USER MANUAL

INSTALLATION

Automatic setup program makes installing Mail Proxy on your computer a simple and straightforward process.

Before You Begin
There are a few simple prerequisites to a successful setup. Please make sure that:

Your computer runs Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 operating system. Mail Proxy is implemented as a Windows service, a part of the operating system.  Therefore, it is not compatible with Windows 95/98/Me, as these systems do not support services. The 95/98/Me family is not recommended for a gateway host, due to its weaker security and reliability.
Mail Proxy has been tested on Windows NT 4.0 SP6 or later.

You are a member of the Administrators group. Mail Proxy setup program needs to update Registry information. Depending on your system configuration, Windows may prevent the setup from modifying the Registry if you do not belong to the Administrators group. For information about user groups, please refer to the Windows help.

Your computer has a connection to the Internet and a functioning Internet mail connection, which you have tested prior to running the Mail Proxy setup program. While the setup program does not require an Internet connection to complete successfully, it does require that the TCP/IP protocol and network interfaces are installed and properly configured on your computer. A working Internet mail connection confirms that. It also gives you an additional benefit of the setup automatically configuring the proxy with mail server names.


Downloading the Trilent Mail Proxy
Trilent Mail Proxy is distributed in the form of a self-extracting executable setup file. Its name is TrilentMailProxyXX.exe, where XX is the version number. The file can be downloaded from TRILENT Networks Website and from many online shareware libraries.

This file is protected from (potentially malicious) modifications with a tamper-proof digital signature. A cryptographic certificate issued to TRILENT Networks by a certificate authority protects the signature from forgery and verifies authenticity of the software. When you download the program with Microsoft® Internet Explorer, the following dialog box appears on the screen:




It verifies authenticity of the software and gives you confidence in the program integrity. Unmodified file means that there is no danger of viruses, "Trojan horses", or other malware being added by hackers during the software distribution.
Note: This feature is not available in non-Microsoft Web browsers.

Running the Setup Program
Now you are ready to install Mail Proxy. The setup program is distributed in the form of a self-extracting executable file. Its name is TrilentMailProxyXX.exe, where XX is the version number. For example, TrilentMailProxy18.exe installs the Mail Proxy version 1.8. Double-click on the executable to start the installation wizard. The wizard will lead you through a few simple installation steps:



Read the End-User License Agreement The Trilent Mail Proxy is a licensed program. You must read and accept the agreement before proceeding.



Choose installation options, such as program directory (or accept defaults). Click on Finish. Installation proceeds automatically. If setup completed successfully, proceed to configuration (next section). If case of setup errors, please refer to the Troubleshooting section of this manual.

CONFIGURATION

After successful installation, the Mail Proxy service is stopped. Before its first use it must be configured. The configuration is simple. If you know how to configure your Internet mail program (such as Outlook, Eudora, or Messenger) you will not have any problems configuring the Mail Proxy.

Open the Mail Proxy Control Panel Applet

The Trilent Mail Proxy service is configured through the Control Panel applet. To open the applet, open the Control Panel and click on the Trilent Mail Proxy icon (shown on the left.)

The applet opens on the status page, which displays at-a-glance status of the service. The screen will look like this:


Any time you are ready, you can purchase the program from within the applet.
If you have not yet done so, start the configuration by entring the registration code.

Enter the Registration Code
Click on the "About" tab of the control applet. The screen will look like this:



Click on the "Register" button. A dialog box will apear:



Enter the registration code you have received via email. (Get a free registration code.) It should look similar to this:

  Name: Your Name
  Key: Y4ZCFE-947Q5D-MBJXTH-F34J9R-T1BPX6 

To avoid mistakes and typos, copy and paste the code from your email message to the dialog box. Click on the "OK" button and you are done! You only have to do it once (for purchased version).

Enter the Mail Server Data
Click on the "Mail Server" tab of the control applet. The screen will look like this:



Enter the names of the outgoing (SMTP)and incoming (POP3) mail servers into their respective "Server Name" fields. You can also enter their IP addresses into the "Server Name" fields. This is not recommended, as the server IP addresses may change occassionally (and without notice.)

If you have a functioning Internet email connection (highly recommended), the setup program will automatically obtain the SMTP and POP3 server names from the mail client configuration and enter them here. (Currently, this feature is available only for Outlook Express.) The setup assumes these are the servers you want to use, but you do not have to accept them. You can enter any servers you want. If these fields are left blank, it means the setup could not reliably determine the correct servers. You have to manually copy this information from your current mail client configuration. Enter the numbers of server ports per your existing mail setup.

The server "IP Address" fields show read-only values. The mail proxy performs name lookup with the server names and stores the resulting IP addresses. If the DNS (name) server is not available (down), the proxy uses these addresses to establish connections, thus improving reliability of operation. These values are for your information only. You cannot change them.

Enter the Gateway Host Data
Gateway host is the computer on which the Trilent Mail Proxy is installed. It is a gateway through which your internal network is connected to the Internet. Gateway hosts must have at least two interfaces. One interface (the inside interface) is connected to the inside network while the other (the outside interface) is connected to the Internet. To learn more about gateways and interfaces, refer to the Application Note  section.
Click on the "Gateway Host" tab of the control applet. The screen will look like this:



The setup program automatically configures the proxy during installation by entering the correct IP addresses for the inside and outside interfaces of your computer. (Learn more about IP addresses here.) For computers with a single network interface, the Setup enters the data for Single-Computer Operation. We recommend you review the configuration before the first use. If these fields are left blank, it means the setup could not reliably determine the correct interface addresses. You have to enter the IP addresses manually, as show below.

