AppleShare IP Mail 5.0.3: Read Me

What's New

AppleShare IP 5.0.3 Mail Server provides a fix for a specific bug present in the AppleShare IP 5.0.2 Mail Server. This bug could cause the AppleShare IP Mail Server to delay the delivery of remote mail under some circumstances. The bug in 5.0.2 does not result in loss of mail, it can simply delay the delivery of mail. The length and duration of the delay depends on the complexity of your TCP/IP network and the load on the AppleShare IP Mail Server. Busy mail servers are less likely to see the problem than are idle/medium traffic mail servers.

No new features are present in this version of the AppleShare IP Mail Server. The AppleShare IP 5.0.3 Mail server is fully compatible with mail databases created by 5.0.1 & 5.0.2.


Requirements for Running AppleShare IP 5.0.3 Mail Server

• CPU: Any Apple Power Macintosh computer or Workgroup Server with a PowerPCTM 601, 604, or 604e microprocessor.
• RAM: 32 MB of memory with virtual memory turned on; 48 MB with virtual memory turned off. More memory may be needed if you are using one or more web server plug-ins.
• System Software: MacOS 8.0, which includes Open Transport 1.2 and OpenDoc 1.2.1, is strongly recommended. The minimum requirement is MacOS 7.6 or later with OpenDoc 1.1.2 or later and Open Transport 1.1.2 or later, except for the Workgroup Server 7350 and the Workgroup Server 9650, which require MacOS 7.6.1 or later.

Support

Telephone Support

In the United States, if you have questions about AppleShare IP 5.0.3 that are not answered by the AppleShare IP Administrator's Manual or Apple Guide, call the Apple Assistance Center at 1-800-APL-CARE (1-800-275-2273) during telephone support hours (Monday through Friday, 6 am to 6 pm Pacific time). When prompted, enter the support access number provided on the back of your Apple Support Card and follow the instructions.

If you are located outside of the United States, refer to the support information that came with your AppleShare IP 5.0.2 software for instructions.

Web Site

If you have an Internet connection, check the Apple Support Information Web site at http://www.info.apple.com and the AppleShare IP Web site at http://www.apple.com/appleshareip/ for tips, solutions to problems, or any patches that may become available after the release of the software.

AppleShare IP Mailing List

To receive information about future software updates, you are cordially invited to join the AppleShare IP mailing list. By joining the mailing list, you will also have the opportunity to share your experiences, questions, and comments with others using the software. Apple employees monitor the list, but Apple does not guarantee that all questions directed to this list will be answered. For more information about the mailing list, see the AppleShare IP Web site at http://www.apple.com/appleshareip/.


Installing AppleShare IP 5.0.3 Mail Server

In order to install AppleShare IP Mail 5.0.3, you must have previously installed AppleShare IP Mail 5.0.2. The AppleShare IP Mail 5.0.3 Updater can only upgrade AppleShare IP 5.0.2 systems. For further information about obtaining AppleShare IP 5.0.2 please see the AppleShare IP web site at: http://www.apple.com/appleshareip/.

1. Quit the AppleShare IP Mail Server.

2. Download and extract the AppleShare IP 5.0.3 GM Package. Run the ASIP Mail 5.0.3 Updater. The ASIP Mail 5.0.3 Updater is an application that you open in the finder (by double clicking on the file). When this application is run it will find the AppleShare IP Mail 5.0.2 Application file on your locally mounted hard drives.

3. Choose the AppleShare IP Mail Server present in the Extentions folder of your active System Folder. Click the "Update" button.

4. After running the Updater restart your Macintosh and re-launch the AppleShare IP Mail Server.

5. The installation process is now complete. You are now running the AppleShare IP Mail 5.0.3 server. This can be verified by viewing the Server Log in the AppleShare IP Mail Admin program. The server's startup message printed in the log should read:

"AppleShare IP Mail Server 5.0.3 was started at: <date & time>"


Known Problems, Incompatibilities and Limitations

Mail Databases created with version 5.0 of the Mail Server are not compatible with those used by versions 5.0.1, 5.0.2, and 5.0.3. There are two methods available for preserving email that is contained in a 5.0 Mail Database.

