The SMTP Agent is the gateway between the Internet and your messaging system. Its primary function is to transfer messages to and from the Internet. This agent must be running on at least one messaging server for users to send local messages from POP or IMAP clients or to send messages over the Internet.
Because the SMTP Agent is the point of entry for all messages received over the Internet, it controls which domains are recognized by the messaging system. Any domain that resolves to the SMTP servers IP address must be included in the SMTP Agents domain list or messages addressed to that domain will be bounced back to their senders.
The SMTP Agent also provides most of the NetMail®; UBE protection features. Options like reverse DNS look-ups, Real-time Black Hole (RBL) look-ups, and host blocking by IP address protect your system from incoming SPAM, while features like ESMTP authentication, SMTP-after-POP, and restrictions on remote sending by IP address protect your system from being used to relay SPAM.
Additional SMTP Agent options include the following:
A message size limit for inbound and outbound Internet messages.
Controls on standard SMTP commands that pose security risks or facilitate connections with offices that have intermittent Internet connections.
A Mail Relay Host definition that allows you to funnel all remote messages through a single SMTP server rather than having every SMTP Agent individually access the Internet.
A Domain Routing option that sends messages addressed to a specified domain directly to a defined IP address without first going through the DNS server.
IMPORTANT: You must restart the smtpd executable to effect most changes in the SMTP Agent's configuration. All exceptions are noted in the following sections. For information on loading and unloading the NetMail Agents, see the Novell® NetMail Administration Guide at http://www.novell.com/documentation.
The SMTP Agent object has eight properties pages:
Click the above links for a detailed description of each page's configuration settings.
NOTE: If you configure attributes in multiple pages, you must click Save in each page to save your changes.
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