Mercurial > docs > diploma

annotate thesis/tex/1-Introduction.tex @ 32:e150e6406019

Find changesets by keywords (author, files, the commit message), revision number or hash, or revset expression.
sections from external MTA comparisons
author meillo@marmaro.de
date Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:45:43 +0200
parents 2a191e20b4aa
children f789b659f094
Ignore whitespace changes - Everywhere: Within whitespace: At end of lines:
rev   line source
26
fb9ba63f6957 changed to new thesis structure; moved text pieces away; updated project plan
meillo@marmaro.de
parents:
diff changeset
1 \chapter{Introduction}
fb9ba63f6957 changed to new thesis structure; moved text pieces away; updated project plan
meillo@marmaro.de
parents:
diff changeset
2
fb9ba63f6957 changed to new thesis structure; moved text pieces away; updated project plan
meillo@marmaro.de
parents:
diff changeset
3 \section{History of electronic mail}
30
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
4 %TODO: have a quote from Bell Labs about email here
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
5 %FIXME: add references to text
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
6
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
7 Electronic mail (short: \name{email}) is a basic concept in \unix. On \unix\ machines, a lot of information is distributed by \name{system mail}, which is email sent by the operating system. Beside that, email is the common communication system between humans working on computers.
27
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
8
30
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
9 The \unix\ operating system supports email since 1979 through the \name{mail user agent} (\NAME{MUA}) \path{/bin/mail}. For transporting mail in between two systems, the \NAME{UUCP} protocol (for ``\unix\ to \unix\ copy'') was invented.
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
10 %FIXME: what about `uuxqt' and `rmail'
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
11
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
12 As generally known, the early development of \unix\ was not only made in the \name{Bell Labratories} of \NAME{AT\&T}. But also the \name{Univerity of California at Berkeley} worked on their version of a \unix\ operating system, called \NAME{UCB} \unix, or \name{Berkeley} \unix.
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
13
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
14 This lead to a second \NAME{MUA} from Berkeley: \name{Mail} (with a capital `M'). Also, no \NAME{UUCP} network was set up at Berkeley but an own creation called \name{BerkNet} was used.
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
15 %FIXME: why? license issues? closed source?
31
2a191e20b4aa minor stuff
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 30
diff changeset
16 %TODO: what about `mailx'?
27
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
17
30
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
18 Further more there was a third network type: the \NAME{ARPAnet}, based on the \name{transmission control protocol} (\NAME{TCP}).
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
19 %FIXME: where did it came from?
27
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
20
30
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
21 Each of the three network types could transfer email between different machines. The file transfer itself was made using \NAME{FTP}, but the higher layered logic of the transfer was different in each. For example was the addressing schema not the same: \NAME{UUCP} used a flat-style schema, while \NAME{ARPAnet} was hierachical.
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
22
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
23 Mail transport from one machine using one kind of network to a second machine using another kind was a problem. This showed up at Berkeley where some departments of the university had switched to \NAME{ARPAnet}, and some to \NAME{UUCP}, while the rest was \name{BerkNet}.
27
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
24
30
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
25 It was around 1982, when Eric Allman, then a student at Berkeley, wrote \name{delivermail}. Its purpose was to transform email from one network to another. \name{delivermail} like its successor, the more flexible \sendmail, intermediated between the different networks. They were able to transform email messages from any network to any other.
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
26
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
27 Todays email structure is basicly the same as then. The major difference is the uniformity of the underlying network, which is nearly always the \NAME{ARPAnet}-based \name{Internet}. Most other differences are organized as extensions to the old model of electronic mail.
27
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
28
30
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
29 More information about electronic mail and its history can be found at:
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
30 %FIXME: add books and websites here
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
31
27
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
32
26
fb9ba63f6957 changed to new thesis structure; moved text pieces away; updated project plan
meillo@marmaro.de
parents:
diff changeset
33
fb9ba63f6957 changed to new thesis structure; moved text pieces away; updated project plan
meillo@marmaro.de
parents:
diff changeset
34 \section{Transporting mail}
31
2a191e20b4aa minor stuff
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 30
diff changeset
35 %TODO: include definitions from others here (cites)
2a191e20b4aa minor stuff
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 30
diff changeset
36 %TODO: when was the term ``mail transfer agent'' established?
27
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
37 The basic job of a \name{mail transfer agent} (or \name{mail transport agent}, short \NAME{MTA}) is to transfer/transport \name{electronic mail} (short \name{email}) from one host to another.
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
38
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
39
26
fb9ba63f6957 changed to new thesis structure; moved text pieces away; updated project plan
meillo@marmaro.de
parents:
diff changeset
40
30
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
41
26
fb9ba63f6957 changed to new thesis structure; moved text pieces away; updated project plan
meillo@marmaro.de
parents:
diff changeset
42 \section{sendmail}
31
2a191e20b4aa minor stuff
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 30
diff changeset
43 \name{sendmail} is the de facto standard for \name{mail transfer agents}.
27
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
44
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
45 % FIXME: is that true?
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
46 It was the first \NAME{MTA} and had no real alternative for a long time.
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
47
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
48 All other existing substitutes, which are mainly \name{postfix}, \name{exim}, \name{qmail} and the here regarded \name{masqmail}, mimic \name{sendmail}'s behavior. Especially, they all create a symbolic link named ``sendmail'' pointing to their own executable. This is because a lot of programs assume there is an executable called ``sendmail'' on every computer system.
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
49
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
50 Besides being the ``standard'', \name{sendmail} probably is the most scalable and powerful solution for transfering emails and definatly the most flexible one.
433df94d5476 added pices to thesis ... need rework!
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 26
diff changeset
51
26
fb9ba63f6957 changed to new thesis structure; moved text pieces away; updated project plan
meillo@marmaro.de
parents:
diff changeset
52
30
6c4b50b44d05 wrote about history of email (new text)
meillo@marmaro.de
parents: 27
diff changeset
53
26
fb9ba63f6957 changed to new thesis structure; moved text pieces away; updated project plan
meillo@marmaro.de
parents:
diff changeset
54 \section{(a look at Windows)}
fb9ba63f6957 changed to new thesis structure; moved text pieces away; updated project plan
meillo@marmaro.de
parents:
diff changeset
55