PC NTMMTA: How Dynamic Connections are Validated on Novell

• Microsoft Mail Multitasking MTA for Windows NT, version 3.5

SUMMARY

This article discusses how the NT-MMTA uses account names and passwords to make dynamic connections to Novell postoffices. It also covers the two ways to launch the NT-MMTA, as a service or as an application (from CMD line).

There are four different ways that account name and password information can be provided to the system: 1) the DrivesUNC parameters in the EXTERNAL.INI file, 2) the username and password from the initial Windows NT logon, 3) the username and password assigned to the service account, and 4)the username and password used to log into the NetWare Preferred Server, if Gateway/Client Services for NetWare has been installed. The remainder of this section includes a discussion of each of these four scenarios.

General Comments:

The Username and Password parameters, if specified on the DrivesUNC line in the EXTERNAL.INI file or on the command line, will always take precedence.

Additionally, if the username and password parameters are specified on the DrivesUNC line, both of these parameters MUST be included. A null password will not work on the DrivesUNC line. The logon account and the service account are independent of the dynamic connection to the Novell server in this case.

Following are 2 summaries of how the user is validated on the NetWare postoffices if the Username and Password parameters are NOT specified on the DrivesUNC line.

1. With the NT-MMTA running as an application from the command line, the account name and password that were used to login to the NT machine will be passed to the NetWare servers for authentication. If an account is set up on each NetWare server with the same name and password as the login account for the NT machine, then dynamic connections will be made

       successfully. An exception to this will be if a login to a Novell
   

   Preferred server has been made using GSNW. If that is the case, and there is not a username and password specified on the DrivesUNC line, then the Preferred server credentials will be passed.

2. With the NT-MMTA running as a service, the account name and password of the service account will be used to log into the server to make the dynamic connection. If an account is set up on each NetWare server with the same name and password as the NT-MMTA service account, then dynamic connections will be made successfully whether the service is started manually or automatically. The entire process is independent of the account used to log onto the NT machine where the NT-MMTA is running. These logons are also independent of the credentials used to log into a Preferred Server in that the service account credentials will take precedence over the Preferred server account credentials.

MORE INFORMATION

I. RUNNING THE NT-MMTA AS A SERVICE:

Situation 1:

NT Logon account:  TEST          Password:  TEST
NT Service account: TEST      Password:  TEST
Novell Postoffice account:  TEST    Password:  TEST

DrivesUNC=\\server\volume\maildata TEST TEST

-or-

DrivesUNC=\\server\volume\maildata

Situation 2:

NT Logon account:  TEST       Password:  TEST
NT Service account: TEST      Password:  TEST

Only the following DrivesUNC setting will allow a dynamic connection to the

Novell PO.

DrivesUNC=\\server\volume\maildata MAILMAN MAILMAN

Situation 3:

NT Logon account:  TEST       Password:  TEST
NT Service account: MAILMAN      Password:  MAILMAN

The following DrivesUNC options will work successfully:

DrivesUNC=\\server\volume\maildata MAILMAN MAILMAN

-or-

DrivesUNC=\\server\volume\maildata

The next three scenarios still describe the NT-MMTA running as a service, but with a <NULL> password on the Novell Postoffice account:

Situation 4:

NT account:  TEST          Password:  <NULL>
NT Service account: TEST      Password:  <NULL>
Novell Postoffice account:  TEST    Password:  <NULL>

DrivesUNC=\\server\volume\maildata

If you specify an account name and no password (because the password is null), the connection will fail.

Situation 5:

NT Logon account:  TEST       Password:  TEST
NT Service account: TEST      Password:  TEST

This situation will NOT work, because specifying a null password on the DrivesUNC line is invalid.

Situation 6:

NT Logon account:  TEST       Password:  TEST
NT Service account: MAILMAN      Password:  <NULL>

This situation will work *only* as follows:

DrivesUNC=\server\volume\maildata

Again, if you specify an account name and no password on the DrivesUNC line, the connection will fail.

II. RUNNING THE NT-MMTA AS AN APPLICATION (from the command line):

Situation 1:

NT Logon account:  TEST       Password:  TEST
Novell Postoffice account:  TEST    Password:  TEST

DrivesUNC=\\server\volume\maildata TEST TEST

-or-

DrivesUNC=\\server\volume\maildata

Situation 2:

NT Logon account:  TEST       Password:  TEST

DrivesUNC will work as follows:

DrivesUNC=\\server\volume\maildata MAILMAN MAILMAN

-or-

DrivesUNC=\\server\volume\maildata *if* a Preferred Server has been logged into with the Account "MAILMAN" and Password "MAILMAN".

The next two scenarios still refer to the MMTA running as an application, but with a <NULL> password on the Novell Postoffice account.

Situation 3:

NT Logon account:  TEST          Password:  <NULL>
Novell Postoffice account:  TEST    Password:  <NULL>

DrivesUNC=\\server\volume\maildata

Situation 4:

NT Logon account:  TEST          Password:  TEST
Novell Postoffice account: MAILMAN      Password:  <NULL>