DAWKCo(tm) POP3 Server and MailDaemon e-Mail Routing Services & WebMAIL Extension Release Notes: System Requirements and Known Issues ==================================================== System Requirements: ==================== - DAWKCo POP3 Server and MailDaemon e-Mail Routing Services software is currently available in US English for x86 systems only. - General Requirements: --------------------- · Pentium class processor(s) (I/II/III/IV), Xeon processor(s), or compatibles (Program code is optimized for Pentium Pro or later) · Network interface card (NIC) or equivalent · One of the following Operating Systems: - Windows NT Server 4.0* (Service Pack 6a or later is required) - Windows 2000 Professional (Service Pack 2 or later is required) - Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 1 or later is recommended) - Windows Server 200x (For Windows 2000 Server, Service Pack 2 or later is required) Note: application of the latest service packs and updates are recommended. *The POP3 Server software versions for Windows NT Server 4.0 are not interchangeable with any others. · TCP/IP network protocol · Fixed Disk with NTFS File System Partition The fixed disk partition where the DAWKCo POP3 Server and MailDaemon e-Mail Routing Services' folders are set up must have the NTFS file system format; and, the NTFS device (service) must be enabled for "System" startup and be started/running. (Contact our technical support staff for a work-around if you have installed the IIS SMTP Service on a FAT partition.) · Disk Space: 5 MB free (15 MB during installation) A variable amount of additional disk space must be available for mailboxes and their message files. The amount will depend upon the number of mailboxes and message traffic demands placed on the system. We recommend a minimum of 2 GB free disk space on the disk where the SMTP and POP3 folders are located. · Memory: 3 MB free at idle services start-up. At least 8 MB additional free memory to run the POP3 Admin Utility for setup/configuration of the services. A variable amount of additional free memory must be available for e-mail message traffic processing. The amount will depend upon the message traffic demands placed on the system. We recommend a minimum of 512 MB system memory and a memory paging file size of at least 1.5 times that of the system memory. - Requirements for Specific Versions: ----------------------------------- · For the following versions (or later) of DAWKCo POP3 Server, the Redistributed Microsoft ATL, CRT and MFC v7.0 Update (or later) must already be installed on the system: * Hosting Version 6.0 with WebMAIL Extension for Windows 2000/XP & Server 200x * Hosting Version 5.5 for Windows 2000/XP & Server 200x * Hosting Version 4.5 for NT 4 * Small Business Version 4.5 for Windows 2000/XP & Server 200x * Small Business Version 3.1 for NT 4 DAWKCo customers are provided a free download of this update. For details about the update, including how to determine whether your system needs it, and the installation instructions, see: http://www.dawkco.com/software/support/MSRedist7Details.txt · DAWKCo POP3 Server Hosting Version 6.0 with WebMAIL Extension (or later) on Windows 2000 Server or Pro (not XP or Server 200x), requires that the MDAC 2.7 RTM Refresh Update (or later) be already installed on the system. Windows 2000 Server or Pro (only)--download and install the MDAC 2.7 RTM Refresh Update at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/data/mdac/ NOTE: Windows 2000 service packs apply MDAC 2.6 updates; therefore, if you are running DAWKCo POP3 Server Hosting Version 6.0 with WebMAIL Extension (or later) on Windows 2000 you must apply, or reapply, the MDAC 2.7 RTM Refresh Update AFTER installing a Windows 2000 service pack. · The following updates are also highly recommended Windows 2000--download and install Service Pack 4 (or later) at: http://www.microsoft.com/Windows2000/downloads/servicepacks/ NOTE: Windows 2000 service packs apply MDAC 2.6 updates; therefore, if you are running DAWKCo POP3 Server Hosting Version 6.0 with WebMAIL Extension (or later) on Windows 2000 you must apply, or reapply, the MDAC 2.7 RTM Refresh Update AFTER installing a Windows 2000 service pack. Windows XP--download and install Service Pack 1 (or later) at: http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/downloads/ .NET Framework--if you have installed the .NET Framework on your system, download and install the .NET Framework Service Pack 2 (or later) at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/downloads/updates/ NOTE: running the .NET Framework on Windows 2000 requires a prior install of MDAC 2.7 (or later). Known Issues ============ All Web-based Features: ----------------------- 1. IIS WWW Server may refuse to stop during DAWKCo POP3 Server version updates, preventing web-based feature DLL's