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SMAIL(8) XENIX System V SMAIL(8)
NAME
smail, rmail - UUCP mailer with routing
SYNOPSIS
smail [ options ] address ...
rmail [ options ] address ...
DESCRIPTION
The smail/rmail program replaces /bin/rmail(1) to become the
UUCP mail transport mechanism. They are links to the same
executable. rmail receives mail from UUCP, smail introduces
mail into UUCP.
smail/rmail can work with or without sendmail(8), or another
intelligent mail system. For hosts with just /bin/mail(1),
smail/rmail subsumes some of the functions of sendmail, and
hands only local mail to /bin/mail. For hosts with sendmail,
smail/rmail can act as UUCP front and back ends to sendmail,
allowing sendmail to process all mail through the host. As
distributed, 'bang' mail that is not bound for a local
recipient will be passed directly to uux without calling
sendmail.
To varying degrees, smail/rmail automatically routes the
addresses it processes. smail/rmail most often routes
domain style addresses (i.e. user@domain), producing a UUCP
path (i.e. host!address) or a local address (i.e. user), but
it can also reroute explicit UUCP paths.
OPTIONS
-A Print the resolved addresses. Don't collect a message
or invoke a mailer.
-d Be verbose and don't invoke other mailers.
-v Be verbose, but still invoke other mailers.
-h hostname
Set hostname. The default is configuration dependent,
but usually provided by a system call such as
gethostname(2) or uname(2).
-H hostdomain
set hostdomain. The default is configuration
dependent.
-F address
use address on the From: line in locally generated
mail.
-p pathfile
Set path database file name if not /usr/lib/uucp/paths.
-a aliasfile
For sites without sendmail, set alias database file
name if not in the place defined at compile time (see
ALIASES in defs.h). This is usually /usr/lib/aliases
-n namelist
smail supports another type of aliasing intended for
full name resolution using a sorted file, namelist, of
name/address pairs. This allows mail to
George.P.Burdell@gatech.edu to be delivered
appropriately. These aliases are by their nature very
simple since they are not composed of long lists of
recipients for each alias. They are also numerous,
since mail to George.P.Burdell may be addressed to
Burdell, G.Burdell, George.Burdell, P.Burdell,
G.P.Burdell, or George.P.Burdell. This simpler form of
aliasing uses the same fast searching algorithm that is
used for the paths file, so it keeps resolution time
manageable.
-q number
Take number as the queueing threshold. When routing
mail ( -r, -R, or domain addressed mail ) to a given
host, if the cost listed in the paths file is less than
the queueing threshold, then the mail will be sent
immediately. This overrides the default threshold (see
QUEUECOST in defs.h) of DEDICATED+LOW.
-m number
At most number jobs will be handed to uux for immediate
delivery by a single invocation of smail (see
MAXNOQUEUE in defs.h).
-u uuxflags
Use uuxflags as the flags passed to uux for remote
mail. This overrides any of the default values and
other queueing strategies.
-c Consult the paths file for the cost of the path even
when not routing the mail. This makes it possible to
use the cost information when sending pure UUCP path
mail without rerouting it.
-r Don't route the first component of a UUCP path (host!address)
in addition to routing domain addresses (user@domain).
-R Reroute UUCP paths, trying successively larger
righthand substrings of a path until a component is
recognized.
-l Instead of routing a domain address, send it to the
local mailer for processing. Normally, only local
addresses go to the local mailer.
-L Send all addresses to the local mailer for processing,
including UUCP paths.
Most of the flags are also compile time options, since uux
does not normally invoke rmail with the desired flags.
smail resets any preset -l or -L flags. -l flag causes
rmail to send all domain addresses through the local mailer,
to process addresses for non UUCP domains. The -L flag
causes rmail to send even explicit UUCP paths through the
local mailer, presumably to make use of other transport
mechanisms. In both cases, rmail defers any routing until
smail gets hold it.
ADDRESSES
smail/rmail understands "user@domain" to be a domain
address, "host!address" to be a UUCP path, and anything else
to be a local address.
Because hostile rmail's unpredictably interpret mixed
UUCP/domain addresses, smail/rmail understands "domain!user"
to be a domain address, and generates "path!domain!user"
when mailing to a cognate smail/rmail host. To distinguish
domain "domain!user" from UUCP "host!address", "domain"
contains at least one (1) period. Unlike the old
/bin/rmail, smail/rmail gives precedence to @ over ! when
parsing mixed addresses, thus a!b@c is parsed as (a!b)@c,
rather than a!(b@c).
