Chapter 8 Providing E-Mail Services

At a Glance

Instructors notes
Chapter Objectives Instructor Notes Discussion Topics Quick Quizzes Key Terms

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Understand the e-mail environment Understand e-mail protocols Install and administer Microsoft Exchange 2000 Install and administer sendmail for Linux Install and configure IMAP4 and POP3 servers for Linux Configure e-mail clients Understand Web-based e-mail clients

INSTRUCTOR NOTES
Understanding the e-mail environment E-mail evolved from a variety of proprietary systems. In the 1980s and 1990s, people often had e-mail addresses on a number of systems. Even as late as 1997, Exchange 5.5 was not designed to take advantage of Internet e-mail. An add-on gave Exchange the ability to send and receive e-mail over the Internet. Exchange 2000 goes beyond e-mail basics with such capabilities as: Instant messaging Unified messaging platform Single inbox for e-mail, voicemail, fax Chat service URL addressing - Use a single URL to access stored data Audio and video conferencing Role of DNS in e-mail systems A domain name, such as technowidgets.com, needs to be associated with two IP addresses: One IP address can be for a Web site Another IP address is for e-mail To associate a domain name, or any other host name, with the IP address of an e-mail server, you need an MX record:
technowidgets.com. IN MX 10 mail.technowidgets.com.

The 10 refers to the priority of the e-mail server if there are multiple e-mail servers E-mail system terminology MTA (Mail Transfer Agent) - Accepts e-mail from clients and sends e-mail to another MTA for storage. For example, Microsoft Exchange 2000 and sendmail. SMTP is the protocol used by MTAs MUA (Mail User Agent) - e-mail client such as Outlook and KMail MDA (Mail Delivery Agent) - Delivers e-mail from server to MUA. For example, Exchange 2000 and imap-2001. POP3 and IMAP4 are the popular protocols. E-mail system terminology Masquerading - Replace actual host name with domain name Relaying - The process of sending e-mail to an intermediate e-mail server before the message is transmitted to its final destination. This should not be allowed from the Internet because spammers could use it to send e-mail. Spammer - Someone who sends unsolicited e-mail, typically to try to sell something E-mail protocols. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) - To send e-mail messages

POP3 (Post Office Protocol) - To retrieve e-mail. Typically, all messages are downloaded to client. IMAP4 (Internet Mail Access Protocol) - To retrieve e-mail e-mail stays on server. You can create folders on server to store e-mail.

QUICK QUIZ
1. True/False. A domain name, such as technowidgets.com, must be associated with only one IP address. Answer: False 2. True/False. MTA stands for Mail Translation Agent. Answer: False 3. An MTA depends on what protocol? Answer: SMTP 4. What does MDA stand for? Answer: Mail Delivery Agent

Understanding SMTP The commands are processed by the SMTP server: Command Purpose HELO DATA VRFY QUIT Identifies the domain sending the message Indicates the body of the message Verifies the e-mail user Ends the SMTP session

The SMTP headers add descriptive information: Header Description MAIL FROM: Identifies who is sending the message (required) RCPT TO: Identifies the recipient of the message (required) RECEIVED: Identifies the e-mail server that processed the message DATE: FROM: SUBJECT: TO: CC: BCC: Indicates the date of the e-mail Shows the e-mail address as it is typically displayed in an e-mail client Shows the subject of the e-mail message Shows the recipient as it is typically displayed in an e-mail client Sends copies of the message to a list of e-mail addresses Sends copies of the message to a list of e-mail addresses but does not display the e-mail addresses

Sample session where the commands and headers in bold:

HELO WKS1 250 web1.technowidgets.com Hello [127.0.0.1] MAIL FROM: XYZ@yahoo.com 250 2.1.0 xyz@yahoo.com....Sender OK RCPT TO: cbranco@technowidgets.com 250 2.1.5 cbranco@technowidgets.com DATA 354 Start mail input; end with <CRLF>.<CRLF> This is a simple message . QUIT Understanding POP3 POP3 is more simplistic than IMAP4. First step is to log on with user name and password. Then you can list, read, download, delete e-mail. Common POP3 commands: Command Description USER username PASS password LIST UIDL RETR n TOP n lines DELE n QUIT Connects to POP3 server based on user name Enters the password for the user, as in PASS: Ax6yy Displays the message number followed by the number of characters in the message Displays the unique ID for each message Replaces the n with a message number to retrieve that message Instead of retrieving the whole message, retrieves the number of lines designated by the lines parameter for message number n Deletes message number n from the server Ends the session

Sample POP3 session: USER cbranco +OK PASS pass +OK User successfully logged on. LIST +OK 1 404 1 404 . RETR 1 +OK Received: from WKS1 (127.0.0.1) by web1.technowidgets.com From: xyz@yahoo.com

