cc:Mail/Lotus Generadetor spec.                                 

DISCLAIMER:

This program is being made available to cc:Mail Administrators
in BETA format ONLY.  While this program has been successfuly
running at cc:Mail, no support is available for it's use.
Please refer to the cc:Mail documentation for further
information regarding Router and Router Batch Files.

 
Overview:

With the rollout of the cc:Mail/Lotus Mobile product line
(Windows, DOS, & Mac) into the marketplace, a large demand is
placed upon the network services department upon it's
installation.  Of great concern is how to implement large
numbers of directory entries into all these new mobile
mailboxes.  Some companies have from 5k to over 100k of
directory entries in their postoffices.  An easy method must be
designed to handle end-users requests for full directory
updates.  At 4 lines of text ASCII per directory entry, 25K
directory entries export into 100K lines of an update file
resulting in about a 1Mb file.  

The generADEtor program attempts to reduce the support strain
placed upon the network services department (MIS) from directory
update requests from end users.  The end user will simply send a
"hello" message to a user called "generADEtor".  The generADEtor
will then send a complete postoffice directory update, with
instructions, to the end user with no human intervention.  This
process can be set up so that the resulting update reply message
would be sent in a minimum amount of turnaround time.

Definitions:

The "end user" is defined as any person that has installed
any of the cc:Mail/Lotus Remote/Mobile products.  This includes
cc:Remote for DOS & Mac, Mobile DOS, Windows, & Mac.  The end
user may be an internal employee at his desk, a network
administrator within the company, or any customer of the above
company products.

The "generADEtor" is a special Router Batch program that exports
the Postoffice directory entries and emails the resulting ADE
file back to the end user.  The ADE update will be preceded by a
configurable instructions email on how to import or apply the
update.

Files "Import.exe" ,"Export.exe" , Notify.Com" and "Router.exe
or Gateway.exe" are current programs that are necessary for the
generADEtor to work properly.

The program "ADDRFLIP.EXE" is a new program that auto-replies an
email sent to it.  It essentially "flips" the TO: and FROM:
fields.

Details:

The goal of this project is to eliminate the repetitive and
complicated process of "synching" the remote/mobile mailboxes
with the user LAN  postoffice.   Within this goal is the
customer and network administrator in mind.  Ease of use and
installation is a top priority.  Turnaround time can be adjusted
for optimal network performance and modem speed to download the
ADE update.  As a cross-platform application, this use of
working together solves all the end users need for directory
synchronization on any platform.

When a new user installs Remote or Mobile for the first time,
the first item the end user wants to perform is to see all the
names in the directory similar to their LAN postoffice.  The end
user usually sends an email to the network administrator asking
for some sort of directory update listing.  The network
administrator, upon receiving this email,  exports the users
home postoffice by running the following command line, assuming
the administrator has purchased Import.exe and Export.exe:


EXPORT <PONAME> <POPASSWORD> <POPATH> DIRECTORY/PROP @CCMUPDAT


The administrator then emails instructions to the end user on
what is about to happen,  how to prepare the software for it's
uploading and how to proceed in applying the update.  The
administrator then creates an email with no text in the email,
attaches the CCMUPDAT file as the first and only DOS file
attachment and sends then email to the end user.  After the end
user dials in and retrieves this ADE update, the end user then
apply the update to the remote/Mobile postoffice.  With this
being done, the end user is now has their directory synched with
their LAN postoffice directory.  The administrator then has the
option of changing the PROP bit for the end user from NONE to
SLAVE so that the end user continues to receive new ADE updates
automatically each time they call in to pick up their email.  If
the administrator receives several of these directory update
requests a day from different users of different postoffices,
then the administrator has to perform the above steps for each
users of each postoffice.  A repetitive and time consuming task
at best.

The GenerADEtor: 

With the generADEtor installed, the above process is automated
with no human intervention.  It can be set up to reply with an
interval from 1 minute to 1 day of turn around time from
original ADE request to actual update sent.  The instructions
can be edited to fit any type of network environment.  

cc:Mail applications conform to a condition known as "error
level responses".  An errorlevel condition for MAIL.EXE might be
a missing command line parameter or invalid postoffice path. 
The generADEtor responds to all known errorlevel codes and
reacts accordingly.  

Within  the first 30 days of installation at cc:Mail, over 70%
of the company requested a generADEtor update for their
remote/mobile computing needs.  This results in better
productivity and time spent by the network services (MIS)
department and a 5 minute turn around time from original
request, 7/24/365, back to the requester.


