Internet Exchange Messaging Server Version 6.0
Release Notes: April 28, 2002

download the PDF version (note: you need acrobat reader to view the PDf file).

INTRODUCTION

In keeping with its mission of providing a complete email solution to its client's messaging needs, International Messaging Associates (IMA) has developed Internet Exchange Messaging Server (IEMS) 6, a messaging system designed to run on Linux and Windows platforms.

WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 6

Apart from fixing some issues outstanding in version 5.1, this release introduces some new features:

• Edition Support
  IEMS 6 supports 4 Editions in a single binary distribution - Free 3-User, SME, Standard Enterprise, and Professional Enterprise. Upgrades from the Free 3-User edition through the Professional Enterprise can be accomplished by applying a new license certificate.
  
  
• Microsoft Outlook Compatible Calendaring / Scheduling Support
  IEMS 6 (Professional Enterprise Edition) includes backend support for Outlook Free/Busy features, allowing Outlook users to be able to easily migrate to IEMS (Windows or Linux).
  
  
• Microsoft Exchange Migration Tools
  Microsoft Exchange Migration tools provide a simple and effective way to migrate users to IEMS 6.
  
  
• Improved User Interfaces
  All user interfaces, especially the Web Mail Client have been redesigned for easier and more natural use.
  
  
• Auto Alias Table Rebuild
  The MTA Alias Table is now rebuilt automatically in the background when needed, rather than forcing the administrator to manually peform rebuild operations.
  
  
• Configurable SMTPD Binding Address
  The administrator can now specify the IP address that SMTPD will bind to. By default, SMTPD will bind to all addresses, but this can be overriden in the IEMS configuration file with an entry of
  
  
  SMTMDBindAddr=192.168.240.1
  
  in the [Options] section (replacing the actual IP address above).

PRODUCT FEATURES

Internet Standards Support
IEMS 6 is specifically designed to conform to Internet standards to ensure system stability and flexibility. These standards include:

• SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
  IEMS communicates with mail hosts on the Internet using SMTP. This protocol is used for the submission as well as the reception of messages. To communicate well with the Internet, IEMS implements SMTP as two separate modules. A client program, SMTPC (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Client), delivers messages to the Internet. The server program, SMTPD (Simple MailTransfer Protocol Daemon), listens for incoming messages on the Internet.
  
  
• BSMTP (Batch Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
  IEMS includes a batch-mode implementation of SMTP supporting the BSMTP Media Type (RFC-2442). This is a MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)-content type that is used to tunnel ESMTP (Extended SMTP) transactions through any MIME-capable transport. This feature allows the tunneling of a group of messages to a predefined Internet address while preserving the original envelope or delivery information of each message.
  
  
• IMAP4 (Internet Mail Access Protocol version 4)
  IEMS supports for IMAP4 allows users to access their mailboxes via IMAP4-capable clients, such as Microsoft Outlook Express, Netscape Communicator, among others. By utilizing IMAP4, users can manipulate their mailboxes/folders on the server without having to download them to a local hard disk.
  
  
• POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3)
  IEMS supports for POP3 provides POP3-capable clients with another means of accessing their mailbox. Using POP3, users can retrieve messages from the local Message Store Inbox and store them in a local hard disk so they can be read in an off-line or disconnected state. The POP3 server supports multithreading for fast message retrieval.
  
  
• LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)
  The IEMS Directory Server incorporates LDAP, an open directory access protocol especially designed to effectively manage information about users, groups, mailing lists, alias processing and mail routing. LDAP also has a rich set of searching capabilities that makes directory look up fast and efficient.
  
  

Security
To ensure the security of the messaging system, IEMS 6 has several layers of built-in security features, such as:

• Anti-Virus Capability
  IEMS performs simultaneous virus scanning on MIME and non-MIME message attachments. Once a virus is detected, the message can either be deleted, bounced back to the sender, or archived to a predefined location/directory for later manual processing.
  
  
• Anti-Spam Capability
  The anti-spam module provides the administrator with options to control the reception of unsolicited and unwanted spam messages. Once identified, the offending spam mail can then be processed in a manner defined by the administrator.
  
  
• Auto Text Insertion Engine
  The auto text insertion engine provides the capability to insert disclaimer messages into messages passing through the MTA. The administrator can add different disclaimer messages based on the message source channel. The engine, which supports non-MIME and MIME message structure types, allows the system administrator to use plain and/or HTML text file format in the insertion process.
  
