JPH07212394A - System and device for repeating electronic mail - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To restrain the repeating between dealers connected by the repeating network of the same electronic mail according to the combination. CONSTITUTION:When no connection to the company X is performed from the C company although the connection is performed through a repeating network 100 of the electronic mail from the company B, a table which registers the name of a sender (OR name) which comes to the company X is provided on the network. When a message for the company X comes from each company, the right or wrong of the connection is judged by referring to the table and a control according to it is performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic mail relay system and a relay device. One of the services provided by personal computer communication is e-mail service,
This is a storage service that performs one-to-one communication, and has the advantage that messages can be exchanged with high confidentiality because information can be exchanged between individuals like letters.
If there are multiple businesses that provide such e-mail services (individuals who wish to receive the e-mail service will subscribe to this business), relay messages (e-mail) between those businesses. Although convenient if done, the present invention relates to an electronic mail relay system and a relay device between such businesses.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a conventional example of an electronic mail relay system. In the figure, 100 is an electronic mail relay network (which may be a telephone network, a packet network, an ISDN network, or the like), and 1-4 are message transfer processing devices (MTA: Message Transfer Age).
nt), 10 is a line corresponding part, 5 and 6 are providers (provider A is a company and B is a company 6) that provides an electronic mail service, 51 and 61 are user terminals (user terminals). 51 is subscribed to the business operator 5, and the user terminal 61 is subscribed to the business operator 6).

In FIG. 8, companies A and 5 are business operators.
Only company 6 is shown, but the e-mail relay network 100
It is needless to say that an arbitrary number of businesses can be accommodated as businesses to be accommodated in. Similarly, although only 51 and 61 are shown as user terminals in FIG.
It goes without saying that any number of user terminals accommodated in company B can be accommodated as appropriate. It is a business operator such as a telephone company that provides the electronic mail relay network 100.

The electronic mail relay network 100 is composed of a plurality of message transfer processors (MTAs). For example, the message transfer processor (MTA) 1 is located in Hokkaido,
If the message transfer processing device (MTA) 4 is arranged in Kyushu, it is possible to construct a relay network for electronic mails that extends over the whole country. Each message transfer processor (MT
A) is connected to each business operator via the line interface 10. The message transfer processors (MTAs) are interconnected by relay lines.

A user terminal 51 accommodated in the business operator 5
Can perform personal computer communication (e-mail communication) with another user terminal (not shown) housed in the same company 5, but a user terminal 61 housed in a completely different company 6 When the business operator 5 is accommodated in the e-mail relay network 100 and the business operator 6 is also accommodated in the e-mail relay network 100, relay exchange is performed in the e-mail relay network 100 when communicating with Thus, the user terminal 51 can communicate with the user terminal 61. This is an e-mail relay service.

[0006]

With the conventional e-mail relay service as described above, it is possible to provide the relay service with any combination of operators connected to the e-mail relay network. However, it was not considered that the relay service would be regulated depending on the combination of operators.

For example, in FIG. 8, it is assumed that company X exists in addition to companies A and B as operators connected to the electronic mail relay network 100. It is assumed that company X is a business operator that provides a special service, for example, an electronic bulletin board service. If the information provided by this electronic bulletin board service is valuable information, Company X will provide the electronic bulletin board service only to businesses that have a contract with the company, and will provide it to businesses that do not have a contract. On the other hand, even if one does not want to provide the electronic bulletin board service, in the conventional relay service, as long as there is a business operator connected to the e-mail relay network 100, any business operator can be connected to company X. As a result, company X's hope was unfulfilled.

The present invention solves such a problem, and even the operators connected to the same e-mail relay network can regulate the relay between them depending on the combination of them. If you are a business operator that has a contract with the company, identify it and relay connection to company X.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic mail relay system) and a relay device in which a business operator who does not have a contract with the company identifies it and does not perform the relay connection to the company X.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, when there are a plurality of business operators who provide an electronic mail service, the plurality of business operators are accommodated and an electronic mail is sent between the business operators. In an e-mail relay network capable of relaying the above message, the identification information of another specific operator is registered in the management table of the specific operator, and this identification information and the identification information included in the relay message are registered. It is characterized by collating and determining whether to relay or regulate according to the result.

A specific place where the management table is provided is a message transfer processing device that accommodates a recipient of a message to be relayed among a plurality of message transfer processing devices that form an electronic mail relay network. Is good. The network to be connected to the electronic mail relay network may be a telephone network, a packet network, an ISDN network, or a dedicated line.

