The Mapping File, describes the mapping file.
Chapter 6, Character Set Conversions and Message Reformatting , describes internal message reformatting conversions.
Chapter 7, The PMDF Option File, describes the PMDF option file.
Chapter 8, Maintaining the Configuration, describes how to compile your PMDF configuration information so as to decrease the time required for processing jobs to load configuration information. It also discusses restarting PMDF components after PMDF configuration changes.
Chapter 9, The PMDF Process Symbiont (OpenVMS), describes the PMDF Process Symbiont which is used to schedule and execute PMDF processing jobs through the OpenVMS queuing system.
Chapter 10, The PMDF Job Controller (UNIX and Windows), describes the PMDF Job Controller which is used to control PMDF processing jobs on UNIX and NT.
Chapter 11, The PMDF Multithreaded Service Dispatcher, describes the PMDF Service Dispatcher which is used to oversee the handling of multithreaded services such as the POP3, IMAP, and SMTP services.
Chapter 12, The PMDF HTTP Server, describes some miscellaneous Dispatcher services, including the PMDF HTTP server which is used to serve out PMDF documentation and monitoring information.
Chapter 13, POP and IMAP Mailbox Servers, documents the mailbox servers (POP and IMAP servers) supplied with PMDF.
Chapter 14, Connection Authentication, SASL, and Password Management, describes connection authentication and password management.
Chapter 15, PMDF-TLS: Transport Layer Security, describes the optional layered product PMDF-TLS. In this chapter configuration and usage instructions are given for PMDF-TLS. PMDF-TLS provides for using Transport Layer Security to provide data encryption and integrity checking.
Chapter 16, Mail Filtering and Access Control, describes filtering of unwanted e-mail.
Chapter 17, The UNIX Local Channel, describes the local channel on UNIX systems, the single most important PMDF channel which is used by all PMDF configurations on UNIX. The UNIX Edition of the PMDF User's Guide provides documentation suitable for end users.
<REFERENCE>(CHAPTER_NTLOCAL\FULL), gives an overview of the local channel (normally the msgstore channel) on NT systems, a channel which is used by all PMDF configurations on NT. Complete information on the msgstore channel may be found in the PMDF popstore & MessageStore Manager's Guide.
Chapter 18, The Local, DECnet MAIL, and General MAIL_ Channels (OpenVMS), describes the local channel on OpenVMS systems, the single most important PMDF channel which is used by all PMDF configurations on OpenVMS. This chapter also describes MAIL-11 over DECnet (called DECnet MAIL in this document) channels.
Chapter 19, The PMDF User Interface on OpenVMS, decribes the PMDF interface presented to OpenVMS users. The OpenVMS Edition of the PMDF User's Guide provides documentation suitable for OpenVMS end users.
<REFERENCE>(CHAPTER_FORMS\FULL), describes the pop-up addressing forms which may be used to address FAXes, and query LDAP/X.500 and CCSO/ph/qi directory databases from within VMS MAIL, PMDF MAIL, and DECwindows MAIL.
Chapters 20--26 describe how to configure various additional PMDF channels.
Chapter 20, DECnet Channels (OpenVMS and Tru64 UNIX), describes two PMDF channels that run over DECnet transport:
+ SMTP over task-to-task DECnet (OpenVMS only), and
+ PhoneNet over task-to-task DECnet (OpenVMS only).
Chapter 21, TCP/IP Channels, describes one of the most important sorts of PMDF channel, SMTP over TCP/IP channels.
Chapter 22, Message Manipulation Channels, describes the Script and Conversion channels, which may be used to perform arbitrary manipulations on messages, such as virus and spam filtering.
Chapter 23, BSMTP Channels: MTA to MTA Tunnelling, describes Batch SMTP channels that can be used for MTA to MTA tunnelling.
Chapter 24, PhoneNet Channels (OpenVMS and UNIX), describes PhoneNet channels using the PhoneNet protocol over asynchronous terminal lines or modems.
Chapter 25, UUCP Channels (OpenVMS and UNIX), describes UUCP channels.
Chapter 26, Other Channels, describes additional channels, including:
+ Alphanumeric pagers,
+ Paper mail (e-mail directed to a printer),
+ SMTP over an arbitrary I/O channels, and
+ DEC Notes (OpenVMS only).
Chapter 27, The PMDF Queue to E-mail Symbiont (OpenVMS), describes the PMDF Queue to e-mail Symbiont which can be used to allow users of word processors to send FAXes directly from their word processing applications.
Chapter 28, E-mail Firewalls and Other E-mail Security Considerations, describes configuring PMDF for use as an e-mail firewall.
Chapter 29, Utilities on OpenVMS, documents the various PMDF utility programs available on OpenVMS platforms.
Chapter 30, Utilities on UNIX, documents the various PMDF utility programs available on UNIX and NT platforms.
Chapter 31, Monitoring, describes the PMDF counters and monitoring PMDF with DEC PolyCenter MAILbus Monitor, or with SNMP clients, or with web clients via the PMDF HTTP CGI.
Chapter 32, Performance Tuning, provides some ideas and hints on how to get the most performance out of PMDF.
Chapter 33, Maintenance and Troubleshooting on OpenVMS, provides some general guide lines for diagnosing problems with PMDF on OpenVMS and documents some of the more common problems that arise from time to time.
Chapter 34, Maintenance and Troubleshooting on UNIX, provides some general guide lines for diagnosing problems with PMDF on UNIX and documents some of the more common problems that arise from time to time.