The generADEtor is an enhanced Router batch file that performs
the following tasks:

1) It checks the generADEtor's inbox for new requests every "x"
minutes, where "x" is  administrator definable in the router's
call list's AUTO-INTERVAL.

2) If a new ADE email request is found, it exports the
postoffice with the directory/prop option to a file named
CCMUPDAT

3) It then takes the original email request, writes it to disk
and runs ADDRFLIP.EXE against that file.  This C++ program
"flips" the TO: and FROM:  header fields generating a automatic
reply email.  

4) The generADEtor then sends the first email, the instructions,
back to the ADE requester by attaching a file ADEINSTR.TXT 
(name and contents customizable), to itself.  This file contains
instructions on how to apply the following ADE message and how
many directory entries are in the ADE update.  Different LAN/WAN
setups allow the Admin to customize these instructions.

5) The generADEtor then sends the second email, the actual ADE
update message, to the requester, by attaching the CCMUPDAT file
onto an email and sending it.

6) A status message to the administrator is then created for any
of the following situations:

 - successfully sent ADE update to requester, to Whom and When.

-  no ADE updates sent since last auto-interval check.

-  unsuccessful send and reason why, to Whom and When.

7) The administrator then has the option of purging the
requesters email from the generADEtor's inbox or leaving it
there as a trace of users that have requested updates.  These
emails can be purged at any interval or forwarded off to another
mailbox.  

8) The systems resets, purges old files from the disk and checks
for additional update requests and starts the cycle over again.

9) This Router batch file is perfect for an additional task on
the cc:FAX Router pc.

Except for the ADDRFLIP.EXE program, the entire program is a
Router batch file that imports and exports emails.  ADDRFLIP.EXE
can handle up the maximum number of characters on both the TO:
and the FROM: fields respectively and include the original
Subject field as well.  Every step listed above is customizable
to any particular network.  The names, instructions and
intervals are very user friendly and modifiable.  

Here is an example of what ADDRFLIP.EXE does:

After exporting one email the generADEtor's inbox, we get:


From: Patty O'Donoughue at ccmail-whq  12/13/94 1:43PM (730
bytes: 1 ln)

To: GenerADEtor

Subject: ADE request please


After running ADDRFLIP.EXE against this file, we get a reply
header of:


From: GenerADEtor

To: Patty O'Donoughue at ccmail-whq 12/13/94 1:43:PM (730 bytes:
1 ln)

Subject: ADE request please



The program ADDRFLIP.EXE will "flip" any maximum number of text
of the TO: and FROM: fields. and generate a reply message header.

The router batch file GENERADE.BAT  contains conditionals for
all known errorlevel codes that cc:Mail/Lotus .exe's recognize. 
Responses to these conditionals are fully modifiable by the
administrator.  

The only requirements for the generADEtor are:

- DOS 3.1 or higher

- Gateway or Router

- Import.exe and Export.exe

- Notify.com

- Enough disk space to temporarily store CCMUPDAT file before
transmission


SETUP:

1) Create a Local "L" user named generADEtor on a Post Office
with an address of RTRLINK.

ex:

    NAME             LOCN     ADDRESS
 
    generADEtor       L       RTRLINK

2) Copy the required files into the home directory for the
Router.exe program.

3) Customize the ADEINSTR.TXT file to meet your needs.

4) Customize the GENERADE.BAT file, filling in the required
fields.

5) Run Admin.exe, Manage Call List, add the following entry:


TIME   PRI    PO NAME    MIN#  SIZE  DAYS  HOURS  CON  LIST  

AUTO/5  0   generADEtor   0    any   s-s   0-24   s/r   2


This will set up generADEtor to check every 5 minutes on list/2
for ADE requests.  

The generADEtor is now successfully installed.


Note: Only cc:Mail users that have mailboxes can access this
feature.  ADDRFLIP "flips" to TO and FROM: fields to reply
to the email request.  If the user is not defined on the
Post Office directory, the reply will not work.  This helps 
to keep users that are not defined on your Post Office from
obtaining a complete directory listing.  Adding the command
NOR/O to your Router, Gateway and Dialin systems will improve
security.  See the Router manual for further information on
the NOR/O option.  If you have outside access into your cc:Mail
system, ie: SMTP, UUCP, Internet etc. and if the end user knows
the "generADEtor" mailbox name, they can obtain a complete 
directory listing.  cc:Mail Administrators might not wish 
that to happen.  The status email that is sent to the Admin
will track any and all ADE requests so that the Admin is 
knowledgeable about who is receiving these updates.

We hope this utility is useful for both your Admins and
cc:Mail Mobile users.

cc:Mail/Lotus 

{genspec.txt}