[0011]

When a message relating to an outgoing call from a specific carrier or an incoming call to a specific carrier arrives at the network for relaying, the identification information contained in the message is compared with that in the management table provided in the relay network. The message is relayed only when it matches and the identification information registered in the table is matched (when it does not match, the message is regulated). Alternatively, relaying may be performed only when they do not match (regulation is performed when they match). When not relaying (restricting), it can be said that it is more kind if the sender of the message is notified of non-delivery from the relay network.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of an electronic mail relay system as an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, it is assumed that Company A, Company B, Company C, and Company X are directly connected to the e-mail relay network 100. It is assumed that Company X provides a specific service, Company X has a contract with Company A and Company B to provide the specific service, and has no contract with Company C and Company M.

At this time, according to the present invention, the connection between company X and company A is OK, the connection between company X and company B is also OK, but the connection between company X and company C is NG (not possible). . Company M is not directly connected to the e-mail relay network 100 due to circumstances, so it is directly connected to the e-mail relay network 100.
The company requested the relay and tried to connect to company X via company A, but since company M does not have a contract with company X, the connection is also NG (impossible) in this case. The connection between Company C and Company B is OK because it is not related to Company X.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, it is assumed that Company X provides a specific service, and if Company X has a contract with Company A and Company B to provide that specific service, Company X is allowed to connect (relay). A call origination / receipt management table in which the identification information of the company A and the company B is registered is provided in the relay network 100 of the e-mail as the company X table. This incoming / outgoing call management table may be provided in the area for registering the incoming / outgoing caller name in the management table of company X provided in the relay network 100 of the electronic mail.

The identification information registered in the outgoing / incoming call management table is a standardized message communication processing system (C
CITT MHS Recommendation X. The name of the sender / receiver in the 400 series) (this is called the OR name) is suitable. This O
The R name includes unique information for identifying the business operator delivering the message, and various types (such as those using the nemock OR address format and the numeric OR address format) are defined. Therefore, in the above example, the incoming / outgoing call management table of the X company is registered with the outgoing / incoming call names (OR names) of the A company and the B company as the identification information of other specific business operators. Note that the message includes the sender name, that is, the unique information of the calling company, and the called name, that is, the unique information of the called company.

If a message addressed to Company X from Company A or Company B arrives at the relay network 100 of the electronic mail, the sender name (OR
Name) with the management table of company X. The result of the matching is
Since there is a match, the message is relayed to company X.

Since the company M is not directly connected to the e-mail relay network 100, the company M has the e-mail relay network 10
I requested a relay to 0 and tried to receive an incoming call to company X via company A. However, the calling / calling name (OR name) included in the message sent by company M is Since it is the company X, the calling / calling name (OR name) is not registered in the management table of the company X. Therefore, the result of the collation is a mismatch, so the message from the company M is the company A. Even if it is relayed, it will not be relayed to Company X. Company C is X
Even when a message addressed to the company is issued, it is not relayed to company X in the same manner. At this time, C from the net
It is also possible to send a non-delivery notification to the company to notify the non-delivery to the company C.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a communication sequence when the present invention is carried out. Reference is made to FIG. In FIG. 1, general companies are companies other than company X. When a message addressed to X company from this general business operator arrives at the relay network 100 of the electronic mail, the OR name included in the message is collated with the management table of X company at the relay network 100, and if it is OK. For example, the message is received by the company X and connected to the company X, and this is shown as a normal operation.

On the other hand, if the result of the collation with the X company table is NG, it means that the connection with the X company cannot be established, and thus the relay network 10
A non-delivery notification is sent from 0 to the general business operator, and this case is shown in FIG. 2 as an operation at the time of abnormality.

In the above description, the incoming call to the company X has been described as an example, but conversely, the outgoing call from the company X can be similarly processed. That is, if a message originating from company X arrives at the relay network 100 of the electronic mail,
X is the callee name (OR name) included in the message
Check with the management table of the company. As a result of this comparison, if the calling and receiving names (OR names) of the companies A and B match, the message is relayed to the company A or company B. If they do not match, the message is not relayed and a non-delivery notification is returned to company X.

In the above embodiment, when the OR name included in the message and the OR name registered in the management table match, the relay is performed.
Obviously, it may be configured to restrict (not relay) when names match.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention including a network configuration. In the figure, the same components as those in FIG. 8 are designated by the same reference numerals. others,
Reference numeral 9 is an X company, and 91 is a management table for the X company. Company X 9
In the case of restricting incoming calls to the company X, the management table 91 of the company X is placed in the message transfer processing device (MTA) 3 having the subscriber information of the company X 9.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing details of the message transfer processor (MTA) 3 and the line interface 10 in FIG. As seen in FIG. 4, the message transfer processor (MTA) 3 includes at least a store-and-forward system 30 and a maintenance console 31. The maintenance console 31 is a terminal that controls the storage and transfer system 30 for maintenance operation, since the storage and transfer system 30 is a computer. The maintenance console 31, the storage / transfer system 30, and the line interface 10 are connected by a LAN 120.

