svn commit: r44798 - head/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/mail
Dru Lavigne
dru at FreeBSD.org
Fri May 9 16:17:58 UTC 2014
Author: dru
Date: Fri May 9 16:17:58 2014
New Revision: 44798
URL: http://svnweb.freebsd.org/changeset/doc/44798
Log:
Rename Using Electronic Email to Mail Components.
Format as a variable list, clean up the wording, and add references.
Many more commits in this chapter to come.
Sponsored by: iXsystems
Modified:
head/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/mail/chapter.xml
Modified: head/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/mail/chapter.xml
==============================================================================
--- head/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/mail/chapter.xml Fri May 9 12:25:18 2014 (r44797)
+++ head/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/mail/chapter.xml Fri May 9 16:17:58 2014 (r44798)
@@ -114,37 +114,11 @@
</sect1>
<sect1 xml:id="mail-using">
- <title>Using Electronic Mail</title>
+ <title>Mail Components</title>
<indexterm><primary>POP</primary></indexterm>
<indexterm><primary>IMAP</primary></indexterm>
<indexterm><primary>DNS</primary></indexterm>
-
- <para>There are five major parts involved in an email exchange:
- <link linkend="mail-mua">the Mail User Agent
- <acronym>MUA></acronym></link>, <link linkend="mail-mta">the
- Mail Transfer Agent<acronym>MTA</acronym></link>, <link linkend="mail-dns"><acronym>DNS</acronym></link>, <link linkend="mail-receive">a remote or local mailbox</link>, and
- <link linkend="mail-host">the mail host</link>.</para>
-
- <sect2 xml:id="mail-mua">
- <title>The Mail User Agent</title>
-
- <para>This includes command line programs such as
- <application>mutt</application>,
- <application>alpine</application>,
- <application>elm</application>, and
- <command>mail</command>, <acronym>GUI</acronym> programs such
- as <application>balsa</application> or
- <application>xfmail</application>, and web mail programs
- which can be accessed from a web browser. User programs pass
- the email transactions to the local <link linkend="mail-host"><quote>mail host</quote></link>, either
- by a <link linkend="mail-mta"><acronym>MTA</acronym></link>, or by
- delivering it over <acronym>TCP</acronym>.</para>
- </sect2>
-
- <sect2 xml:id="mail-mta">
- <title>The Mail Transfer Agent</title>
-
<indexterm>
<primary>mail server daemons</primary>
<secondary><application>Sendmail</application></secondary>
@@ -161,180 +135,94 @@
<primary>mail server daemons</primary>
<secondary><application>Exim</application></secondary>
</indexterm>
+ <indexterm>
+ <primary>email</primary>
+ <secondary>receiving</secondary>
+ </indexterm>
+ <indexterm><primary>MX record</primary></indexterm>
+ <indexterm><primary>mail host</primary></indexterm>
- <para>&os; ships with <application>Sendmail</application> as the
- default <acronym>MTA</acronym>, but it also supports numerous
- other mail server daemons, including:</para>
-
- <itemizedlist>
+ <para>There are five major parts involved in an email exchange:
+ the Mail User Agent (<acronym>MUA</acronym>), the Mail Transfer
+ Agent (<acronym>MTA</acronym>), a mail host, a remote
+ or local mailbox, and <acronym>DNS</acronym>. This section provides an
+ overview of these components.</para>
+
+ <variablelist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Mail User Agent (<acronym>MUA</acronym>)</term>
<listitem>
- <para><application>Exim</application>;</para>
- </listitem>
+ <para>The Mail User Agent (<acronym>MUA</acronym>) is an
+ application which is used to compose, send, and receive
+ emails. This application can be a command line program, such as
+ the built-in <command>mail</command> utility or a third-party
+ application from the Ports Collection, such as
+ <application>mutt</application>,
+ <application>alpine</application>, or
+ <application>elm</application>.
+ Dozens of graphical programs are also available in the Ports Collection, including
+ <application>Claws Mail</application>, <application>Evolution</application>, and
+ <application>Thunderbird</application>. Some organizations provide a web mail program
+ which can be accessed through a web browser. More information
+ about installing and using a <acronym>MUA</acronym> on &os; can be
+ found in <xref linkend="mail-agents"/>.</para>
+</listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+ <term>Mail Transfer Agent (<acronym>MTA</acronym>)</term>
<listitem>
- <para><application>Postfix</application>;</para>
- </listitem>
+ <para>The Mail Transfer Agent (<acronym>MTA</acronym>) is
+ responsible for receiving incoming mail and delivering
+ outgoing mail. &os; ships with <application>Sendmail</application> as the
+ default <acronym>MTA</acronym>, but it also supports numerous
+ other mail server daemons, including <application>Exim</application>,
+ <application>Postfix</application>, and
+ <application>qmail</application>.
