Using the Internet DNS to Distribute MIXER Conformant Global Address Mapping (MCGAM)
RFC 2163
Document | Type |
RFC - Proposed Standard
(January 1998; No errata)
Updated by RFC 3597
Obsoletes RFC 1664
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Author | Claudio Allocchio | ||
Last updated | 2013-03-02 | ||
Stream | IETF | ||
Formats | plain text html pdf htmlized bibtex | ||
Stream | WG state | (None) | |
Document shepherd | No shepherd assigned | ||
IESG | IESG state | RFC 2163 (Proposed Standard) | |
Consensus Boilerplate | Unknown | ||
Telechat date | |||
Responsible AD | (None) | ||
Send notices to | (None) |
Network Working Group C. Allocchio Request for Comments: 2163 GARR-Italy Obsoletes: 1664 January 1998 Category: Standards Track Using the Internet DNS to Distribute MIXER Conformant Global Address Mapping (MCGAM) Status of this Memo This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved. Abstract This memo is the complete technical specification to store in the Internet Domain Name System (DNS) the mapping information (MCGAM) needed by MIXER conformant e-mail gateways and other tools to map RFC822 domain names into X.400 O/R names and vice versa. Mapping information can be managed in a distributed rather than a centralised way. Organizations can publish their MIXER mapping or preferred gateway routing information using just local resources (their local DNS server), avoiding the need for a strong coordination with any centralised organization. MIXER conformant gateways and tools located on Internet hosts can retrieve the mapping information querying the DNS instead of having fixed tables which need to be centrally updated and distributed. This memo obsoletes RFC1664. It includes the changes introduced by MIXER specification with respect to RFC1327: the new 'gate1' (O/R addresses to domain) table is fully supported. Full backward compatibility with RFC1664 specification is mantained, too. RFC1664 was a joint effort of IETF X400 operation working group (x400ops) and TERENA (formely named "RARE") Mail and Messaging working group (WG-MSG). This update was performed by the IETF MIXER working group. Allocchio Standards Track [Page 1] RFC 2163 MIXER MCGAM January 1998 1. Introduction The connectivity between the Internet SMTP mail and other mail services, including the Internet X.400 mail and the commercial X.400 service providers, is assured by the Mail eXchanger (MX) record information distributed via the Internet Domain Name System (DNS). A number of documents then specify in details how to convert or encode addresses from/to RFC822 style to the other mail system syntax. However, only conversion methods provide, via some algorithm or a set of mapping rules, a smooth translation, resulting in addresses indistinguishable from the native ones in both RFC822 and foreign world. MIXER describes a set of mappings (MIXER Conformant Global Address Mapping - MCGAM) which will enable interworking between systems operating the CCITT X.400 (1984/88/92) Recommendations and systems using using the RFC822 mail protocol, or protocols derived from RFC822. That document addresses conversion of services, addresses, message envelopes, and message bodies between the two mail systems. This document is concerned with one aspect of MIXER: the mechanism for mapping between X.400 O/R addresses and RFC822 domain names. As described in Appendix F of MIXER, implementation of the mappings requires a database which maps between X.400 O/R addresses and domain names; in RFC1327 this database was statically defined. The original approach in RFC1327 required many efforts to maintain the correct mapping: all the gateways needed to get coherent tables to apply the same mappings, the conversion tables had to be distributed among all the operational gateways, and also every update needed to be distributed. The concept of mapping rules distribution and use has been revised in the new MIXER specification, introducing the concept of MIXER Conformant Global Address Mapping (MCGAM). A MCGAM does not need to be globally installed by any MIXER conformant gateway in the world any more. However MIXER requires now efficient methods to publish its MCGAM. Static tables are one of the possible methods to publish MCGAM. However this static mechanism requires quite a long time to be spent modifying and distributing the information, putting heavy constraints on the time schedule of every update. In fact it does not appear efficient compared to the Internet Domain Name Service (DNS). More over it does not look feasible to distribute the database to a large number of other useful applications, like local address converters, e-mail User Agents or any other tool requiring the mapping rules to produce correct results. Allocchio Standards Track [Page 2]Show full document text