The storage and transfer system 30 is composed of a system management unit 31, a service management unit 32, a maintenance operation unit 33, a line control unit 35, and a LAN corresponding unit 36, in addition to the most important MTA unit 34 among them. . System management unit 31
Manages system normality and error handling. The service management unit 32 is responsible for command (job) distribution and management. The maintenance operation unit 33 manages changes, additions, deletions, and the like of subscriber data and system definition data. The line control unit 35 controls transmission / reception of messages, syntax conversion, and the like. The LAN corresponding unit 36 controls the assembly and disassembly of the LAN protocol.

On the other hand, the line interface 10 is the communication controller 10
2, LAN compatible unit 103, DDX compatible unit 104, ISD
The N-corresponding portion 105 and the dedicated line-corresponding portion 106 are included. 110 to 112 are transmission networks, and 110
Is DDX-P, 111 is ISDN, and 112 is a dedicated line. In this case, the company X 9 is connected to the line interface 10 via the dedicated line 112, but it can also be connected to the line interface 10 via the ISDN 111, and the DDX-
Of course, it can be connected to the line interface 10 via P110.

The message from the X company 9 is the private line 112.
→ Leased line corresponding unit 106 → Communication control unit 102 → LAN corresponding unit 103 → LAN 120 → LAN corresponding unit 36 → Line control unit 35 → MTA unit 34 via the route to MTA unit 34, and further MTA unit 34 → Line control unit The message is transmitted to another message transfer processing device (MTA) 4 or the like through a route of 35 → LAN corresponding unit 36 → LAN 120.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing details of the MTA unit 34, the line control unit 35 and the LAN corresponding unit 36 in FIG. In FIG. 5, the line control unit 35 is the receiving unit 35.
1 and a transmission unit 352. The reception unit 351 has a function of converting a received message (transfer syntax) into an abstract syntax readable by the MTA unit at the next stage, and the transmission unit 352 has the opposite function.

The MTA section 34 is a non-delivery message creating section 3.
41, routing table 342, routing processing unit 3
43, incoming call permission regulation determination unit 344, transfer destination information acquisition unit 3
45, a user management information section 346 and the like. The user management information section 346 includes an OR name management table 346A and a callee information table 346B.

In the routing processing unit 343, regarding the message received from the receiving unit 351 of the line control unit 35 in the form of a decipherable abstract syntax, the routing table 34 is provided.
2 is referred to and the routing destination is determined and passed to the incoming call permission regulation determination unit 344. Then, the incoming call permission regulation determination unit 344 causes the OR name management table 3 set according to the present invention.
46A, it is determined whether or not the routing destination is the routing destination permitted to receive the call. If the routing destination is permitted, the routing destination is passed to the transfer destination information acquisition unit 345. If not, the non-delivery message is sent. It is passed to the creating unit 341.

The transfer destination information acquisition unit 345 refers to the destination information table 346B for the received message, acquires the transfer destination information, and sends it to the transmission unit 352. The non-delivery message creation unit 341 creates a non-delivery message for the sender of the received message and sends it to the transmission unit 352.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the format of the calling and receiving name (OR name) included in the electronic mail (message). As shown in (1) of FIG. 6, the OR name is composed of a set of information called attributes, and as a specific example, it is as shown in (2) of FIG.

A specific example will be described. (2) in FIG.
In the above, C = JP means that the country name is Japan. Next, ADMD = AAA means that the name of the business operator authorized by the name of the main government agency (Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in Japan) is AAA, and PRMD = A
AAX is the name of the organization located under the ADMD name and may not be present. Next PN = AAA00
001 indicates an individual name (personal name). Of the OR names, the country name and the ADMD name (PRMD name if PRMD name exists) are sufficient to uniquely identify the business operator.

Therefore, in the embodiment shown in FIG.
If the OR names of company A and company B are registered in the management table of company X, in the case of a message relay of an incoming call to company X, the originating OR name in the message is compared with the OR name in the management table. However, in the case of relaying a message sent from company X, the destination OR name in the message is compared with the OR name in the management table.

In the above description, the case where the OR name is used as the identification information of another specific business has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this OR name, and whether a special identifier is included in the message, It is also possible to make an incoming call to the relay network in advance.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the e-mail relay system, even operators connected to the same e-mail relay network regulate relay between them depending on the combination. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is possible to meet the regulatory requirement from a specific business operator who intends to provide a specific service.

Specifically, in the present invention, the identification information of another specific business operator is registered in the management table of the specific business operator of the relay network of the electronic mail, and this identification information and the identification information included in the relay message are registered. It matches with and decides whether to relay or regulate based on the result. And when it is regulated when the collation results match, it is suitable for regulating relay with a relatively small number of other operators, for example, a specific operator is allowed to widely use the service provided by the operator. It is effective when you want to.

