[Info-vax] SMTP server using port 587 outgoing?

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2014-09-13 10:21:56 +0000, Phillip Helbig---undress to reply said:

> In article <lv00c0$g90$1 at dont-email.me>, Stephen Hoffman
> <seaohveh at hoffmanlabs.invalid> writes:
> 
>>> You can use MAIL> FORWARD.  Note that the /USER in SET FORWARD (if you  
>>> do it from a priviledged account) doesn't have to be a user on the   
>>> system.  It doesn't even have to be a valid VMS username.
>> 
>> True, but that's not at all relevent when attempting to establish  
>> authenticated SMTP forwarding with TCP/IP Services; a feature which  
>> does not exist in TCP/IP Services.
> 
> Right.  He said he wanted to forward it to another account.  If that is 
>  outside his LAN then, yes, he probably needs an SMTP relay server.  
> But  there are some which do authorization based on the IP address, so 
> (as I  do) one can use them without STMP AUTH.

Odd.  The requirement for authenticated SMTP via an ISP SMTP server was 
part of the initial statement in the thread, and carried throughout.

That is a feature which does not exist in TCP/IP Services, nor is 
resolving this possible with FORWARD commands or DECnet commands (in 
isolation).

Yes, somebody could create a Fortran SMTP submission client that 
supports these requirements of course, and either integrate that in as 
a transport image (undocumented) and write a matching tool that 
periodically fetches mail via IMAP or POP (preferably SSL/TLS), or 
could create a Fortran SMTP gateway that converted any arriving SMTP 
messages into authenticated SMTP messages for relaying through the ISP 
mail server and with a "fetcher" to retrieve SMTP mail into the VMS 
mail system.

There are implementation languages that would be easier than Fortran 
for these tasks, but most any experienced Fortran programmer can 
undoubtedly get there with Fortran.

But it's easier to use an existing tool such as Postfix and IMAPSYNC or 
equivalent, and gateway your outbound VMS mail over there.   Or to use 
the Process Software IP stack, which has some of these capabilities.

Alas, VMS mail lacks an integrated remote-capable mail client (which 
would allow somebody to keep all of their mail on the other mail server 
or on the ISP mail server), though the Mozilla tools or some other 
add-ons can be workable.   Or somebody could write the necessary tools 
here, even using Fortran, of course.

Unfortunately, TCP/IP Services is old and feature-poor and 
comparatively insecure (no SSL/TLS for POP and IMAP, etc), and this 
layered product is undoubtedly one of many included on the VSI 
schedule, or will be just as soon as they get around to comparing the 
feature lists and collecting the customer requests.








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