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Re: draft-crocker-email-arch-03

  • From: Dave Crocker
  • Date: Thu Feb 17 11:27:14 2005

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:16:37 +0000, Martin Hepworth wrote:
>  I've rename MHS to MTA (mail transport agent) which is the proper
>  technical term. I guess there's a reason why you didn't use MTA?

Needed an additional term:

>  Abstract
>
>  ... and the transmission world, in the form of the Mail
>  Handling Service (MHS) composed of Mail Transfer Agents (MTA).

MTA is a single relay.  MHS is the set of mail transfer components that form the entire service. So, it is the set of MSA, MTAs and MDA. 

I chose the particular term by resurrecting an existing one, from the X.400 world, where UA/MTA terminology was created.  As the current document developed, the need for a term that referred to the entire infrastructure service kept appearing.

And since I'm citing history, I'll note further x.400 irony:  It had Administrative Management Domains (ADMD) but it had it as a core construct in the underlying technical architecture.  The current doc uses it as an operations construct. 

d/
--
Dave Crocker
Brandenburg InternetWorking
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