On the other hand, in the case of restricting when the collation results do not match, it is suitable for relaying with a relatively small number of other operators, and for example, a specific operator can provide services provided by the operator. It is effective when you want to make it available only to limited members.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a communication sequence when the present invention is implemented.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention including a network configuration.

FIG. 4 is a message transfer processing device (MT
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing details of A) 3 and a line interface 10.

5 is a block diagram showing details of an MTA unit 34, a line control unit 35, and a LAN corresponding unit 36 in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a format of a calling / called name (OR name) included in an electronic mail (message).

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of an electronic mail relay system as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a conventional example of an electronic mail relay system.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 to 4 ... Message transfer processor (MTA), 5, 6 ...
Businesses that provide e-mail services, 10 ... Line support unit, 30 ... Storage and transfer system, 31 ... System management unit,
32 ... Service management unit, 33 ... Maintenance operation unit, 34 ... MT
A part, 35 ... Line control part, 36 ... LAN compatible part, 40 ...
Maintenance consoles, 51, 61 ... User terminals, 91 ... Originating and receiving management table, 100 ... E-mail relay network, 102
... communication control unit, 103 ... LAN compatible unit, 104 ... DDX
Corresponding part, 105 ... ISDN corresponding part, 106 ... Dedicated line corresponding part, 110 ... DDX-P, 111 ... ISDN, 112 ...
Dedicated line, 120 ... LAN, 341 ... Non-delivery message creating section, 342 ... Routing table, 343 ... Routing processing section, 344 ... Receiving permission regulation judging section, 345 ... Transfer destination information acquisition section, 346 ... User management information section, 346A … O
R name management table, 346B ... Recipient information table, 3
51 ... Receiver, 352 ... Transmitter.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A relay of an electronic mail relay network capable of accommodating a plurality of business operators (hereinafter, simply referred to as business operators) who provide an electronic mail service and relaying messages as electronic mail between the business operators. In this method, the identification information of another specific business operator is registered in the management table of the specific business operator provided in the relay network, and the message concerning the call originating and receiving of the specific business operator is relayed. Therefore, when the message arrives at the relay network, the identification information included in the message is collated with the identification information registered in the management table, and when they do not match, the relay of the message is regulated. Mail relay method. 2. A relay of an electronic mail relay network capable of accommodating a plurality of business operators (hereinafter simply referred to as business operators) that provide an electronic mail service and relaying messages as electronic mail between the business operators. In this method, the identification information of another specific business operator is registered in the management table of the specific business operator provided in the relay network, and the message concerning the call originating and receiving of the specific business operator is relayed. Therefore, when the message arrives at the relay network, the identification information included in the message is collated with the identification information registered in the management table, and when they match, the relay of the message is regulated. Mail relay method. 3. The electronic mail relay method according to claim 1, wherein the relay of the message is regulated, and the sender of the message is notified of non-delivery from the relay network. Characteristic e-mail relay system. 4. The electronic mail relay system according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the management table is provided in a message transfer processing device that accommodates the specific carrier of the relay network. E-mail relay method. 5. The electronic mail relay system according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the connection to the relay network is made through a telephone network, a packet network, an ISDN network or a leased line. E-mail relay method. 6. The electronic mail relay system according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, wherein the business operator is a business operator that accommodates a plurality of electronic mail terminals as user terminals. E-mail relay method. 7. The electronic mail relay system according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, wherein the identification information is a calling / receiving name (OR) of a message communication processing system (MHS).
An e-mail relay system characterized by consisting of (first name). 8. An e-mail relay network capable of accommodating a plurality of business operators (hereinafter, simply referred to as business operators) who provide an e-mail service and relaying messages as e-mails between the business operators. In a relay device provided with a management table corresponding to a specific business operator, the management table registers identification information of another specific business operator, and relays a message relating to call origination / reception of the specific business operator. For this reason, when an incoming call is received, the identification information included in the message is collated with the identification information registered in the management table, and a determination unit that outputs matching or non-matching information does not match the output information of the determination unit. In the case of, a relay device comprising a relay control unit that regulates relay of the message. 9. An e-mail relay network capable of accommodating a plurality of business operators (hereinafter, simply referred to as business operators) who provide an e-mail service and relaying messages as e-mails between the business operators. In a relay device provided with a management table corresponding to a specific business operator, the management table registers identification information of another specific business operator, and relays a message relating to call origination / reception of the specific business operator. Therefore, when an incoming call is received, the identification information included in the message is collated with the identification information registered in the management table, and the determination unit that outputs matching / non-matching information matches the output information of the determination unit. In the case of, a relay device comprising a relay control unit that regulates relay of the message. 10. The relay device according to claim 8, further comprising a non-delivery notification creating unit that creates and sends a non-delivery notification of a message, and the non-delivery notification creating unit sends the non-delivery notification when the relay control unit restricts relay of the message. A relay device, wherein the arrival notification creating unit is configured to be activated.