from being updated Note: this problem is more likely to occur with versions for NT Server 4.0 running IIS 4. During installation of updates to DAWKCo POP3 Server, the IIS WWW Server may not stop when commanded to do so by the POP3 Admin Utility. If the WWW Server does not stop when requested, and if the DAWKCo web-based features had been accessed by web users since the last time the WWW Server was started, then access will be denied to the POP3 Admin Utility when it attempts to copy the updated web-based feature DLL files into the /webmail/isapi folder. If this occurs, an error log file will be generated in the POP3 Folder containing the following error message: "CopyFile() failed while copying WebMAIL files. Some Web-based features may not function." A similar error log may be generated whenever you run the POP3 Admin Utility and click Finish if the WWW Server won't stop and web-based features had been accessed, but it only poses a real problem during version updates, because the updated DLL's will not get installed. Work-around for version updates to POP3 Server that encounter this problem: 1) Stop the WWW Service and COPY the following files: dp3admutil.dll dp3isapi.dll (WebMAIL Extension only) dp3passutil.dll Windows 2000/XP & Server 200x From: %SystemRoot%\POP3Srv\WebMAIL\ISAPI To: x:\Inetpub\webmail\isapi NT Server 4.0 From: %SystemRoot%\system32\POP3Srv\WebMAIL\ISAPI To: x:\Inetpub\webmail\isapi where %SystemRoot% is typically either x:\WINNT or x:\Windows and x is the system drive. 2) Restart the WWW Service. WebMAIL: -------- 1. Windows Server 2003 Compatibility Issues for DAWKCo POP3 Server and WebMAIL Extension See the SIR (Support Inquiry Response) article posted at: http://www.dawkco.com/software/support/sir200309051620.txt 2. Inappropriate Windows Logon prompt dialog box may pop up at the WebMAIL Logon web page after initial install. Cause: The Microsoft(r) Visual C++ Run-time Library DLL is used by the WebMAIL ISAPI Extension DLL. Therefore, Execute access permission to the file is required for any Windows user account, including the anonymous Internet Guest Account, that either directly or indirectly calls its system library functions through WebMAIL. Depending on which version of DAWKCo WebMAIL is running, the MS VC++ DLL file accessed is either "msvcp60.dll" or "msvcp70.dll." The stand-alone executable POP3 Admin Utility automatically attempts to set all required permissions every time it is run through "Finish." However, as other processes, such as other ISAPI Extensions, may also be using the shared system library file at the time, access to set the permissions may be denied or deferred because the file is locked. If the correct permissions are not set when an Internet user attempts to access the WebMAIL Logon web page, an Access Denied By ACL error is generated causing the Windows Logon prompt dialog box to pop up in their browser. Solution: In the %SystemRoot%\system32 folder (where %SystemRoot% is typically either x:\WINNT or x:\Windows and x is the system drive), set the following permissions on the file "msvcp60.dll" or "msvcp70.dll" (DAWKCo WebMAIL versions prior to 6.0 use "msvcp60.dll" while versions 6.0 or later use "msvcp70.dll"): Administrators SYSTEM Internet Guest Account (IUSR_machinename) * Launch IIS Process Account (IWAM_machinename) * POP3 Users * Optionally, also set: Users *Note: the permission is made up of ONLY the following permissions (i.,e., all other permissions should be cleared/removed), which are accessible only through the Advanced... View/Edit... dialog from the Security tab of the file Properties dialog: 3. Message Body Text length limits. Due to inherent limitations in some of the Microsoft CDO (Collaboration Data Objects) and ADO (ActiveX Data Objects) libraries' API functions that are called upon, the largest message Body Text length that can be Sent or Viewed using DAWKCo WebMAIL is about 128 KB. However, messages that are too large to be viewed within the WebMAIL message viewer can be downloaded as a file (i.e., the message source), either for viewing as source code within the browser window, or for viewing with other programs. This limit does NOT apply to message attachments, which are handled using the DAWKCo MIME library API functions. There is no limit on the size of message file attachments that DAWKCo WebMAIL will handle (Send, Download, View, etc.), other than those limits inherent in the operating system and available system resources. Similarly, although the HTML source code of a web page used for creating a MHTML (MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate Documents, such as HTML) message is subject to the same length limit as regular message Body Text (MHTML message encoding in WebMAIL is handled using the CDO library), the total MHTML message size can exceed the limit by virtue of embedded resources, i.e., "inline" attachments, such as images, sounds, scripts, styles and other objects. MHTML messages can also link to external resources. 