mvmf: mvmtr -- Mail Transport Agent Receiver

Capsule Summary

Detailed Info

mvmtr is the receiver portion of a Mail Transport Agent (MTA).

mvmtr is initially designed to be used in place of qmail's qmail-smtpd program, but with a different control interface. It's expected (or at least hoped) that it will be made useful for other environments as well.

mvmtr makes use of the MFL scripting language, and invokes MFL function "hooks" at various stages in SMTP acceptance.

mvmtr is not a product, it is a program written in C, and you may freely download it and use it. That said, however, it is still in a beta state.

FAQ (last updated April 9, 2005)

The man page (last updated September 13, 2007).

Design Thoughts (last updated April 10, 2005)

mvmtr MFL hooks (last updated April 9, 2006)

qmail-smtpd compatibility notes (last updated May 10, 2006)

On the list of things yet to do and some things that have been done. (last updated April 10, 2005)

Overview

mvmtr is an experimental project to build an MTA receiver that interacts well with the mvmda mail delivery agent. It incorporates the mfl scripting language, and provides hooks to MFL functions at various stages in the SMTP receipt process.

Be aware that mvmtr is in a fledgeling state and, although it can be used, there isn't much documentation about setting it up.

Initially, mvmtr is simply able to be used in place of qmail-smtpd. While it's not intended to be a drop-in replacement for qmail-smtpd (as one of the goals is to have a different control interface), it may be configured and compiled with basic qmail-smtpd control compatibility. See qmail-smtpd compatibility notes for more on that. It does, however, make use of the qmail back-end system.

mvmtr also has the ability to consult with the mail client assessment server (mvmcas) to make real-time observations, take individual action about, and give automatic feedback regarding each mail client. Use of mvmcas allows greylisting, blocking (administrative or automatic), and applying other parameters to each incoming SMTP connection.

Note: this is where mvmtr is now.

A goal is for mvmtr to be extended such that it talks to the mvmda delivery agent during SMTP time for any delivery that is done to local mailboxes. It's expected that there will be pre-delivery communications (prior to the DATA SMTP phase) as well as delivery communications (after the DATA SMTP phase).

The next major step in the mvmtr plan is to develop in it a robust and highly flexible Mail Submission Agent (MSA), wherewith a mail server administrator can have a high degree of control over the mail flowing outbound from his or her administrative domain.