X400: Message with Long Free-Form Name Cannot Be Delivered

• Microsoft Mail Gateway to X.400, version 3.2

SYMPTOMS

If the Microsoft Mail Gateway to X.400 sends a message with a free-form name that is longer than 64 characters to a foreign system, the message transfer agent (MTA) on the foreign system may indicate that it cannot deliver the message because the free-form name is invalid.

CAUSE

The Microsoft Mail Gateway to X.400 normally uses the contents of the personal name (PN) field to create the free-form name. However, if the PN field is empty, the entire X.400 address is used to create the free-form name. When this occurs, it is possible for the free-form name to be longer than 64 characters.

The NIST Stable Implementation Agreements for Open Systems Interconnection Protocols specify that the maximum length for free-form names is 64 characters. Therefore, some foreign systems are unable to process messages with free-form names that are longer than 64 characters.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but has not been fully regression-tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/default.asp

   File Name      Version
   ----------------------
   X400gate.exe   3.2.8 

ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/mail/pcmail-public/all-y2k/

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Mail Gateway to X.400 version 3.2.

Additional query words: ffn

Keywords : MailGWX400
Version : MS-DOS:3.2
Platform : MS-DOS
Issue type : kbbug