PMDF System Manager's Guide


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20.1.1 Using a Prefix Other than IN%

PMDF supports the use of protocol name prefixes other than IN%. In fact, PMDF supports the use of more than one prefix at a time.

The prefix or prefixes that activate PMDF are controlled by logical names of the form MAIL$PROTOCOL_x, where x is the prefix name. All such logical names should translate to the same string to which MAIL$PROTOCOL_IN translates:


$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXEC MAIL$PROTOCOL_FOO 'F$TRNLNM("MAIL$PROTOCOL_IN")'

The installation procedure for PMDF only defines the system-wide logical name MAIL$PROTOCOL_IN. Additional logical names can be defined as needed but this definition should not be removed; it should be possible to use the standard IN% protocol name at every site running PMDF.

PMDF must choose a specific protocol name prefix to place in From: addresses. This prefix is controlled by the logical name PMDF_PROTOCOL. Since actual delivery of messages to VMS MAIL is done using system batch jobs, the only sensible place to define this logical name is in the system logical name table.

For example, the following definition would tell PMDF to use the BITNET% prefix in its From: addresses instead of IN%:


$ DEFINE/SYSTEM PMDF_PROTOCOL "BITNET%"
When defined, the translation value of the PMDF_PROTOCOL logical must be terminated by a percent sign, %. The PMDF_PROTOCOL logical name is not defined by default. In the absence of a definition PMDF uses the standard IN% protocol name.

Note

If PMDF_PROTOCOL is defined to be "FOO%" a corresponding MAIL$PROTOCOL_FOO logical must be defined or messages will not be repliable. In general it is not a good idea to use a protocol name other than IN%. The use of IN% represents a standard of sorts; lots of sites support it. You can think you have a better choice, but remember that choosing a different name can lead to considerable confusion in the long run.


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