4. Customizations limited to color scheme, and use of external frames. In the current release, customization features ARE provided so that you can change background image, background color, text and link colors, headings colors, and rules and box border colors, etc.. Additional customization can be achieved through the optional use of a "Frameset." A sample frameset is provided that can be customized, and the content of any frames external to the WebMAIL output frame can be customized per your own designs. The icons and general layout of the web pages output from WebMAIL, however, are fixed. Additionally, the DAWKCo(tm) Software WebMAIL logo cannot be removed or altered. The logo is a thin vertically oriented sidebar (19 pixels wide) along the left edge of some of the web pages. 5. Customizable files are not overwritten during upgrades/updates. To preserve any customizations that customers make to the style sheet, optional background image(s), banner web page(s) and frameset web page(s), those files are never overwritten during updates or upgrades. If you need to restore the original supplied samples, delete any of the following files, as appropriate to the file(s) that you want restored, and then run the stand-alone executable POP3 Admin Utility and click Finish to restore them: ..\webmail\banner.html ..\webmail\dp3admbann.html ..\webmail\dp3passbann.html ..\webmail\dswebmail.css ..\webmail\frames-dp3admutil.html ..\webmail\frames-dp3passutil.html ..\webmail\frames.html ..\webmail\bg.gif ..\webmail\bg.jpg The webmail folder is typically a subfolder of x:\Inetpub where x is the system drive. 6. Must Copy rather than Move Host Footer files to the _Common folder. After creating your Host Footer files, or editing the samples provided, you must copy them into the %POP3Root%\_Common folder rather than moving them into the folder. If the files are moved into the folder, they will retain the access permissions settings they had from their source parent folder. Copying the files ensures that they will inherit the access permissions settings of their new parent folder, namely %POP3Root%\_Common. If incorrect permissions are set on the Footer files, and the use of Host Footers is enabled in the WebMAIL setup, the message Send function will fail. ----------- See also, the section titled "Web-based POP3 Utilities" below. There are currently no other "known issues" specific to WebMAIL. ----------- POP3 Server ----------- All Versions: 1. Windows Server 2003 Compatibility Issues for DAWKCo POP3 Server and WebMAIL Extension See the SIR (Support Inquiry Response) article posted at: http://www.dawkco.com/software/support/sir200309051620.txt Hosting Versions: 1. Prohibited characters in POP3 mailbox names. Due to limitations placed by Windows(r) on file path syntax, and the fact that the current POP3 Server Hosting Version implementation creates a mailbox folder in the file system using the primary alias as the folder name, the following characters are not allowed in a mailbox Primary Alias in this implementation: * / ? | Per the SMTP and POP3 Protocols, those characters are supposed to be allowed in an e-mail alias, i.e., in the mailbox name part before the '@' symbol in an e-mail address. There are two work-arounds for this issue. You can create a mailbox without the offending characters in the name, and then either: 1) use these characters in the addresses of an "Other Aliases" list for the mailbox; or 2) set the mailbox to Receive for All, or Unknown, users in the domain. 2. Multiple virtual domain hosting work-around for Netscape v4.77 and v6.x e-mail clients DAWKCo POP3 Server relies on domain info in passed in the POP3 username for resolving mailboxes in multiple hosted virtual domains. Netscape Messenger v4.77 and v6.x e-mail client programs won't send a full e-mail address to the POP3 server as the client's Username. Although you can input the full e-mail address in the e-mail account settings, when the program sends the username to the POP3 server, it strips away everything from the '@' symbol to the end of the e-mail address, leaving only the alias part. Therefore, we have implemented the following work-around for Netscape users of those versions. DAWKCo POP3 Server Hosting Version will accept either of the following two login Username formats: 1) myname@mydomain.dom or 2) myname:mydomain.dom In the second form, the '@' symbol in the e-mail address is simply replaced with a ':' colon. The affected Netscape e-mail client program versions will work properly and authenticate successfully with the DAWKCo POP3 Server if the second form is used for the incoming POP3 Server login Username setting. Notes: Netscape provides a work-around that