JP3310251B2 - Message switch and its operation method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for clustering mail servers or message switches.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a subscriber of a message switch such as a Lotus Messaging Switch (LMS) wants to send a message to a subscriber of another message switch, usually a simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) is used. Causes the message switch to send such a message over the Internet. But SM
TP is not a high-fidelity protocol, but rather some of the functions that are enabled when sending messages between subscribers of the same message switch, for example delivery / acknowledgment (COD).
/ COR) function is often lost.

However, large organizations need to maintain multiple message switches in geographically distant regions to reduce communication costs or spread the load. Nevertheless, it wants to maintain the same level of functionality and fidelity between subscribers on the same switch when sending messages between subscribers on different switches.

[0004] In order to provide scalability and allow messaging services to be performed physically, for example in the United States or the United Kingdom, the two switches can be clustered or clustered without significantly degrading mail capabilities. We need a way to link.

[0005]

Accordingly, the present invention provides a message switch according to claim 1.

[0006]

Further, when the switches are clustered, the messages sent to two or more recipients will correctly display the address of each recipient as each recipient reads the message. You need to consider the problem of having to do it.

In general, a mail message includes one or more delivery recipients (de) for the mail message.
Includes an envelope with a "to:" section describing the livery recipient and a content section that can contain some of today's various multimedia objects. When the message switch receives a message, it browses the list of delivery recipients described in the envelope and attempts to deliver the message to those delivery recipients.

Note that the content portion also includes a heading that describes the recipient of the message. This list of recipients may also include names for which the message switch is not responsible for delivery, but the addresses must be displayed correctly when received by other recipients, and the recipients will receive Is called the display recipient.

[0009] The display receiver can cancel the registration by using the switch.
Most often gistered local users. The switch has no distribution responsibility for such users. Since the post office that forwarded the message to the switch would have already sent the message to the unregistered local user. These display recipients are referred to below as local
I will call it the copy name.

[0010] To the display recipient, "unknown (nowher
e) Some special types are called "copy names,
This occurs when a reply-all contains a non-replyable copy name. For example, it is desirable to send an Internet message containing a deregistered local copy name in the format shown below or equivalent on any supported mail platform. 'Jo Local'<noreply @ lms. an
y. com> If this "no reply" entity returns to the switch without being suppressed by the user agent (UA) or platform of the user, an attempt is made to suppress its display in subsequent outbound alias generation, and a special It must be processed as a "unknown" copy name. This helps reduce the persistence of non-replyable names in ping-pong conversations.

It should also be understood that in some cases, the recipient list of a mail message may need to be divided into recipients sent by one route and recipients sent by another route. For example, when using rich text / flat text exchange support, one load sends the rich text recipient as the delivery recipient and the flat text recipient the display recipient, while the other load sends this as the display recipient. Reverse.

[0012] Alternatively, the post office is independent of the switch and can be other cluster subscribers or SNADS or X
An SMTP MTA (Message Transfer Agent) may be implemented using only the switch to send messages to the 400 addresses. In this case, the Internet address is the display recipient, but it is
An entity that the switch needs to understand and process as if it were an MTP delivery recipient.

Similarly, the LAN MTA can also split a message into two for one set of distribution recipients and another set of display recipients for one distribution, and vice versa for the other distribution. This can be done because MS Mail External is memory constrained and Internet mail can be routed via different intermediate routing post offices, for example via X400 mail, ie split routed. This is possible in Lotus ccmail.

The unregistered recipient of this class is called the "remote copy name" and is either the display recipient or the display recipient whose switch name indicates the valid user whose switch is responsible for delivery to the user's domain. May be.

The present invention preferably stores as much important information as possible for both distribution and display recipients who are not switch subscribers from the input values so that proper alias generation occurs.

Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a message switch according to claim 10 is provided.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Lotus Messaging Switch (LM)
Although the present embodiment will be described with respect to S), it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to only such switches.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the LMS, like any similar switch, has a plurality of ports 12, 14, 14 ', 14 "through which messages are sent and received.
Is provided. A message switch such as an LMS is connected to a connected post office 22, such as Microsoft Exchan.
ge's post office processes mail messages received through port 12 and converts them to simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) or SNA from X400 or IBM.
Using DS (System Network Architecture / Distributed System), the message is relayed via each port 14, 14 ', 14 "according to the address format of the recipient.
Port 12 can be connected to the associated post office via an AN or other suitable link. Similarly, for example, from the Internet, ports 14, 1
Mail messages for switch subscribers arriving via 4 ', 14 "are relayed via port 12 to the appropriate post office, from which the subscriber can retrieve mail messages.