+ <application>Sendmail</application> configuration is described
+ in <xref linkend="sendmail"/>. If another
+ <acronym>MTA</acronym> is installed using the Ports
+ Collection, refer to its post-installation message for
+ &os;-specific configuration details and the application's
+ website for more general configuration instructions.</para>
+</listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+ <term>Mail Host and Mailboxes</term>
<listitem>
- <para><application>qmail</application>.</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
-
- <para>The <acronym>MTA</acronym> usually has two functions. It
- is responsible for receiving incoming mail as well as
- delivering outgoing mail. It is <emphasis>not</emphasis>
- responsible for the collection of mail using protocols such as
- <acronym>POP</acronym> or <acronym>IMAP</acronym>, nor does it
- allow connecting to local <filename>mbox</filename> or Maildir
- mailboxes. An additional <link linkend="mail-receive">daemon</link> may be required for
- these functions.</para>
-
- <warning>
- <para>Older versions of <application>Sendmail</application>
- contain serious security issues which may result in an
- attacker gaining local or remote access to the system.
- Run a current version to &os; to avoid these problems.
- Optionally, install an alternative <acronym>MTA</acronym>
- from the <link linkend="ports">&os; Ports
- Collection</link>.</para>
- </warning>
- </sect2>
-
- <sect2 xml:id="mail-dns">
- <title>Email and DNS</title>
-
- <para>The Domain Name System (<acronym>DNS</acronym>) and its
- daemon <command>named</command> play a large role in the
- delivery of email. In order to deliver mail from one site to
- another, the <acronym>MTA</acronym> will look up the remote
- site in <acronym>DNS</acronym> to determine which host will
- receive mail for the destination. This process also occurs
- when mail is sent from a remote host to the
- <acronym>MTA</acronym>.</para>
-
- <indexterm>
- <primary>MX record</primary>
- </indexterm>
-
- <para><acronym>DNS</acronym> is responsible for mapping
- hostnames to IP addresses, as well as for storing information
- specific to mail delivery, known as Mail eXchanger
- <acronym>MX</acronym> records. The <acronym>MX</acronym>
- record specifies which host, or hosts, will receive mail for a
- particular domain. If there is no <acronym>MX</acronym>
- record for the hostname or domain, the mail will be delivered
- directly to the host, provided there is an
- <literal>A</literal> record pointing the hostname to the IP
- address.</para>
-
- <para>To view the <acronym>MX</acronym> records for a domain,
- specify the type of record using &man.host.1;, as seen in the
- example below:</para>
-
- <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>host -t mx FreeBSD.org</userinput>
-FreeBSD.org mail is handled by 10 mx1.FreeBSD.org</screen>
- </sect2>
-
- <sect2 xml:id="mail-receive">
- <title>Receiving Mail</title>
-
- <indexterm>
- <primary>email</primary>
- <secondary>receiving</secondary>
- </indexterm>
-
- <para>Receiving mail for a domain is done by the mail host.
- It will collect all mail sent to the domain and store it
+ <para>The mail host is a server that is responsible for
+ delivering and receiving mail for a host or a network. The
+ mail host collects all mail sent to the domain and stores it
either in the default <filename>mbox</filename> or the
alternative Maildir format, depending on the configuration.
