Documentation for Alt-N MDaemon

Introduction

Daemon Server v8 is a standards-based SMTP/POP/IMAP mail server that offers a full range of mail server functionality. MDaemon is designed to manage the email needs of any number of individual users and comes complete with a powerful set of integrated tools for managing mail accounts and message formats. MDaemon offers a scalable SMTP, POP3, and IMAP4 mail server complete with LDAP support, an integrated browser-based email client, content filtering, spam filters, extensive security features, and more.

MDaemon Standard and Pro

Alt-N Technologies' MDaemon Server is available in two versions: MDaemon Standard and MDaemon Pro. With the powerful features of MDaemon Standard, you can collect your network's email from a single ISP provided POP3 account, or host an entire domain with MDaemon's full-fledged SMTP server. With the increased functionality of IMAP4 and Multiple Domain Support, MDaemon Pro is an ideal email backbone for enterprise level organizations. MDaemon Pro also adds group calendar and scheduling, an instant messaging system, multiple language support for WorldClient, automatic domain gateway creation, and more to MDaemon Standard's already extensive set of features. For a complete discussion on the differences between MDaemon Standard and Pro see the white paper, "MDaemon Versions: Comparing Standard and Pro". This white paper and other helpful resources can be obtained form our web site at www.altn.com.

MDaemon Features

MDaemon is equipped with many features besides SMTP, POP, and IMAP email processing. The following is a list of just some of those features.

• MDaemon's extensive parsing features make it possible to provide email for an entire LAN with as little as a single dial-up ISP POP3 mailbox. This makes it possible to provide email to an entire network for a fraction of the normally associated cost.
• Complete support for virus scanning and protection through AntiVirus for MDaemon. This utility provides potent anti-virus protection. Messages can be scanned for viruses and cleaned or deleted automatically before ever reaching the intended recipients. Further, you can configure MDaemon to send a message to the administrator, sender, and recipient of the infected message notifying them of the virus. AntiVirus for MDaemon is a separately licensed product that is available from www.altn.com.
• An integrated component of MDaemon is WorldClient. This exciting product makes it possible for your users to access their email using their favorite web browser rather than from a workstation dependent email client. This tool is perfect for mobile staff and users who do not have a dedicated machine from which to access their email.
• WorldClient is equipped with a complete suite of email client features. You can: send and receive email, spell check messages, manage your email in multiple personal folders, display the interface in any of 18 languages, schedule meetings and appointments and share calendars and task with other user, manage your MDaemon account settings (when used in conjunction with WebAdmin), manage contacts, and more. WorldClient is also equipped with ComAgent, a small utility that can be downloaded and installed on a user's local computer. This provides easy access to your email and folders and checks for new messages without having to open your web browser. It also includes a complete Instant Messaging system that can be used to quickly "chat" with other MDaemon/WorldClient users.
• MDaemon is equipped with many features designed to help you make your email system secure. The Spam Filter and DNS Black Lists features will help you put an end to most "spam" email messages that "spammers" try to route through or to your domain. IP and Host Screening and Address Suppression provide the capability to screen and prevent certain addresses and domains from connecting to or sending mail through your system. They also make it possible to connect to specific IP addresses while screening all others.
• Equipped with support for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), MDaemon can keep your LDAP server up to date on all of its user accounts. This makes it possible for you to keep an LDAP address book up to date so that users with email clients that support LDAP can access it. You can also choose to use your LDAP server as the MDaemon account database instead of an ODBC compliant database or the local USERLIST.DAT system. Thus, you can configure multiple MDaemon's at different locations to share the same account database.
• MDaemon can be configured to keep your Windows Address Book or Microsoft Outlook Contact Store up to date with your user information. This provides another means of making a global address book available to your users.
• Address Aliases provides the ability to route email messages addressed to "fictitious" mailboxes to a valid account or mailing list. This makes it possible for individual accounts and lists to have "multiple" email addresses at one or more domains.
• The Domain Gateways feature provides the option of setting up separate domains for various departments or groups that may be local to your network or located somewhere else on the Internet. Using this feature, all mail addressed to a domain for which MDaemon is acting as a gateway will be placed in that domain's mailbox by MDaemon. It can then be collected by that domain's MDaemon server or email client and distributed to the domain's users.
• Accounts can be controlled remotely by users by using specially formatted email messages. This allows greater administrative flexibility, and empowers users by turning day-to-day simple account maintenance tasks, such as changing passwords, over to them.
• Support for WebAdmin. This is a free web-based remote administration application that can be obtained from www.altn.com. It integrates perfectly with MDaemon and WorldClient and enables your users to review and edit their account settings via their web-browser. You can designate which settings that your users may edit, and assign access permissions on a per account basis. WebAdmin can also be used by the Administrator (and whomever else you wish to allow) to review or edit any of MDaemon's settings and any other files that you wish to make available to the WebAdmin system for reviewing.
• With File Catalogs, the email administrator can create password protected groups of files which users can have encoded and automatically sent to them through the use of specially formatted email messages.
• Account mailbox formats can be abstracted using Mailbox Format Files (MBF), which allows for a wide range of mail system compatibility.
• An internal message transport system known as RAW mail provides a simple method for placing messages into the mail stream and greatly simplifies custom mail software development. Using RAW, a complete mail system can be devised using a simple text editor and a couple of batch files.
• A highly versatile Content Filtering system makes it possible for you to customize server behavior based on the content of incoming and outgoing email messages. You can insert and delete message headers, add footers to messages, remove attachments, route copies to other users, cause an instant message to be sent to someone, run other programs, and more.