Unlike SMTP, which is traditionally used to send messages between switches in one organization, the X400 protocol is a sophisticated, high fidelity mail
Protocol. In the present embodiment, the X400 link 19 is used between message switches of one organization to carry message content with high fidelity and to store mail status such as COD / COR. Also, in this embodiment, the display recipient address is packaged before forwarding over link 19 to provide absolute fidelity when displaying other recipient addresses.

The present invention works by maintaining the presence of any subscriber to other switches in the cluster on each switch. That is, the switch A, together with a subscriber to this switch, for example, the directory 10 of Auser or User, and a subscriber to another switch, for example, Bus
r and Other B lists are also included. However, the post office connected to Switch A is a subscriber that is not registered with the switch at a given time, eg,
It may have an lUser, which appears in the content of the message as the name of the local copy to be treated as the display recipient.

Each subscriber directory entry contains a number of attributes, but only three are important in the present invention. The first attribute is the user name, the second is X400 not used otherwise, in this case the terminal ID
(T.id), and the third attribute is a switch ID. For local subscribers, the switch ID is local, while for other subscribers the switch ID is the ID of the user on the remote switch. The mail sent from the subscriber from one switch to the other switch is actually the user's unique SNADS address, eg, cboyce. T. win. matches the id attribute.

In the LMS, each port 12, 14, 1
4 ', 14 "include programmable logic capable of processing the recipient address and dispatching the message, the logic being that the port is an inbound port (I).
Or encapsulated in rules that can be executed when operating as a target port (T) or both. (I) omatch-this allows to check if the source is in fact a switch subscriber and thus reject sending messages to non-subscribers. However, in the present embodiment, during the processing of the display recipient, oma
A mailbox can also be created using tch, allowing further processing by subgen logic. (I) rmatch-Here, the recipient address is matched against the directory 10 for comparison. If the address matches, the switch knows that a directory entry is available for the target port's alignen rule to work, so no further processing of this address is necessary. (I) Mailbox determination—If the delivery recipient address does not match the directory, then the address is X400, SNADS, Internet,
Alternatively, the switch needs to determine whether it is anything else. If it is either X400, SNADS, or the Internet, the inbound port creates a mailbox for the recipient and calls the processing attributes and subgen logic of each respective target port to complete these two steps. Mailbox judgments cannot be used to process display recipient addresses,
The inbound port needs to use its own subgen logic to create a temporary directory entry 18 for such an address. (T) Processing Attribute-When ports 12, 14, 14 ', 14 "each serve as a target for processing a LAN, Internet," real "X400, or SNADS message, the processing attribute logic may be, for example, the recipient To determine if the source is authorized to send messages to (I, T) subgen-In this embodiment, the port that acts as both the target and the inbound port is the temporary directory entry 1 for the unregistered recipient.
Su programmed to operate on recipient mailboxes to create 6, 16 ', 16 ", 18
Includes bgen logic. Inbound for display recipients
The subgen logic of the port is used, but the subgen logic of the target port is used for the delivery recipient. (T) alignen-When the inbound port completes processing of the message, each target port sending the message processes its temporary and permanent directory entries using its align rules and filters outbound messages appropriately. Can be generated in any format.

The processing of the delivery recipient address is divided into four steps. That is, rmatch, the determination of the mailbox on the inbound port 12, the determination of the mailbox on the processing attribute, and the target ports 14, 14 'identified by the determination of the mailbox.
Subgen on 14 ".

The processing of the display recipient address is divided into three steps. That is, the inbound port 12
The above is the match-rmatch-subgen. This presents a problem when implementing the present invention with the Lotus Messaging Switch to ensure that display recipients are aliased to ensure replyable performance and / or consistent display. Occurs. This is because there is no mailbox decision step and the inbound port subgen logic must be used. That is, rather than using the target port's subgen logic, which only handles its own remote copy name type, and thus is less difficult to handle, the inbound port subgen logic uses any form of remote copy name and local copy A directory entry for the copy name must be created.

In any case, for example, considering a message 20 sent from an Auser to a Buser or the Internet, the message arrives at the inbound side of the LAN port 12 on the switch A. When a message is received at the switch, an entry for a registered user, such as Buser, is found in the directory 10. Other registered switch users are similarly matched and all entries are retrieved on the other switch for display of the copy name. An unregistered recipient, such as an X400, SMTP or SNADS recipient, is processed by the subgen logic of the recipient's target port processing attribute and the temporary directory entry 1
6, 16 ', 16 "are generated. Non-replyable display recipients, such as unregistered local copy names, are processed by the inbound port subgen logic and a temporary directory entry 18 is generated.