1. Before upgrading to 5.0.3, have all clients download their messages from the Mail Server. When that is complete, shut down the Mail Server so that you can simply throw away the AppleShare IP Mail 5.0 Database. The 5.0.3 server will create a New Database upon startup.

2. There is a tool available on the AppleShare IP Web site. (http://www.apple.com/appleshareip//) which can convert ASIP Mail 5.0 databases to the file format compatible with 5.0.1, 5.0.2, and 5.0.3. This tool is called the AppleShare IP Mail Tool. The tool also allows scavenging of corrupted AppleShare IP Mail Databases, compression of AppleShare IP Mail Databases, and reassignment of disabled mail account/mailboxes (see section in this Read Me about disabled accounts).

Mail Server

• If you need to modify your TCP/IP configuration, stop the Mail Server, make changes to the TCP/IP control panel, and restart the Mail Server.
• The Mail Admin folder inside the AppleShare IP 5.0 folder on your startup disk contains an application called the PowerShare Exporter. You can use PowerShare Exporter to export users from PowerShare and import them into an AppleShare IP Users & Groups Data File.
• The Mail Server should not be running when you back up the Mail Server's mail database. AppleShare IP 5.0 comes with a Retrospect script for stopping the Mail Server, backing up the mail database, and restarting the Mail Server automatically. For information on this script, see the ReadMe file for the Retrospect Event Handler script in the Mail Backup Samples folder at the root level of the AppleShare IP 5.0 CD-ROM disc.
• The AppleShare IP Mail Server uses a special "fingerprint" to ensure that a user's account in the mail database matches the correct user in the Users & Groups Data File. The fingerprint is a unique number that is stored in the user's record in the Users & Groups Data File and in the user's account/mailbox in the mail database.

The Mail Server checks for fingerprint mismatches each time it starts up. When it finds a user in the mail database whose fingerprint does not match the fingerprint of any user in the Users & Groups Data File, the Mail Server enters a summary message in the Mail Server log and a detailed message in the Mail Server error log, and disables the user's mail account/mailbox. To retrieve mail from a disabled mail account, use the AppleShare IP Mail Tool (available from the AppleShare IP Web site at http://www.apple.com/appleshareip/) to assign the mail account to a valid user in the Users & Groups Data File.

You can prevent mismatch problems by taking these precautions:

• Treat the Users & Groups Data File and the mail database as a set. Always back up and restore them together. If you were to restore the Users & Groups Data File without also restoring the mail database, Mail Server would disable the mail accounts of users who are in the mail database but who are not in the restored Users & Groups Data File. If you must restore the Users & Groups Data File, make sure that all current users have retrieved their mail first (if possible). Then restore the Users & Groups Data File and the mail database from the same backup. Alternatively, you can restore the Users & Groups Data File, start the Mail Server, note the mail accounts that are disabled, and use the AppleShare IP Mail Tool to assign the disabled accounts to valid users.
• If you move the mail database to another computer, move the Users & Groups Data File, too. If you were to move the mail database to another computer without moving the Users & Groups Data File, the Mail Server would disable most (if not all) mail accounts and create new, empty mail accounts for the users in the Users & Groups Data File for whom mail is enabled. (Note, however, that if you move the Users & Groups Data File to another computer that is running the Web & File Server, any access privileges that have been assigned on that computer will be lost because the access privileges no longer match the Users & Group Data File.)
• When you delete users for whom mail is enabled, make sure the AppleShare IP Mail Server is running. If the Mail Server is not running when you delete users for whom mail is enabled, the next time the Mail Server starts up, it will report that the deleted users' mail accounts do not have a matching entry and it will disable their mail accounts.

Note: It is always safe to throw away a mail database that is empty (as indicated by a zero in the "Number of Messages" field in the Mail Server Activity window). When you restart the Mail Server, it will create a mail account for each user in the Users & Groups Data File for which the Enable Mail radio button is selected.