Once mail has been stored, it may either be read locally using
- a <acronym>MUA</acronym>, or remotely accessed and collected
+ a <acronym>MUA</acronym> or remotely accessed and collected
using protocols such as <acronym>POP</acronym> or
- <acronym>IMAP</acronym>. In order to read mail locally,
+ <acronym>IMAP</acronym>. If mail is read locally,
a <acronym>POP</acronym> or <acronym>IMAP</acronym> server
does not need to be installed.</para>
- <sect3 xml:id="pop-and-imap">
- <title>Accessing Remote Mailboxes Using <acronym>POP</acronym>
- and <acronym>IMAP</acronym></title>
-
- <indexterm><primary>POP</primary></indexterm>
- <indexterm><primary>IMAP</primary></indexterm>
- <para>To access mailboxes remotely, access to a
+ <para>To access mailboxes remotely, a
<acronym>POP</acronym> or <acronym>IMAP</acronym> server is
- required. These protocols allow users to connect to their
- mailboxes from remote locations. Though both
- <acronym>POP</acronym> and <acronym>IMAP</acronym> allow
- users to remotely access mailboxes, <acronym>IMAP</acronym>
- offers many advantages, including:</para>
-
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para><acronym>IMAP</acronym> can store messages on a
- remote server as well as fetch them.</para>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para><acronym>IMAP</acronym> supports concurrent
- updates.</para>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para><acronym>IMAP</acronym> can be useful over
+ required as these protocols allow users to connect to their
+ mailboxes from remote locations. <acronym>IMAP</acronym> offers
+ several advantages over <acronym>POP</acronym>. These
+ include the ability to store a copy of messages on a
+ remote server after they are downloaded and concurrent
+ updates. <acronym>IMAP</acronym> can be useful over
low-speed links as it allows users to fetch the
structure of messages without downloading them. It can
also perform tasks such as searching on the server in
order to minimize data transfer between clients and
servers.</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
-
- <para>In order to install a <acronym>POP</acronym> or
- <acronym>IMAP</acronym> server, the following steps should
- be performed:</para>
-
- <procedure>
- <step>
- <para>Use the Ports Collection to install an
- <acronym>IMAP</acronym> or <acronym>POP</acronym>
- server. The following <acronym>POP</acronym> and
- <acronym>IMAP</acronym> servers are well known:</para>
-
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para><package>mail/qpopper</package></para>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para><package>mail/teapop</package></para>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para><package>mail/imap-uw</package></para>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para><package>mail/courier-imap</package></para>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para><package>mail/dovecot2</package></para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
-
- </step>
-
- <step>
- <para>Where required, use the startup script that came
- with the application to load the <acronym>POP</acronym>
- or <acronym>IMAP</acronym> server. Those programs will
- also provide a variable which can be added to
- <filename>/etc/rc.conf</filename> to automate the
- startup of the application's daemon whenever the system
- boots.</para>
- </step>
- </procedure>
+ <para>Several <acronym>POP</acronym> and
+ <acronym>IMAP</acronym> servers are available in the Ports
+ Collection. These include <package>mail/qpopper</package>,
+ <package>mail/imap-uw</package>,
+ <package>mail/courier-imap</package>, and
+ <package>mail/dovecot2</package>.</para>
<warning>
<para>It should be noted that both <acronym>POP</acronym>
@@ -343,29 +231,43 @@ FreeBSD.org mail is handled by 10 mx1.Fr
clear-text. To secure the transmission of information
across these protocols, consider tunneling sessions over
&man.ssh.1; (<xref linkend="security-ssh-tunneling"/>) or
- using SSL (<xref linkend="openssl"/>).</para>
+ using <acronym>SSL</acronym> (<xref linkend="openssl"/>).</para>
</warning>
- </sect3>
+</listitem>
+</varlistentry>
- <sect3 xml:id="local">
- <title>Accessing Local Mailboxes</title>
+<varlistentry>
+ <term>Domain Name System (<acronym>DNS</acronym>)</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>The Domain Name System (<acronym>DNS</acronym>) and its
+ daemon <command>named</command> play a large role in the
+ delivery of email. In order to deliver mail from one site to
+ another, the <acronym>MTA</acronym> will look up the remote
+ site in <acronym>DNS</acronym> to determine which host will
+ receive mail for the destination. This process also occurs
+ when mail is sent from a remote host to the
+ <acronym>MTA</acronym>.</para>
- <para>Mailboxes may be accessed locally by directly using an
- <acronym>MUA</acronym> on the server on which the mailbox
- resides. This can be done using a built-in application
- such as &man.mail.1; or by installing a
- <acronym>MUA</acronym> from the Ports Collection..</para>
- </sect3>
- </sect2>
+ <para>In addition to mapping hostnames to <acronym>IP</acronym>
+ addresses, <acronym>DNS</acronym> is responsible for storing information
+ specific to mail delivery, known as Mail eXchanger
+ <acronym>MX</acronym> records. The <acronym>MX</acronym>
+ record specifies which hosts will receive mail for a
+ particular domain.</para>
- <sect2 xml:id="mail-host">
- <title>The Mail Host</title>
+ <para>To view the <acronym>MX</acronym> records for a domain,
+ specify the type of record. Refer to &man.host.1;, for more
+ details about this command:</para>
- <indexterm><primary>mail host</primary></indexterm>
+ <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>host -t mx FreeBSD.org</userinput>
+FreeBSD.org mail is handled by 10 mx1.FreeBSD.org</screen>
- <para>The mail host is a server that is responsible for
- delivering and receiving mail for a host, or a network.</para>
- </sect2>
+ <para>Refer to <xref linkend="network-dns"/> for more
+ information about <acronym>DNS</acronym> and its
+ configuration.</para>
+</listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+</variablelist>
</sect1>
<sect1 xml:id="sendmail">
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