dale@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu (dale chayes) (04/10/91)
I have discovered that occasionaly my local sendmail configuration is causing problems at my "forwarding host" by creating an odd address. So I poked around with sendmail -v and observed a bit of (what seems to me to be) strange behavior shown in the example below. hp8c is an unknown host, lamont is my "forwarding host" from the DF & CF macros in sendmail.cf I'm using the standard 3.3.1 versions with the additions as explained at the top of sendmail.cf. I'm sure no M4/Sendmail whiz, and I was hoping that someone could point out what's wrong here. I would expect that the constructed address should look like: dan%hp8c.nrl.navy.mil@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu but instead, it creates the address pointed out below. gonzo:/usr/people/dale> /usr/lib/sendmail -v dan@hp8c.nrl.navy.mil Subject: YAT The is a test, throw it out! . dan@hp8c.nrl.navy.mil... Connecting to lamont.ether... 220 lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu Sendmail 3.2/SMI-3.2 ready at Tue, 9 Apr 91 18:02:3 5 EDT >>> HELO gonzo.ldgo.columbia.edu 250 lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu Hello gonzo.ldgo.columbia.edu, pleased to meet you >>> MAIL From:<dale@gonzo.ldgo.columbia.edu> 250 <dale@gonzo.ldgo.columbia.edu>... Sender ok >>> RCPT To:<@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu:dan@hp8c.nrl.navy.mil> ODD PART: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 250 <@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu:dan@hp8c.nrl.navy.mil>... Recipient ok >>> DATA 354 Enter mail, end with "." on a line by itself >>> . 250 Mail accepted >>> QUIT 221 lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu delivering mail dan@hp8c.nrl.navy.mil... Sent gonzo:/usr/people/dale> Any hints and/or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Dale ========================== -- Dale Chayes Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University Route 9W, Palisades, N.Y. 10964 dale@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu voice: (914) 359-2900 extension 434 fax: (914) 359-6817
merritt@iris613.gsfc.nasa.gov (John H Merritt) (04/10/91)
In article <3591@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu> dale@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu (dale chayes) writes: >>>> MAIL From:<dale@gonzo.ldgo.columbia.edu> >250 <dale@gonzo.ldgo.columbia.edu>... Sender ok >>>> RCPT To:<@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu:dan@hp8c.nrl.navy.mil> > >ODD PART: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > >250 <@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu:dan@hp8c.nrl.navy.mil>... Recipient ok It is NOT odd. It is a perfectly good address specification. Here are two other examples (executed from the shell): mail '<@dftnic:y3jhm@scfvm>' mail '<@dftnic:user%xxxVM.bitnet@scfvm>' - to reach other bitnet nodes, Both forward through dftnic. John H. Merritt --> merritt@iris613.gsfc.nasa.gov Applied Research Corporation at NASA/GSFC "I am generally intolerant of ignorance, but I have made an exception in your case."
hargrove@theory.tn.cornell.edu (Paul H. Hargrove) (04/11/91)
In article <3591@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu> dale@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu (dale chayes) writes: > >I have discovered that occasionaly my local sendmail configuration is >causing problems at my "forwarding host" by creating an odd address. >So I poked around with sendmail -v and observed a bit of (what seems >to me to be) strange behavior shown in the example below. > >hp8c is an unknown host, >lamont is my "forwarding host" from the DF & CF macros in sendmail.cf Dale expects sendmail to change 'dan@hp8c.nrl.navy.mil' into >dan%hp8c.nrl.navy.mil@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu > >but instead, it creates [...] >[...] <@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu:dan@hp8c.nrl.navy.mil> Well, believe it or not, Dale, this is the correct result. This address means send the mail to dan@hp8c.nrl.mil via the host lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu which is just what you told it to do when you defined lamont as your forwarding host. If the mail is not being delivered for some reason, it is not because of this line (unless lamont is not recognizing it correctly). Dale's confusion at this result is not uncommon. It was actually expected, as the following excerpt from RFC 821, which defines the SMTP, shows: >August 1982 RFC 821 >Simple Mail Transfer Protocol > > > > 3.6. RELAYING > > The forward-path may be a source route of the form > "@ONE,@TWO:JOE@THREE", where ONE, TWO, and THREE are hosts. This > form is used to emphasize the distinction between an address and a > route. The mailbox is an absolute address, and the route is > information about how to get there. The two concepts should not > be confused. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ For clarification 'forward-path' refers to the recipient (from a To:, Cc:, or Bcc: line) as opposed to the 'reverse-path' which is the From: line on the transmitted message. It does not relate directly to the kind of forwarding we're concerned with here. In Dale's case lamont is a relay host (a forwarding host) so the mailer on his IRIS sends the mail to the unknown machine (hp8c.nrl.navy.mil) to lamont using the syntax above. The result is equivalent to what Dale had expected (which would also do the job.) _ _ _ Paul Hargrove /_)__ // /_/ __ __ __ __ ___ _ 6110 Cascadilla Hall / (_/_/_/_|/_ /\/ (_/_/ /_(_/_/ /_(_) |_/_|/_ Cornell University / Ithaca, NY 14853-2301 (607) 253-7870 (/
dale@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu (dale chayes) (04/12/91)
In article <1991Apr11.002545.13234@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>,
hargrove@theory.tn.cornell.edu (Paul H. Hargrove) wrote a very clear
(at least to my mind) explaination off how a mail forwarding host is
supposed to work. (I also got another explaination via e-mail from
a person whose return address was munged, so I was a bit suspicious of
that one (;))
Thanks again,
Dale
--
Dale Chayes Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University
Route 9W, Palisades, N.Y. 10964 dale@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu
voice: (914) 359-2900 extension 434 fax: (914) 359-6817