MHS: Backboning Microsoft Mail over MHS (115553)

SUMMARY

Version 3.0 of Microsoft Mail Gateway to MHS can backbone Microsoft Mail over MHS, which enables automatic encapsulation of messages, including those containing OLE objects, something not normally available over MHS. Encapsulation passes OLEs through seamlessly and works around the fact that MHS messages are text-based.

Backboning works only between Microsoft Mail postoffices defined as indirect through MHS and with address mapping set up. When backboning is enabled, all users appear to be normally defined Microsoft Mail users, even though the transport between sites is MHS.

It also has the offset advantage of allowing directory synchronization messages to be sent through MHS, even though to MHS the recipient is invalid.

MORE INFORMATION

Messages are sent from the Microsoft Mail user to the gateway in the Microsoft Mail format. Normally, the gateway would read the header of the message into the MHS format, it would read the body into the body of the MHS message, and it would note any attachments. With encapsulation, the header is read to get the sender and recipient details. The sender is changed to $Encaps@Gateway and the recipient is changed to User1@gateway. The Microsoft Mail message format is maintained by making the message an attachment to the MHS message.

A Standard MHS Message

SMF-70
230Sender: joeblogs@acmecorp {ACME/CORP/JOEBLOGS}
Send-to: elvisp@gracelan {MEMPHIS/GRACELAND/ELVISP}
20MCB-options: NNYNANA
200Message-encoding: IBM-8202
From: joeblogs@acmecorp {ACME/CORP/JOEBLOGS}
To: elvisp@gracelan {MEMPHIS/GRACELAND/ELVISP}
Subject: This is the Header
Date: 07-May-93 13:10
Importance: Normal

The Body

SMF 70--the Simple Message Format the message was transmitted in. joeblogs@acmecorp {ACME/CORP/JOEBLOGS} The sender--an MS Mail user. 230Sender: The sender. Field not displayable. Same as the From Line. Send-to: Is the Recipient. Same as the To: line The section following is the unencrypted body of the message.

Compared to an Encapsulated Message Body

SMF-70
230Sender: joeblogs@acmecorp {ACME/CORP/JOEBLOGS}
Send-to: User1@gracelan {MEMPHIS/GRACELAND/ELVISP}
20MCB-options: NNYNANA
Attachment: ANBFAGAM
Attachment-name: 000006AA.ENC
200Message-encoding: IBM-8202
From: $Encaps@acmecorp {ACME/CORP/JOEBLOGS}
To: User1@gracelan {MEMPHIS/GRACELAND/ELVISP}
Subject: This is the header
Date: 07-May-93 13:14
Attachment-date: 07-May-93 13:14
Importance: Normal

An Encapsulated Message

SMF 70 refers to the Simple Message Format the message was transmitted in.
joeblogs@acmecorp {ACME/CORP/JOEBLOGS} Is the sender--an MS Mail user.
230Sender: Is the sender. This field is not displayable.
Send-to: Is the Recipient.
Attachment: Name of the attachment in the corresponding attachment directory.
Attachment-name: The name in MS-DOS of the attachment file.
Attachment-date: The Date of the attachment.
From: Note how the user's address differs from the nondisplayable 230Sender address.
To: Note how the user's address differs from the nondisplayable Send-To address.
The body of the message contains the note "This is an encapsulated message" signifying a small mystery, now solved.