enables the referenced Messenger versions to accept the '@' symbol in an e-mail account user name. The work-around entails editing a user preferences script (prefs.js). It is probably easier to just use our work-around as described above instead, but if you are interested in this solution, you can search the Netscape support website for further details. Netscape Messenger v7.x and later allows an e-mail address to be used as the Username and is not affected by this issue. ----------- There are currently no other "known issues" specific to the POP3 Server Versions. ----------- Stand-alone Executable POP3 Admin Utility: ------------------------------------------ 1. POP3/SMTP configurations must be updated after changing the server's machine name and/or domain name If you change the machine name and/or the domain name of the hosting server, you must update the POP3 and SMTP configurations per the instructions below. Note: the term "default local domain" used in this context means the DNS FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) of the hosting server. - Update the POP3 configuration by running the stand-alone executable POP3 Admin Utility; when it opens, add a "Postmaster" mailbox in the new default local domain, then click Finish. - Update the SMTP configuration by adding the new default local domain to the SMTP Domains list (if it is not already there) as a type Local (Alias) domain. Then, Right-click on the new default local domain name and select "Set as default." The new default local domain name will now appear as type Local (Default). Right-click on the new default local domain name again and select Properties; clear the "Enable drop directory quota" checkbox and verify the Drop folder location--it must match the Drop folder setting in the POP3 MailDaemon--then click OK. Finally Stop and reStart the SMTP Server instance to force the new settings to take effect. 2. Services must be restarted during global updates Since configuration updates made with the web-based utilities are discreet in nature, in other words they affect only a mailbox or mailboxes within a domain, they do NOT require the server services to be restarted. This includes adding, updating and removing domains and mailboxes. Updates made using the stand-alone executable POP3Admin Utility, on the other hand, are global in nature and can affect all of the domains and mailboxes within the site; therefore, updates made using the POP3Admin utility will continue to require automatic services restart during the update. The impact is lessened by the fact that the utility stores up all the configuration data and applies all the changes in a quick batch between services stop and restart, which typically occurs within a few seconds. ----------- There are currently no other "known issues" specific to the POP3 Admin Utility. ----------- Web-based POP3 Utilities ------------------------ All Versions: 1. Synchronization timeouts and web-based context initialization If a web-based admin operation times out, it's most likely that Mutex ownership for an object could not be obtained due to a sharing conflict. If you get a "cannot find server, or DNS error" message from the web browser, then it's likely that the web-based admin context initialization failed because the default website was being restarted during a global update by the stand-alone executable POP3 Admin Utility. In either case, just try again. Small Business Versions: 1. Functionality of Small Business Version's Web-based POP3 Domains Admin Utility limited in Windows Domain Member Server installations Due to security restrictions imposed by IIS and the Windows operating system upon connections from Domain Member Servers to the Domain Controller, the Web-based POP3 Domains Admins Utility in the DAWKCo POP3 Server Small Business Version cannot be used to create, update or delete mailboxes when it is installed on a Windows Domain Member Server. All other features are functional; for example, Site Administrators can list, create and delete POP3 Domains, and all POP3 Admins can list the site Mailboxes, and view any individual Mailbox's properties. This security related limitation only affects the Small Business Version when installed on a Windows Domain Member Server. Installations on Windows Domain Controllers and Stand-alone Servers, as well as DAWKCo POP3 Server Hosting Version installations, are NOT affected. ----------- See also, the section titled "WebMAIL" above. There are currently no other "known issues" specific to the Web-based POP3 Utilities. ----------- MailDaemon e-Mail Routing Service: ---------------------------------- 1. Very large message files sometimes remain in SMTP Drop until the next message arrives. Details: due to the time delay, or latency, inherent in hard disk drive file operations, a very large e-mail message file will sometimes