Re: [Exim] Home network mailhub

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Author: Phil Pennock
Date:  
To: Harry Putnam
CC: exim-users
Subject: Re: [Exim] Home network mailhub
On 2002-03-18 at 18:55 -0800, Harry Putnam wrote:
> Now just a little more about this source-routing stuff:


Which is off-topic for exim-users. I'll try to provide some pointers
which might be more useful for more people asking questions on this
list.

>            Apparently source-routing is recognizable or has somekind
> of signature?


I've given a couple of pointers to RFCs. At this point, you may want to
go to <URL:http://www.rfc-editor.org/> For those who don't know, RFCs
are documents which typically describe the behaviour of some protocol or
expectation on the open public Internet. An RFC might also be listed in
another index, such as STD, for the Standards. RFCs have a "Status:"
which defines how they are regarded by the Internet Engineering Task
Force (IETF). Learn to read RFCs, and how to search them. They will
become your dear friends, unless you are careless enough to venture
outdoors once every so often. ;^) Also, locate your nearest
(network-wise) public RFC mirror. They are _very_ widely mirrored.

Unfortunately, "source routing" isn't in the title of the relevant RFC,
otherwise you could simply use the excellent search facility on
www.rfc-editor.org. At this point, there are a few pointers which any
mail administrator should know:

 rfc-index.txt
    Especially learn to notice the "Obsoleted by" and Updated/Revised by
    labels, and track those down.


 rfc2821.txt
    Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
    Your life will be so much easier once you've read this, at least
    once.


 rfc2822.txt
    Internet Message Format
    Pretty much what it says.  Used in emails and USENET, amongst other
    places.


 std3.txt   : RFC 1122 + RFC 1123
    Requirements for Internet Hosts


The last one is dated; some of the more "liberal" behaviour should be
avoided -- it is sadly no longer appropriate to be as trusting as it
once was. But it will give you the rough pointers, to where else you
need to be looking.

Then you can start browsing some of the others.

If you _really_ want to learn more about the Internet, its protocols,
and how they fit together, your best bet is to shell out some money for
the three-volume set by the late W.R.Stevens, "TCP/IP Illustrated".


I was going to start providing pointers to tools for sysadmin, but
decided instead to point to a couple of useful sites:

 <URL:http://www.usenix.org/sage/>
  -- System Administrator's Guild; public website includes book
     pointers, web pointers and more
 <URL:http://www.stokely.com/>
  -- led to Celeste Stokely receiving the SAGE Outstanding Achievement
     Award in 2001.
 <URL:http://www.google.com/>
  -- Worship Google.


--
A man with a gun is a citizen. A man without a gun is a subject.