PMDF System Manager's Guide
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41.4.1 X400_LOCAL Channel Option File

Network address and MTA information required by the X400_LOCAL channel in order to connect to and accept connections from a remote X.400 MTA is contained in the channel option file x400_local_option stored in the PMDF table directory, i.e., in PMDF_TABLE:x400_local_option. (OpenVMS) or /pmdf/table/x400_local_option (UNIX). The format of channel option files is documented in Section 7.2. The available options are:

FLAGS (integer)

Bit-encoded numeric. Bit number 0 (value of 1) can be set to disable checking of the remote MTA's name and password. In that case, the connection will be accepted regardless of the remote MTA name and password. Bit number 2 (value of 4) controls connection caching. By default (when this bit is not set), PMDF-X400 attempts to cache outgoing connections for performance reasons, potentially holding open multiple connections simultaneously. Setting this bit causes the X400_LOCAL channel to cache only a single outgoing connection. That means that at most one connection will be open at a time. Note that one connection is cached and reused, if an immediately subsequent message is to the same MTA.

LOCAL_ADDR (string)

String containing a TSEL and optionally an SSEL and PSEL (if 1988-Normal mode). PMDF-X400 sets this TSEL, SSEL, and PSEL when connecting to a remote MTA, but does not use this field otherwise. Quotes will be retained, if present, in case this is a printable string form of TSEL, SSEL, or PSEL. Some remote MTAs use this information to determine who is connecting to them.

LOCAL_MTANAME (string)

String containing the local MTA name. If the name contains spaces, "=", or ";" then the string must be enclosed in double-quotes. This string is case-sensitive.

LOCAL_PASSWORD (string)

String or hexadecimal octet-string containing the local MTA password. If the string contains spaces, "=", or ";" then the string must be enclosed in double-quotes. This string is case-sensitive. A hexadecimal octet-string is specified by enclosing the hexadecimal digits, two digits per octet, in single-quotes and providing a trailing H character. This is the same format as that presented in Table 41-5 for a hexadecimal octet-string transport selector.

MODE (1984, 1988-X410, 1988-NORMAL)

String containing the transfer mode to be used with RTSE. Valid values are 1984, 1988-X410, and 1988-NORMAL. If 1984 is chosen, messages will be downgraded to 1984 X.400 and 1984 Reliable Transfer Service will be used. If 1988-X410 is chosen, messages will comply with 1988 X.400, but 1984 RTS will be used. If 1988-NORMAL is chosen, messages will comply with 1988 X.400 and 1988 RTSE. The default if this option is not present is 1984. The string must not contain quotes and must not be abbreviated.

REMOTE_ADDR (string)

String containing either a TSAP or PSAP address of the remote MTA, consisting of a TSEL and NSAP address for 1984 or 1988-X410 modes, or a PSEL, SSEL, TSEL, and NSAP address for 1988-Normal mode. Quotes will be retained, if present, in case this address contains a printable string form of TSEL, SSEL, or PSEL.

REMOTE_MTANAME (string)

String containing the remote MTA name. If the name contains spaces, "=", or ";" then the string must be enclosed in double-quotes. This string is case-sensitive.

REMOTE_PASSWORD (string)

String or hexadecimal octet-string containing the remote MTA password. If the string contains spaces, "=", or ";" then the string must be enclosed in double-quotes. This string is case-sensitive. A hexadecimal octet-string is specified by enclosing the hexadecimal digits, two digits per octet, in single-quotes and providing a trailing H character. This is the same format as that presented in Table 41-5 for an octet-string transport selector.

TEMPLATE (string) (OpenVMS or Tru64 UNIX only)

String containing a DECnet/OSI template name. The template specifies OSI parameters to be used in the DECnet/OSI connection to the remote MTA. On OpenVMS, you must specify a template if you also specify either the Int-X25 or NSAP form of the REMOTE_ADDR option. An appropriate DECnet/OSI template must previously exist. PMDF-X400 does not create templates. On Tru64 UNIX, if you do not specify a template, default values will be used and are sufficient in most cases. If you need to specify a specific OSI transport class, for example, create a template which specifies that class.

41.4.1.1 Sample X400_LOCAL Channel Option File

A sample X400_LOCAL channel option file is shown in Example 41-1.

Example 41-1 Sample X400_LOCAL Channel Option File 

MODE=1988-NORMAL (1)
LOCAL_MTANAME="MyMTA" (2)
LOCAL_PASSWORD="secret" (3)
LOCAL_ADDR="MTA"/"MTA"/"PMDF-X400" (4)
REMOTE_MTANAME="OtherMTA" (5)
REMOTE_PASSWORD="" (6)
REMOTE_ADDR="MTA"/"MTA"/"X400-88"/Internet=OTHERMTA.EXAMPLE.COM (7)
The key items in the above example are:

  1. Transfer mode is 1988-NORMAL for connecting to a 1988 or 1992 compliant remote MTA.
  2. Our MTA name is "MyMTA" We send this name to the remote MTA so it knows who we are and can validate the connection. Note that surrounding double-quotes, if present, are removed and case is preserved.
  3. Our MTA password is "secret" We send this along with our MTA name to the remote MTA for validation. Quotes are removed and case is preserved.
  4. Set the Presentation Address for our end of the connection. This address can only contain the three selectors, PSEL, SSEL, and TSEL. No NSAP is specified since it will be filled in with the local OSI NSAP address. In this example, three string selectors are used, separated by forward slash characters. If this were a 1984 or 1988-X410 transfer mode, then this option would specify just a single selector, the TSEL.
  5. The remote MTA's name. We check what is received from the remote against this string. If it does not match then the connection is rejected because we have not used the FLAGS parameter to override validation.
  6. The remote MTA's password. We check what is received from the remote against this string. If it does not match then the connection is rejected because we have not used the FLAGS parameter to override validation.
  7. The remote MTA's Presentation Address. This address contains the three selectors, PSEL, SSEL, and TSEL, together with the OSI NSAP address of the remote host. This example uses three printable string selectors. The NSAP address indicates that this will be an RFC 1006 connection over the Internet to the specified host. If this were a 1984 or 1988-X410 transfer mode, then this option would specify a Transport Address, containing just one selector, the TSEL, and the NSAP address.

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