  
• Attachment Removal Filter
  An Open Source Message Queue Open API application able to remove file attachments with extensions or MIME media types.
  
  
• SSL Support
  Transport level security through SSL is available for IMAP4 and POP3 protocols to remote email clients, as well as the HTTP protocol for remote web administration and web mail client.

Scalability
The IEMS architecture is designed to support a distributed messaging environment to ensure that each IEMS component will have sufficient computing resources to perform its tasks and to provide for future expansions. Thus, the various components can be run on different machines and operating systems concurrently.

Mailing List Management
The Distribution List Manager allows messages to be sent to all list's subscribers by simply submitting the said messages to a single address. The module also enables the system administrator or list owner to create electronic mailing lists that support the following features: mail blocking, adding and removing subscribers, and setting the preferred delivery options.

IEMS Distribution List Archives allows members and non-members of the mailing list to view the archived messages of a mailing list.

Mailing List Subscription and Unsubscription
IEMS also allows both members and non-members of a mailing list to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the mailing list available in the server.

Mail Storage
IEMS features a Message Store that acts as a dedicated mail repository for storing, retrieving and manipulating messages, while also enabling users to access their mailboxes via POP3- and/or IMAP4-capable clients.

Filtering and Vacation Utility
The Mailsort utility allows both the system administrator and end user to define rules so that the LMDA can copy, forward or move messages to preselected mailboxes/folders other than the Inbox. It can also generate automatic replies to incoming messages based on a predefined criteria. The Mailsort filtering utility implements rules based on certain attributes (i.e., message sender, recipient or subject) to process incoming mail at message delivery time. Another function is its ability to reject messages coming from the defined email addresses.

Disk Quota Management
The Quota Agent allows the system administrator to set and enforce disk quotas on all Message Store user accounts. This feature limits the amount of resources that is allocated to the individual users to prevent them from consuming all of the available disk space in the server. The Quota Agent generates reports in HTML and text file format that can be used by the system administrator in checking and verifing Message Store performance and space usage.

Excellent File Attachment Handling and Support
Transferring file attachments among disparate electronic messaging systems have long been a problem for many messaging systems. With IEMS, attachment filenames and attributes are transferred among disparate mail systems fully preserved, preventing the loss and corruption of data regardless of the source and destination systems.

Optimized Message Handling and Queue Management
To speed up mail delivery and save on storage resources, IEMS uses a Shared Message Queue structure. By using this structure, duplication of messages is avoided and processing overhead is minimized. IEMS also features an SMTPC Queue Management that provides a mechanism for efficient message priority handling, the efficient processing of server-side ETRN (Extended Turn) requests, and improved message queuing strategies.

Migration Support
Comprehensive migration tools are provided to help users move to an Internet standards-based environment smoothly and reliably. All address and mailbox information is transferred to the new system transparently, causing end users very minimal disruption. In addition, it supports the most common client software available in the market, allowing end users to immediately make use of system after the messaging system (backend) migration is complete.

Messaging Connectivity for cc:Mail and Lotus
Connector modules are provided for Lotus cc:Mail and Lotus Notes, allowing seamless integration of these legacy systems with IEMS 6.

Centralized Monitoring and Control Module
The MC (Monitoring Control) Responder is used to automatically start or stop IEMS components. The MC Responder serves as a centralized monitoring and control module that manages the different modules running across multiple machines and operating systems.

Web-Based Administration
The web-based interfaces of IEMS allow users to manage the system via the Internet using any web browser.

Web-Based User Administration
This web-based interface allow each user to manage a number of properties of his/her own account. This interface is multilingual: besides English, it supports Simplified Chinese (GB3212). In future releases, support will be added for Traditional (BIG5) Chinese, French, German and Spanish; a white paper will then be release to document how the Administrator may add support for custom languages.

Web Mail Client
The Web-based mail client allows users to compose, reply and forward messages using any web browser. This interface is also multilingual, with the same characteristics as the Web-Based User Administration. In addition, it is also possible to display (and reply to) mail messages wirtten in still unsupported languages (e.g., Japanese) as long as the browser used supports the relative encoding. Please note that the multilingual support in older browsers is often limited and buggy; for best results, we recommend to avoid versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer prior to 5.5, and versions of Netscape Navigator prior to 6.

SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

For optimum performance, it is recommended that IEMS and its components to be installed using the following minimum configurations:

Windows 98

• Pentium or higher
• Minimum recommended RAM: 64MB
• Minimum recommended hard disk space for applications: 200MB
• Minimum recommended hard disk space for message store: 1GB or dependent on the number of users

Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 with SP4

• Pentium or higher
• Minimum recommended RAM: 96MB
• Minimum recommended hard disk space for applications: 200MB
• Minimum recommended hard disk space for message store: 1GB or dependent on the number of users

Linux

• Pentium or higher
• Minimum recommended RAM: 64MB
• Minimum recommended hard disk space for applications: 200MB
• Minimum recommended hard disk space for message store: 1GB or dependent on the number of users

Supported Distributions:

• RedHat 6.2, 7.0, and 7.1
• Caldera 2.3.1
• VALinux 6.2.3
• TurboLinux Server 6
• Suse 7.1
• Mandrake 7.2 and 8.0
• RedFlag 2.0
• Cosix (CS&S)

KNOWN PROBLEMS

The following problems have been identified in release 6.0. Please report any problems not identified below to support@ima.com.

Responder Update after Edition Upgrade
After an update of license from Free 3-User or SME to Standard Enterprise or Professional Enterprise editions, the stop/restart/stop flag for DL, BSMTP, and FTPD are disabled. Systems affected: Windows, Linux

DL Manager Not Automatically Detecting Updates
The DL Module needs to be restarted before new settings take effecting. Systems affected: Windows, Linux

DL Return-Receipt-To Handling
The Return-Receipt-To: header option for Distribution Lists is not working. Systems Affected: Windows, Linux

LDAP Termination for Free 3-User Edition
The Directory Server terminates when there is an imacert.imc in c:\cert directory. Systems Affected: Windows

Windows Installation Update Problems
When upgrading from SME or Standard Enterprise to Professional Enterprise edition, to install additional components (cc:Mail, Notes connectors), the installer does not update the Directory making pages for the cc:Mail and Notes connectors not viewable. Systems Affected: Windows.

Cannot Browse Certificate
When using the Konqueror web browser, cannot browse the certificate during post configuration (Java error). Systems Affected: Linux (client only)

Web Mail Client Compose Error
Selecting Compose in the Web Mail Client returns "Internal Server Error". Systems Affected: Linux - Caldera Open Linux only

DL Systems - Improper Chinese Language Display
For DL Archive, DL Config, and DL Subscription, Traditional Chinese is being displayed as English. For DL Config, Simplified Chinese is being displayed as English.

KNOWN LIMITATIONS

cc:Mail migration tools do not migrate nested folders
The cc:Mail mailbox migration tools will not migrate nested folders as the cc:Mail VIM API does not include support for this.

cc:Mail/Notes mailbox converter does not migrate empty folders
When no message are found in a folder, the migration tool skips the conversion process for the empty folder. This is due to a lack of support within the cc:Mail / Notes API's that the IEMS migration tools utilize to communicate with these environments.

Notes migration authentication fails if server.id is used to connect to the Domino server 4.x
The Notes migration authentication to the Notes server will fail if the server.id is used to connect to the Domino 4.x server. The Notes VIM interface requires that a user ID is used to open the Notes address book.

Shared mailboxes not visible in WMC
When using the Web Mail Client (WMC), the shared mailbox available for the local user will not be visible in the list of folders in WMC. Shared folder access is only accessible using any IMAP compatible client, such as Outlook Express, Netscape, Eudora, etc.

Deleting 300+ Message Store users returns "Internal Server Error"
Deleting approximately 300 Message Store accounts or more at a time returns "Internal Server Error". The CGI library for deleting Message Store user limits the total characters to be posted per transaction. When the data posted exceeds this limit, the program will display "Internal Server Error". To solve this problem, limit the users to be deleted at a time to around 200 accounts or less.

Adding 200+ mailing list members returns "Internal Server Error"
Adding 200+ mailing list members at a time returns "Internal Server Error" The CGI library for adding mailing list members at a time limits the total characters to be posted per transaction. When the data posted exceeds this limit, the program will display "Internal Server Error". To solve this problem, limit the users to be added at a time to approximately 100 email addresses or less.

Defining 50+ lines of data for the LDAP address field returns "Internal Server Error"
The system returns an "Internal Server Error" message when more than 50 lines of data is entered in the address field/attribute of user in LDAP.

IEMS modules lose connection to LDAP server under Windows 98
Windows 98 TCP stack can run out of memory under certain conditions. When this happens, IEMS modules and all TCP base client software will not be able tomake new TCP connection. It is recommended that Windows 98 be replaced with a more robust operating system, like Windows NT or Linux.