Suggested starting points in this manual

PMDF includes a spectrum of features; the precise features of interest will vary greatly from site to site. A first reading of this manual might focus on a careful reading of Chapter 1 and Chapter 32, and then skimming Section 2.2 (omitting Section 2.2.6 on first reading), Section 2.3.1, Section 2.3.2, Section 2.4, Section 3.1, the beginning of Chapter 5, Chapter 8, the beginning of Chapter 9 (for OpenVMS sites) or Chapter 10 (for UNIX sites), the beginning of Chapter 11, if using POP or IMAP then Chapter 13, any channels discussed in Chapter 17 through Chapter 26 which you will be using (with particular attention to Chapter 21 discussing TCP/IP channels which are one of the most important sorts of channels for most sites), and Section 31.1.

Mail user agents

This manual focuses on PMDF's function as a Message Transfer Agent (MTA), to provide a uniform message distribution network that can be interfaced to multiple user interfaces (Mail User Agents, or MUA's). For further information on user interfaces, see documentation for that user agent, or the appropriate edition of the PMDF User's Guide. For instance:
On OpenVMS systems, PMDF uses the standard VMS MAIL facility as its primary user interface. PMDF also supplies a VMS MAIL-compatible user interface of its own, PMDF MAIL. PMDF MAIL is an extension of VMS MAIL which better understands network messaging (e.g., supports RFC 822 and MIME) and uses the same message store as VMS MAIL. PMDF Pine, a port of the popular UNIX mail user agent Pine to OpenVMS, is also supplied as part of PMDF for OpenVMS and also uses the same message store as VMS MAIL. Information on PMDF MAIL and the OpenVMS-specific implementation details of PMDF Pine may be found in the OpenVMS Edition of the PMDF User's Guide. PMDF also supports Gold-Mail.

On UNIX systems, PMDF can use as its mail user interface any such interface which normally submits its messages using sendmail or SMTP. For convenience, the PMDF distribution includes a copy of one such mail user interface for UNIX, the University of Washington's Pine.

Availability

PMDF software products are marketed directly to end users in North America, and either directly or through distributors in other parts of the world depending upon the location of the end user. Contact Process Software for ordering information, to include referral to an authorized distributor where applicable:

Process Software, LLC
959 Concord Street
Framingham, MA 01701 USA
+1 508 879 6994
+1 508 879 0042 (FAX)
sales@process.com