In the present embodiment, the X400 target port 21 performs processing for a registered user of a clustered switch. This port 21 provides address details over a set of domain definition attributes (DD
A) Non-X400 by packaging as value
Processing details for unregistered users
Logic, and the registered user address is in X400 form (T
terminal-ID = domainname. dom
ain).

When received at the other switch, here switch B, where a message for the Buser is received,
Matching of registered users is performed by the inbound logic of the corresponding port 21. The deregistration address is stored in the DDA so that a standard temporary directory configuration is created for subsequent standard outbound alias processing by the target logic of the corresponding LAN port 12.
Unpackaged from value.

To ensure address fidelity via an internal X400 link between message switches, information about all addresses is stored, and if the addresses originated locally or on the other switch are not different. X40 with address unpackaged as expected
It is necessary to package the address via the 0 link 19.

The subscriber user (SU) data stored in the directory 10, ie, the switch ID, is X400
Since it is not an address attribute, it needs to be packaged into some X400 attribute with the required length. The DDA attribute is ideal for this purpose,
The processing rule for the X400 link uses the value set as the SU value and converts the SU value to the D of type SU3 to SU6.
Alliance with DA. This is then retrieved on the receiving switch and the switch's inbound port 2
Unpackaged by a subgen logic of 1
Returned to the correct subscriber user data field in directory 10.

[0030] All non-X400 non-matching name types, including local and remote copy names, are tagged with a type label in the DDA labeled SU3. An indication of the various input values available is then D4 labeled Su4, Su5, Su6.
Stored by the configuration schema in the DA. The alias generation rules for the registered user's target port 21 simply process the alias in accordance with the label presented in Su3, and the Su required by the destination mail system.
Retrieve the appropriate value previously stored on 4/5/6.
Therefore, as the local copy name, Su3 = L
OCALCOPY, Su4 = '* first last
(Server) ', Su5 =' first last '
(Server) ', Su6 =' first las
t ′. As the SNADS recipient or copy name, Su3 = IEAONLY, Su4 = 'DEN', S
u5 = 'IBMMAIL. DEN ', Su6 =' IBM
MAIL. DEN ', or Su3 = IMXREAL,
Su4 = 'DEN', Su5 = 'DGN', Su6 =
'DGN. DEN '. As the Internet,
Su3 = “RFC-822”, Su4 = “Intern”
et address "and Su5 and Su6 are not required. To avoid interfering with any valid real X400 DDA attributes, the SU3 X400 label is not packaged over a link, and a special There is a case, so the unpackage subgen logic at the registered user port 21 on any inbound switch is a SU3 type D
Assume that the arriving delivery without DA is the X400 copy name. As a result, alig of any target port
It is ensured that the en rule has a minimal amount of work.

FIG. 2 shows the flow between switches where the local copy name is packaged via a link. Au
ser from two local users (LocalUse
r and User), that is, the second switch (Other
B) Users resident on the Internet and the Internet (chum @
inter. net) is sent to the user.
Switch A is responsible for delivering mail to Internet users and users on the second switch, and displaying local users as copy names. Switch A
The above directory is Auser, User, Oth
erB has an entry 30, but the LocalUse
r is not registered. The temporary directory entry 32 that stores the same amount of information as the provided amount is a LocalUser
And an entry 31 is created for the Internet user. The mail is sent to the Internet in the conventional manner, and the switch B
Is transmitted to the subscriber OtherB.

Switch B is connected to Auser, User,
It has a directory entry 34 for OtherB, but no LocalUser and Internet users are registered. Temporary directory entry 36
Is created for Internet users from the DDA (RFC822) entry 38. Also, the DDA attribute 42
By unpackaging the information provided within the Local Directory entry 40
Created for er. Users Auser, Other
A mail is sent to the user on switch B using the alias information stored in B, the permanent entry for the User, and the temporary directory entry for the Internet user and LocalUser.

The present invention provides a clustered mail switch that preserves the returnability and fidelity of copy names. This is because this rule design overcomes the limitations in the LMS switch design for handling display recipients and packages / packages the copy name data over the X400 inter-switch link using a standard temporary subscriber template. This is because it becomes possible to cancel. Ex (fully directory based and with fixed rules)
Compared to other clustered mail switches, such as change and even more traditional LMS implementations, the method described above integrates a directory approach and a rule-based approach for message exchange to achieve copy name fidelity. And provide a complete solution that preserves its fidelity within a cluster of message switches.

