PC NTMMTA: Cannot Run as an Automatic Service w/ Banyan Vines

• Microsoft Mail Multitasking MTA for Windows NT, version 3.5

SYMPTOMS

When you run the Microsoft Windows NT Multitasking MTA (NT MMTA) as a service set to Start up automatically, mail is not delivered. This may occur when the postoffices are located on a Banyan Vines server.

CAUSE

The NT MMTA cannot be set up as an automatic service when you use Banyan Vines Windows NT drivers due to the inability to make Universal Naming Convention (UNC) connections outside of a Banyan Vines login session.

RESOLUTION

Run the NT MMTA from the CMD prompt.

Call Banyan Vines with any further questions on their redirector.

MORE INFORMATION

For each additional type of network (Novell NetWare, Banyan Vines, etc.), a provider must be installed. The provider is the component that allows a Windows NT computer to communicate with the network.

From the application's viewpoint, there are two sets of commands that can cause network traffic UNC commands and WNet (part of the Win32 API) commands.

Although, it is enough to specify the servername to list a server's shared resources, a full UNC name is in the following form:

   \\server\share\subdirectory\filename

The provider layer spans between kernel and user modes to manage commands that may cause network traffic. The provider layer also includes two components to route UNC and WNet requests to the appropriate provider:

• The Multiple UNC Provider (MUP) receives UNC commands and locates the redirector that can make a connection to the UNC name.
• The Multiple Provider Router (MPR) receives WNet commands and passes the request to each redirector in turn until one is found that can satisfy the request.

Multiple UNC Provider

The MUP is a kernel-mode component that locates UNC names. When an application sends a command containing UNC names, MUP routes each UNC name to one of the registered UNC providers, including LanmanWorkstation and any others that may be installed. When a provider indicates that it can communicate with the server, MUP sends the remainder of the command to the provider.

When applications make I/O calls that contain UNC names, the MUP directs them to the appropriate redirector file system driver. The call is routed to its redirector based on the handle on the I/O call.

Multiple Provider Router

Through the MPR, Windows NT provides an open interface that enables consistent access to third-party network file systems. The key to the MPR is that all file systems, regardless of type and physical location, are accessible through the same set of file system APIs.

Applications, including File Manager, make file system requests through the Windows NT Win32 API. The MPR ensures that requests are directed to the proper file system. Local file requests are sent to the local disk; remote requests to Windows-based servers are sent to the proper server by the Windows redirector, and requests to NetWare-based servers are handled by the NetWare client for Windows NT and sent to the NetWare server, and so on.

Because applications access all types of files through a single set of APIs, any application can access any kind of server without affecting the user.