SMTP: Err Msg: Socket Error (123) When Starting Gateway

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Mail Gateway to SMTP, versions 2.1 and 3.0

SYMPTOMS

Immediately after starting the Microsoft Mail Gateway to SMTP, this message appears on the PC that runs the SMTP gateway:

   socket error (123)

CAUSE

The gateway reports this error under one of the following conditions:

• TCP/IP is not running when the gateway is started.
• TCP/IP from the appropriate vendor is not running when the gateway is started. At installation, the gateway is configured specifically for one of five vendor's TCP/IP (LAN Manager TCP/IP and Novell Lan Workplace for DOS are the only versions of TCP/IP version 3.0 supports).

  For example, if the gateway is configured for FTP pc/TCP, and the gateway PC runs LAN Manager TCP/IP, the error occurs when the gateway attempts to detect the FTP software and does not find it.

• SOCKET.EXE is not started when LAN Manager is used. SOCKET is provided with Microsoft LAN Manager for MS-DOS.

RESOLUTION

These resolutions correspond to the causes above:

• Start TCP/IP before running the gateway software.
• Reconfigure the gateway to match the TCP/IP stack actually in use. Copy the appropriate executable file from the Microsoft Mail Gateway to SMTP disk to the directory that contains Microsoft Mail. Change the name of the gateway file to SMTPGATE.EXE. The table below lists the appropriate files:

        Executable    TCP/IP Software Vendor
        --------------------------------------------------------------------
  
        SMTPLMN.EXE   Microsoft LAN Manager for MS-DOS
  
        SMTPFTP.EXE   PC/TCP Kernel from FTP Software, Inc.
  
        SMTPNVL.EXE   Novell LAN WorkPlace for DOS (version 4.0)
  
        SMTPWIN.EXE   Excelan EXOS 205T Intelligent Ethernet Controller with
                      LAN WorkPlace Network Software (version 3.4)
  
        SMTPXLN.EXE   WIN/TCP for DOS RunTime (version 4.1) from The
                      Wollongong Group, Inc.
  
     For example, if you are using Microsoft LAN Manager, use a command like
     the following to copy the SMTPLMN.EXE file into the directory that
     contains the Microsoft Mail file as SMTPGATE.EXE:
  
        copy a:\smtplmn.exe n:\mailexe\smtpgate.exe
  
  

• The LAN Manager TCP/IP stack does not automatically load all sockets with the LOAD TCPIP command. The SOCKETS command runs SOCKTSR.EXE to load the SMTP socket required by the gateway. When you use LAN Manager TCP/IP, execute the LOAD TCPIP and SOCKETS commands before starting the gateway.