However, it has been recognized that it is difficult to package display recipient names in the current version of LMS. This is because the processing of the display recipient rule is omatch-
This is because only the rmatch-subgen step is included in the inbound port. The only real opportunity to manipulate and store the display recipient value is when using the inbound port subgen logic, which can only operate on mailbox values. The only way to get some mailbox attributes stored for the display recipient is o
By using a dummy parse statement to create a mailbox for the display recipient in the match.

It is envisioned that future LMS versions may include display recipient processing of mailbox determination rules. That would allow the mailbox attributes to be more reliably assigned to the display recipient, and would therefore be able to be processed in subsequent target subgen rules. For delivery recipient processing, the executed subgen rule set flips to the appropriate target rule set. Therefore, the inbound subgen rule is no longer SMTP / X400 / S
There is no need to deal with remote copy names, such as for NADS, but only with its own domain-specific pre-type.

Although the invention has been described with respect to only two switches, it will be appreciated that it can be extended to a plurality of switches, thus providing the required salability.

It should be appreciated that the advantage of this embodiment is that the target alias generation rules may not affect the value supplied to the inbound port. Instead, the LAN target and the registered user
Both logic operates from the same directory entry created by either the inbound LAN or the registered user port, depending on the origin. This is preferred because the input values will differ depending on whether the distribution is coming from a local switch or a remote switch. With this embodiment, the outbound alias generation rules on the switch remain the same,
It is irrelevant to the switch source of the original distribution.

In summary, the following is disclosed regarding the configuration of the present invention.

(1) A message switch operable within a cluster of message switches, including an entry for a subscriber of said switch and any other switch within said cluster, each entry comprising A directory containing a unique identifier for one of the subscribers of the switch in the cluster, and adapted to send and receive messages including one or more recipient addresses with the subscriber of the switch. A first port;
A second port adapted to send and receive messages with subscribers of the other switch in the cluster according to a high fidelity mail protocol, wherein the first port is received by the port. Adapted to analyze a recipient address in a mail message, responsive to identifying an address that is not among switch subscribers in the cluster, causing a temporary directory entry for the address to be created; A port is adapted to package the recipient's directory entry in a mail message sent to the other switch in the cluster, and to send the message, and wherein the second port is Adapted to analyze mail messages received from other switches, and Responsive to identifying a directory entry for an address that is not in the switch subscriber, causing a temporary directory entry to be generated for the address, wherein the first port is configured to provide a temporary directory entry for the mail message subscribed to the switch. A message switch adapted to send a message received by the second port to a recipient and package a recipient address of the mail message according to the directory entry. (2) The message switch according to (1), wherein the switch includes a set of ports for transmitting and receiving messages to and from Internet, X400, and SNADS users, respectively. (3) one of the set of ports generates a temporary directory entry for the user in response to the first port identifying a recipient address as an Internet, X400, or SNADS user. , The message switch according to (2). (4) The message switch according to (3), wherein the one port is adapted to determine whether a sender of the message is authorized to send a message to the user. (5) The message switch according to (3), wherein the high-fidelity mail protocol is an X400 protocol. (6) the directory entry generated by the Internet and the port of the SNADS is:
The message switch according to (5), including the recipient address stored in a plurality of attributes defined by a domain in an X400 address. (7) The message switch according to (5), wherein the directory entry created by the X400 port includes the X400 address of the recipient. (8) the first port stores the recipient address information in a plurality of attributes defined by a domain in the X400 address, thereby enabling non-subscriber non-Internet;
The message switch of claim 5, wherein the message switch is adapted to generate a temporary directory entry for a non-X400 or non-SNADS recipient. (9) The message switch is Lotus Messaging Sw
The message switch according to (1), wherein the message switch is itch (LMS). (10) The message of (9), wherein the message includes one or more display recipients, and wherein the first port is adapted to create a temporary directory entry for the display recipient. ·switch. (11) In a cluster of message switches, comprising a directory containing entries for subscribers of the switch in the cluster and subscribers of any other switches, each entry being one of subscribers of a switch in the cluster. A method of operating a message switch including a unique identifier for a subscriber, wherein a first port transmits and receives a message including one or more recipient addresses to a subscriber of the switch. Sending and receiving a message at a second port with a subscriber of the other switch in the cluster according to a sophisticated and high-fidelity mail protocol;
At the port, analyzing the recipient address in the mail message received by the port and generating a temporary directory entry for the address in response to identifying an address that is not among the switch subscribers in the cluster Packaging the recipient's directory entry in a mail message sent to the switch in the cluster at the second port;
Transmitting the message; and analyzing, at the second port, a mail message received from another switch in the cluster to identify a directory entry for an address not in a switch subscriber in the cluster. Generating a temporary directory entry for the address in response to
Sending, at a port, the message received by the second port to a recipient of the mail message subscribing to the switch, and packaging a recipient address of the mail message according to the directory entry. How to operate the message switch.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating two clustered switches according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the flow between switches where a local display recipient is packaged on a link.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Message Switch B Message Switch 10 Directory 12 First Port 16 Temporary Directory Entry 16 Temporary Directory Entry 16 "Temporary Directory Entry 18 Temporary Directory Entry 21 Second Port