ROUTING
Because smail/rmail is the UUCP transport mechanism, it can
only effect delivery on UUCP paths and local addresses;
domain addresses require resolution into UUCP paths or local
addresses. To resolve a domain address, smail/rmail finds a
route to the most specific part of the domain specification
listed in the routing table. Two degrees of resolution can
occur:
Full resolution: smail/rmail finds a route for the
entire domain specification, and tacks the user
specification onto the end of the UUCP path. The
address can also fully resolve to a local address (the
UUCP path is null).
Partial resolution: smail/rmail finds a route for only
righthand part of the domain specification, so it tacks
the complete address (in the form domain!user) onto the
end of the UUCP path. Since this syntax is not widely
understood, UUCP gateways listed in the path database
must install new UUCP software, either smail/rmail or
new sendmail configuration files (or both).
It is an error if a partially resolved address routes to the
local host (a null UUCP path), since according to the
routing table, the local host is responsible for resolving
the address more fully.
The -r flag causes smail/rmail to attempt to route the first
component of a UUCP path, probably so it can impress people
with how many UUCP hosts it knows. If this fails, it passes
the unrouted address to uux, in case the path database is
not complete. The -R flag causes smail/rmail to take a UUCP
path and route the rightmost component of the path (save the
user name) possible. This is mostly for hosts that have
very up-to-date routing tables.
If a route cannot be discerned from the available routing
database, then one more attempt to route the mail is made by
searching for an entry in the database for a route to a
smart-host. If this entry exists, then the mail will be
forwarded along that route to be delivered. This allows a
host to depend on another, presumably better informed, host
for delivering its mail. This kind of arrangement should be
worked out, in advance, with the smart-host's administrator.
After smail/rmail resolves an address, it reparses it to see
if it is now a UUCP path or local address. If the new
address turns out to be another domain address, smail
complains because we don't like to resolve more than once.
This error occurs when an address partially resolves the
local host.
By default, smail will not alter the explicit bang path
routing of any mail message. If the stated path is
unuseable, (i.e., the next hop host is unknown) then smail
will apply ALWAYS routing, and attempt to deliver the mail
to the potentially new address. If this fails too, then
REROUTE routing will be applied to the address, and another
attempt to deliver is made. Lastly, an attempt to find a
path to a better informed host smart-host will be made and
the mail passed to that host.
FROMMING
smail/rmail collapses From_ and >From_ lines to generate a
simple from argument, which it can pass to sendmail or use
to create its own "From" line. The rule for fromming is:
concatenate each "remote from" host (separating them by
!'s), and tack on the address on the last From_ line; if
that address is in user@domain format, rewrite it as
domain!user; ignore host or domain if either is simply the
local hostname. It also removes redundant information from
the From_ line. For instance:
...!myhost!myhost.mydomain!...
becomes
...!myhost!...
Leading occurrences of the local host name are elided as
well.
smail/rmail generates it own From_ line, unless it is
feeding sendmail, which is happy with the -ffrom argument.
For UUCP bound mail, smail/rmail generates a "remote from
hostname", where hostname is the UUCP hostname (not the
domain name), so that From_ can indicate a valid UUCP path,
leaving the sender's domain address in From:.
HEADERS
Certain headers, To:, From:, Date, etc., are required by
RFC822. If these headers are absent in locally generated
mail, they will be inserted by smail. Also, a line of trace
information, called a Received: line, will be inserted at
the top of each message.
UNDELIVERABLE MAIL"
Although nobody likes to have a mail message fail to reach
its intended destination, it somtimes happens that way.
Mail that is found to be undeliverable (i.e., unknown user
or unknown host) will be returned to the sender.
FILES
/usr/lib/uucp/paths ascii path database
/usr/lib/aliases ascii alias database
/usr/spool/uucp/mail.log log of mail
/tmp/mail.log record of mail
SUPPORT
Enhancements, enhancement requests, trouble reports, etc.,
should be sent to
uucp-problem@Stargate.COM.
SEE ALSO
uux(1), paths(8), aliases(8)
sendmail(8)
binmail(1) on BSD systems only
mail(1) on System V systems
VERSION
@(#)smail.8 2.5 (smail) 9/15/87