Return-Path: xyz@yahoo.com This is a simple message . DELE 1 +OK QUIT Understanding IMAP4 With IMAP4, messages remain on the server. Hence, it requires much more space on server. To keep track of the status of messages, flags are used such as: \Recent \Seen \Answered \Flagged \Deleted \Draft Common IMAP4 commands: Command Description LOGIN username password SELECT mailbox Log on to the server with your user name and password, which are unencrypted. Select a mailbox before you perform mail tasks. The default mailbox is called inbox. The response gives a summary of mailbox information. FETCH message(s) Retrieve messages. The message(s) parameter item(s) gives the message number. The item(s) parameter determines what part of the message is fetchedthat is, individual header items or the body of the text. STORE message(s) flags Change the flags associated with a message. Typically, this command is used to mark messages to be deleted, undeleted, or identified as unread. LOGOUT End the IMAP4 session. Installing Microsoft Exchange 2000 SMTP is part of IIS, not Exchange and it needs to be installed. NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol) needs to be installed before Exchange and is also part of IIS. Another component you need to install before Exchange is Active Directory. Once the above are installed, the Exchange wizard guides you through a simple installation. To use Exchange 2000 on Windows Server 2003, Exchange 2000 Service Pack 3 is required.

Installing and configuring sendmail for Linux

sendmail is installed from an rpm file. You configure sendmail through a macro processor called m4. Once you make changes to sendmail.mc, you have to type the following to convert it: m4 /etc/mail/sendmail.mc >/etc/mail/sendmail.cf There are many advanced features of sendmail that make configuring it substantially difficult. There are other e-mail servers, such as qmail, that are easier Minimal sendmail.mc file:
divert(-1) include(`/usr/share/sendmail-cf/m4/cf.m4') OSTYPE(`linux') define(`PROCMAIL_MAILER_PATH',`/usr/bin/procmail')dnl FEATURE(local_procmail,`',`procmail -t -Y -a $h -d $u')dnl MAILER(smtp)dnl MAILER(procmail)dnl Cwtechnowidgets.com

Installing and configuring IMAP4 and POP3 for Linux Both IMAP4 and POP3 are included in the imap-2001 package. Once installed, you have to enable the daemons by: chkconfig imap on Then you restart xinetd to recognize the changes service xinetd restart Configuring e-mail clients Typical information required: SMTP server IP address Your e-mail address Your e-mail password POP3 or IMAP4 server IP address Web-based e-mail clients Web-based e-mail clients allow you to use your browser. Exchange 2000 can be configured for Web-based e-mail using Outlook Web Access. Public sites, such as Microsoft's Hotmail and Yahoo!Mail have been very popular. Advantages: Because a browser is used, no client configuration is needed. The lack of configuration can significantly reduce support costs. No specialized client software is needed. Users are not required to retrieve e-mail from specific computers that have been configured for them. POP3 or IMAP4 protocols are not required, which reduces server-side support. Because Web-based e-mail is not constrained by POP3 or IMAP4 protocols, a richer environment can be developed that extends beyond basic e-mail.

QUICK QUIZ
1. True/False. In SMTP, the HELO command is designed to be followed by the name of the host or domain that is sending the message. Answer: True 2. True/False. The first command when connecting to a POP3 server is LOGIN. Answer: False 3. What SMTP header describes who is to receive the e-mail message? Answer: RCPT TO: 4. In POP3, what is the command to display the message number followed by the number of characters in the message, for each message? Answer: LIST 5. What do you type in order to enable POP3 in Linux? Answer: chkconfig ipop3 on

Discussion Topics
1. Compare and contrast POP3 and IMAP4. 2. Which is better, POP3 or IMAP4, given a particular circumstance? 3. Which is better, Web-based e-mail or using an e-mail client?

Key Terms
Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP4) A protocol to deliver e-mail messages to email clients. It can have a number of mailboxes and is designed to keep the e-mail on the server. Mail Delivery Agent (MDA) A service responsible for delivering e-mail from the email system to the MUA. Mail Exchange (MX) A DNS record used to associate the domain name with the IP address of an e-mail server. Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) A service that accepts e-mail from clients and then sends the e-mail to another MTA that stores the e-mail. Mail User Agent (MUA) The client software that correctly formats messages and sends them to the MTA. masquerading The act of replacing the actual host name of the mail server with the domain name. MIME See Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) An e-mail format that converts pictures, sound, and other binary data into text formats. Outlook Web Access (OWA) A Web-based client in Exchange 2000. Post Office Protocol (POP3) A protocol used to deliver e-mail to a client. This simple protocol allows for a single inbox. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) The protocol used for sending e-mail.