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-39647 (JP, A) Naohiko Hashi, X. 400 (1988)-Realization of Internet Mail Gateway, OPEN DESIGN, Japan, CQ Publishing Co., Ltd., May 1, 1997, No. 9, pages 30-47 (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04L 12/58 G06F 13/00

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] A message switch operating in a cluster
Includes possible message switchesMessage switch
And the message switch is  Subscribers of the switch in the cluster and any other
Each switch contains an entry for the switch subscriber.
Is one of the subscribers of the switches in the cluster
A directory containing a unique identifier for the subscriber, and the subscriber of the switch and one or more recipient addresses.
A first point adapted to send and receive messages including
AndPredetermined According to the mail protocol,The first port
ThroughSubscribers of the other switch in the cluster
A second port adapted to send and receive messages;
And wherein the first port is configured to receive mail received by the port.
To analyze recipient addresses in email messages.
Address that is not among the switch subscribers in the cluster
Address to the address in response to identifying the address.
Generating a directory entry, wherein the second port stores the recipient's directory entry.
Mail sent to the other switch in the cluster
・ Package in the message, and the messageSend
And  The second port is from another switch in the cluster
Adapted to analyze incoming mail messages
Address that is not among the switch subscribers in the cluster
Reply to identify directory entry for
And a temporary directory entry for said address
Generate aLet meThe first port is connected to the menu subscribed to the switch.
Message received by the second port
Send a message and follow the directory entry
Package the recipient address of the email message
Message switch that is adapted to be. 2. The switch according to claim 1, wherein said switch is Internet, X40.
The message switch according to claim 1, comprising a set of ports for sending and receiving messages to and from SNADS users, respectively. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein one of said set of ports comprises:
The message switch of claim 2, wherein a temporary directory entry for the user is generated in response to identifying the user as a user of SNADS. 4. The message switch of claim 3, wherein the one port is adapted to determine whether a sender of the message is authorized to send a message to the user. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined mail protocol is X400.
The message switch according to claim 3, which is a protocol. 6. The Internet and the SNADS
6. The message switch of claim 5, wherein the directory entry generated by the port of the message includes the recipient address stored in a plurality of attributes defined in the domain in the X400 address. 7. The message switch of claim 5, wherein the directory entry created by the X400 port includes the recipient's X400 address. 8. The non-subscriber's non-Internet, non-X400, or non-SNADS reception, wherein the first port stores the recipient address information in a plurality of attributes defined by a domain in an X400 address. 6. The message switch of claim 5, wherein the message switch is adapted to generate a temporary directory entry for a party. 9. The message switch is connected
Receive a mail message has been received from the post office
The message switch according to claim 1, wherein the message is relayed according to a follower address format . 10. The message of claim 9, wherein the message includes one or more display recipients, and wherein the first port is adapted to create a temporary directory entry for the display recipient. Message switch . 11. A cluster of message switches.
Subscribers and other subscribers of the switch in the cluster
Directory containing entries for subscribers of any switch
And each entry is a switch in the cluster.
Unique identifier for one of the subscribers
Message containingExchangeA method of operating, comprising, at a first port, one or more subscribers of the switch.
To send and receive messages that include the
AndAccording to a predetermined mail protocol,
Sending and receiving a message to and from a subscriber of the other switch in a second
Causing a step between a port and the first port
When,  At the first port, mail received by that port
Analyze the recipient address in the
To identify addresses that are not among switch subscribers in the
In response to the temporary directory
Generating an entry; and at the second port, retrieving a directory entry for the recipient.
Email messages sent to the switch in the cluster
Package in a message and send the message
And at the second port, from another switch in the cluster.
Analyze incoming mail messages
For addresses that are not in the existing switch subscriber
Address in response to identifying the
Create a temporary directory entry for
And at the first port, the member subscribing to the switch.
Message received by the second port
Send a message and follow the directory entry
Package the recipient address of the email message
The messageswitchThose who operate
Law.