On Dec 16, 2004, at 11:30 PM, Hector Santos wrote:
I mean, what is a MTA?
MTAs are used for transit, both the sending and receiving side are MTAs.
In fact, you are technically incorrect by saying MTA because that
means the
"sender component" of a SMTP server is SPF compliant. No. If you
want to
be specific, it is a list of MDAs (the receiver) that is important in
this
case.
No. I disagree completely with this. An MDA is for delivery into
mailboxes. Cyrus is a perfect example of an MDA and it doesn't even
speak SMTP. Many MTAs also incorporate MDA featuresets as well (like
Exim, Postfix, Sendmail, etc. as they support writing
maildir/mailspool/etc.).
In order to enforce SPF on the inbound side you need to be an MTA. And
more so, delivery into a user's mailbox is not required. So, an MTA on
the edge of ones network can implement SPF checking and enforcement on
inbound messages and just store and forward legitimate mail to the
inside.
But why confuse people? I would suggest to Just note down the
supportive
SMTP servers/product names. Simple.
I would say that the list should be Mail Transport Agents (MTAs) that
support SPF validation and enforcement for inbound SMTP transactions.
Specifically stay away from language like: SPF compliant MTAs as
outbound only MTAs can be SPF compliant by simply saying they are.
// Theo Schlossnagle
// Principal Engineer -- http://www.omniti.com/~jesus/
// OmniTI Computer Consulting, Inc. -- http://www.omniti.com/
// Ecelerity: fastest MTA on Earth