Open systems mail handling capability in a multi-user environment
First Claim
1. A method for communicating between a data processing system and a first and second communication system, said first system having a first communication protocol and said second system having a second communication protocol, said method comprising the steps of:
- processing communications using said first protocol, by first means included in said data processing system;
processing communications using said second protocol, by second means included in said first means;
converting communications between said second protocol and said first protocol, transferring said converted communications between said second communication system and said first means, and transferring communications using said second protocol directly between said second communication system and said second means;
transferring communications using said first protocol directly between said first communication system and said first means; and
providing access, to a user of said processing system, to communications using said first and second protocols, from said first and second systems, respectively.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method is provided which allows users of an OSI mail handling system the advantage of communicating with users of other mail handling systems and utilizing the functionality associated with the OSI system. The functionality of a RFC-987 gateway is extended to provide, in addition to a straight conversion function, full OSI mail handling functions. A conventional mail handler is extended to allow for both OSI mail and conventional mail originating from a user of any mail system to be processed, thus providing a common interface for mail system users. Further, the sendmail component has now been enabled to recognize OSI addresses and route the associated messages to the appropriate destination. Mixed mode addressing has also been extended to include OSI type addresses in an address string that may contain components from several different networks, e.g. TCP/IP, UUCP.
91 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method for communicating between a data processing system and a first and second communication system, said first system having a first communication protocol and said second system having a second communication protocol, said method comprising the steps of:
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processing communications using said first protocol, by first means included in said data processing system; processing communications using said second protocol, by second means included in said first means; converting communications between said second protocol and said first protocol, transferring said converted communications between said second communication system and said first means, and transferring communications using said second protocol directly between said second communication system and said second means; transferring communications using said first protocol directly between said first communication system and said first means; and providing access, to a user of said processing system, to communications using said first and second protocols, from said first and second systems, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A data processing system for communicating between a first and second communication system, said first system having a first communication protocol and said second system having a second communication protocol, comprising:
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first means for processing communications using said first protocol; second means, included in said first means, for processing communications using said second protocol; means for converting communications between said second protocol and said first protocol, and for transferring said converted communications between said second communication system and said first means, and for transferring communications using said second protocol directly between said second communication system and said second means; means for transferring communications using said first protocol directly between said first communication system and said first means; and means for providing access, to a user of said processing system, to communications using said first and second protocols, from said first and second systems, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification