In message <E0x5ro6-0003D4-00@???>, Nick Waterman writes:
> I used to be "firewalled" in such a way that I couldn't access port 25
> on any other machine, and I had to go via my ISP's mailhost to deliver
> mail. I, however, like telnetting to other machine's smtp ports to try
> things like "VRFY" from time to time, so I got them to make me an
> exception to their "firewall" rules.
Yes, that's a facility I use all the time as well, plus EXPN to check
expansions on MTAs that provide such visibility. It's extremely useful
for diagnosing mail problems.
Even more important than diagnosis though is direct end-to-end delivery
of mail without intermediaries wherever possible for minimal latency and
greatest security and reliability of delivery. If the end destination
is not currently available or the route is very slow then a dialup user
will probably want to send most non-sensitive items to a smart relay for
delivery on his behalf, but those are the only important cases when one
would not want to deliver it directly. The best config will first try a
direct delivery and only if that fails send the item to a smart relay.
[I've been corresponding in private with various people on the politics
of the issue that was raised here, since it has little to do with the
main purpose of this list. Exim's configurability doesn't constrain
it to any particular arrangement (no doubt it'll be hung off secondary
ports to get around port-25 blocks where they exist), so there probably
isn't any relevance to Exim development in this area.]
Rich.
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