Alf.Hansen@pilot.cs.wisc.edu (Alf Hansen) (04/05/91)
Archive-name: mail/x400/ietf-x400-wg/1991-04-02 Archive-directory: mhs-relay.cs.wisc.edu:/pub/ [128.105.8.53] Original-posting-by: Alf.Hansen@pilot.cs.wisc.edu (Alf Hansen) Original-subject: Re: X.400 Questions Reposted-by: emv@msen.com (Edward Vielmetti, MSEN) Will, Some quick answers to your questions: > I have several questions regarding X.400: > > 1) Is there currently any definition of X.400 running over TCP/IP? It is not correct to say that it is an "International Standard", but "everybody" is running X.400 on top of RFC 1006/TCP/IP, including the R&D X.400 networks in Europe (who are also running on top of TP 0/X.25). > Assuming that the various Internet bodies see X.400 as the way to > go (by the way, do they?), NSF is funding an X.400 project here in Wisconsin with the goal to establish an experimental X.400 service in the Internet. The other large agencies (NASA, DoE, DoD) are all looking into X.400. > then how will they transition from SMTP > style addresses to X.400 addresses? You should join the new IETF X.400 Operations WG (list: ietf-osi-x400ops@pilot.cs.wisc.edu) We are discussing these problems, and we had good progress at our last meeting in St. Louis. > 2) I've noticed that a lot of vendors are using X.400 as a way to > gateway between different proprietary email systems (as opposed to > incorporating X.400 style addresses directly into the user interface > of the email product). Is my observation correct? Yes, and I forsee a lot of addressing mapping problems (X.400/ proprietary email system). In the Internet we are solving this mapping issue for RFC 822 addresses. > In the case of > using X.400 as a gateway and not incorporating X.400 style addresses > into the user interface, does it then become the duty of the X.400 > administrator to setup a correspondence in the gateway between the > X.400 name and each of the corresponding names in the proprietary email > system? This makes me think that X.400 would be expensive to maintain. X.400 itself it not more expensive to maintain than any other mail system. A collection of different mail systems interconnected via gateways, is expensive to maintain. Also, users lose functionality when the message passes a gatway. My conclusion is: Let us minimize the number of gateways. I am enclosing the current catalog of relevant documents from the IETF X.400 Operations WG. Send me a note if you want to be on the distribution list Best regards, Alf H. ========================================================================= Documents and documentation from the NSF X.400 Pilot Project are available by anonymous FTP. Login with the username "anonymous" and password "guest". After logging in, type "cd pub". Type "ls" to get a list of documents. The following files are available: Last modified Filename ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Feb 22 1991 catalog.txt This catalog file. Feb 13 1991 88-to-84-downgrading-kille.txt Frb 18 1991 agenda-st-louis.txt Feb 13 1991 charter.txt Feb 7 1991 country-us.doc Feb 13 1991 dns-987.ps Feb 13 1991 dns-987.txt Jan 25 1991 how-to-join.txt Feb 13 1991 ixom-minutes.txt Feb 13 1991 mhs-md-1st-meeting-rep.txt Feb 13 1991 mhs-md-1st-meeting-slides.txt Feb 13 1991 mhs-md-2nd-meeting-info.txt Feb 22 1991 mta-us.doc Jan 14 1991 na-form.txt Jan 14 1991 na-statutes.txt Jan 14 1991 newsletter-1.txt Feb 22 1991 org-us.doc Jan 14 1991 prospectives.txt Feb 7 1991 rfc987-mapping1.doc Feb 7 1991 rfc987-mapping2.doc Feb 13 1991 status-cdc.txt Feb 13 1991 status-xnren.txt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Documents are located at: o CS-Department, UW-Madison Address: mhs-relay.cs.wisc.edu (128.105.8.53) For questions, please mail to c=us; admd= ; prmd=xnren; o=UW-Madison; ou=cs; pn=postmaster postmaster@pilot.cs.wisc.edu