Service Agents

 

Service agents are functional units that act on behalf of the client with the service servers. The service agents currently identified include:

Electronic Mail Service Agent

The electronic mail service agent, also known in the X.400 model as the Mail User Agent (MUA), is responsible for the composition, addressing, encryption, decryption, and viewing of mail messages on behalf of the user. It is also responsible for alias list management, and the archiving, retrieval, storage and indexing of inactive mail messages. The MUA may provide online and context-sensitive help. The MUA interacts with the postoffice (also known as the mail store) as an agent for the client, to receive and view recently received mail, and to send new mail to other clients. MUA functions and requirements are discussed extensively in [DS92].

Directory Service Agent

The directory service agent, also known in the X.400 model as the Directory User Agent (DUA) may be implemented as part of the MUA, but is logically distinct. It mediates the client's need to translate names, locations and organization names into valid electronic mail addresses. Generally, the implementation uses a Directory Access Protocol (DAP) to access a Directory Server. The directory server then interacts with other directory servers internally and externally to resolve the client query. Some DUA functions and requirements are discussed in [DS92].

Administrative Service Agent

The administrative service agent, unlike the other service agents, is intended for use by the local electronic mail administrator. It provides the facilities necessary for the administrator to manage the group of clients for which the administrator is responsible. The administrative service agent implements functions to provide:

• creation, deletion and modification of mailboxes on the postoffice
• group and client storage resource management
• instructional configuration & maintenance (eg. large groups, classes)
• group mailing list management
• problem diagnosis and resolution
• problem trouble reporting to third level support staff
• monitoring of service metrics
• generating & reconciling accounting reports, if any.