be left in the SMTP Drop directory temporarily. Since the MailDaemon service attempts to move ALL the messages in the Drop whenever a new message arrives, the very large message will be routed when the next message arrives after the very large message file has been completely written to the disk. Further details: the MailDaemon service monitors the SMTP Drop, and when it sees that a message has arrived, it waits for a short preset time delay to allow for the hard disk to complete its write operation and release the file. Depending on the system speed, the disk read/write/access speed, the volume of e-mail message traffic, the overall server load, disk mirroring or striping, and the level of disk fragmentation, there is a message file size threshold of approximately between 2MB and 10MB, above which this condition will occur because of the time required to complete the file write operation. In other words, when the MailDaemon service attempts to move the file, the file system denies the required access because it hasn't finished writing the file yet. So, the very large message gets left in the Drop temporarily, but it will be routed after the file has been completely written to the disk and the next message arrives in the Drop. 2. Re-routing of "stranded" messages may cause duplicate message routing. Details: if an e-mail message file is undergoing the process of routing when any of the following occurs--the MailDaemon service is stopped, the system is shut down or restarted, or there is a power failure; then, the e-mail message file may become temporarily stranded in either of the Route or SortTemp Directories. When the MailDaemon service is subsequently re-started, those folders are swept and all stranded messages are returned to the SMTP Drop directory where the routing process will start over again. In such cases where a particular stranded message file had multiple recipients in the domain, and some of those recipients had already received their copy of the message at the time that the file became stranded, then those recipients will receive duplicates of the message when it is re-routed. (A future release of the MailDaemon service may address tracking issues to prevent these possible duplicate messages that may be caused by the re-routing of stranded message files upon restart.) 3. Differences in mail routing between Small Business and Hosting Versions: In the Small Business Version of DAWKCo POP3 Server, routing for mailboxes in virtual domains is based on the POP3 Alias (username) and not on the domain name. The virtual domains are treated as aliases for the default local domain, so mail for a given POP3 username in any of the domains will arrive in the same mailbox. In the Hosting Version of DAWKCo POP3 Server, routing for mailboxes is based on the entire e-mail address. So, in other words, mailboxes are unique within each virtual domain. Customers needing advanced routing and forwarding features should buy, or upgrade to, the Hosting Version of DAWKCo POP3 Server and MailDaemon Services. 4. Hosting Version mail Forwarding option issues Local Forwarding: although there are no restrictions on forwarding between local mailboxes, note that mail forwarded to a local mailbox will stop there, even if the destination mailbox has forwarding enabled also. E-mail forwarded to local mailboxes will always travel, at most, one hop. This is by design to prevent infinite local forwarding loops. If you forward to an address of an unknown user in a local domain, and there is a mailbox in that domain that receives for "All" or "Unknown" users in that domain, the mail will land in that box. Remote Forwarding: to prevent infinite local forwarding loops, the original To:, Cc: and Bcc: message header fields cannot be sent in the forwarded message header without modification. This is due to the fact that the MS SMTP Pickup Service (part of the MS SMTP Server) does not properly ignore the original message header fields in a "Resent-xx" forwarded message, and the MS SMTP Pickup Service does not properly remove the Bcc: field from a message it sends. To workaround this problem, the original To: field is renamed "X-Original-To:", the original Cc: field is renamed "X-Original-Cc:", and the original Bcc: field is renamed "X-Original-Bcc:". Although the renamed fields are in the forwarded message header, you may not see them in your e-mail client software because it is an implementation specific extension to the SMTP message header specification. You can view the X-Original-To:, X-Original-Cc: and X-Original-Bcc: message header fields by specifically viewing the header source, or properties, of the underlying message text. ----------- There are currently no other "known issues" specific to the MailDaemon. ----------- ============ Copyright ©1999-2006 DAWKCo(tm) Software, all rights reserved.