The best way to obtain address information is to run the ipconfig program. Click on "Start" menu, click on "Run.." and type cmd. Click on "OK" button. The black command screen opens. Type ipconfig at the prompt and hit "Enter". The program output may look like this:

Windows 2000 IP Configuration
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

	Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
	IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
	Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
	Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Ethernet adapter DSL Connection:

	Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : domain.com
	IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 139.12.0.17
	Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
	Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 139.12.0.1

In this example, our host computer has two interfaces. The inside (internal LAN) interface has the address 192.168.0.1. The outside interface (DSL connection to the Internet) has the address 139.12.0.17. The outside interface usually has a non-empty "Default Gateway" entry.

Limiting Access to the Mail Proxy
For added security, you can limit access to the mail service to specific computers on your network. Enter the IP addresses of computers permitted to connect to the mail proxy (and through the proxy to access mail servers on the Internet) in the field "Permit client connections from these addresses:" under the "Gateway Host" tab of the control applet. (Learn more about IP addresses here.)

You can enter a single IP address (such as 192.168.0.3), an address range (such as 192.168.0.2-5, which includes addresses from 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.5), or a network address. Network addresses usually have zeros in right-most positions. For example, network address 192.168.1.0 includes addresses 192.168.1.1 through 192.168.1.255, while network address 192.168.0.0 includes addresses 192.168.0.1 through 192.168.255.255.

Trilent Mail Proxy also supports network masks. Network mask has the following format: 192.168.0.0/24 . The number after the slash represents the number of bits (possible value: 0 to 32) of the network part of the address. (Each of the four dot-separated fields of an IP address is 8 bit long, for a total of 32 bits). For example, the address above has the network part that is 24-bit (or 3-field) long. The remaining (fourth) field represents host addresses. Therefore, the network address 192.168.0.0/24 contains addresses 192.168.0.1 through 192.168.0.255. Please note that without the network mask, the same network address 192.168.0.0 would include addresses 192.168.0.1 through 192.168.255.255, a much larger range. As you can see, the explicit network mask takes precedence over the number or right-most zeros in the address.

Also note that this address would be appropriate to use in our example network.

Shortcuts: You can omit one or more of the right-most zeros in a network address. You can also replace one right-most zero with a star (*). For example, the following addresses are equivalent:

The network address  * (star) or  0  matches everything, while an empty entry matches nothing (no client computer is permitted access to the mail proxy). The setup program inserts the star into this field. That permits access to the proxy from everybody.

Tip: Do not change this initial setting until after you have succesfully configured and started the proxy for the first time. Many questions to our technical support originate from this area.

Multiple Nets: You can enter up to five comma-separated network addresses in the format described above. No spaces are allowed. For example, this is a valid entry:

A client computer with IP address matching any of the entries above will be permitted to connect to the proxy.


Configure the Mail Proxy
Click on the "Mail Proxy" tab of the control applet. The screen will look like this:



Enter the mail proxy configuration:

• Use default ports - The default port number for the SMTP service (for outgoing mail) is 25. The default port number for the POP3 service (for incoming mail) is 110. We recommended that you do not change the default port numbers without a good reason to do so.
  
  

Enter the mail proxy port numbers (or chose default).

The IP address of the mail proxy is shown here as a read-only value. It is the address of the inside interface of the Gateway Host. If you need to change it, click on "Gateway Host" tab.

The Trilent Mail Proxy configuration is now complete. Click on "OK" button to close the applet.

Purchase the Mail Proxy
After installation, you can purchase the program from within its control panel applet. Click on the "About" tab of the applet. The screen will look like this:



Click on the "Purchase" button. A browser window will open with the Web store for the Trilent Mail Proxy.

This is the preferred way of purchasing the program. It gives the credit for the purchase to the Website from which you downloaded your evaluation copy. That credit provides an incentive to software libraries for listing our products and results in an improved product availability to users.

Start the Mail Proxy Service
The Mail Proxy is implemented as a Windows service. A service cannot be run from the command line. The "Services" control applet must be used instead. To start the service, open the Control Panel, open the "Administrative Tools" window and click on the "Services" icon. A list of services opens. Scroll the list to the "Trilent Mail Proxy" entry and double-click to open. The screen will look like this:



Click on the "Start" button to start the service. Change the "Startup Type" entry to "Automatic" if you want the Mail Proxy to start every time the computer is turned on (this is the normal operation). Click on "OK" button to close the applet.

Configure Mail Clients
As the final step, now configure the mail client programs on the computers in your internal network to use Mail Proxy. The exact procedure depends on your specific mail program: Outlook Express, Eudora, or Messenger. For example, the configuration of the Microsoft® Outlook Express is as follows. Start the mail program, click on "Tools" menu, click on "Accounts..", select your default mail account, click on "Properties" button, click on "Servers" tab. The screen will look like this:



Mail Proxy (installed on the gateway host) now acts as a mail server for the internal computers, so the mail server entry should contain the IP address of the inside interface of the host computer. In our example network shown here:




That address is 192.168.0.1. Both entries should be identical since the Trilent Mail Proxy handles both the incoming and outgoing mail. The account name and password are transparent to the proxy and should remain unchanged from your original mail configuration. If you changed the default values of the SMTP and POP3 port numbers in the Configure the Mail Proxy section, enter them also here, under the "Advanced" tab.

OPERATION

Using the Trilent Mail Proxy is simplicity itself. Since it is implemented as a service, it starts automatically (if so configured) as soon as the host computer is powered up. Unlike application programs, no user login is required. Therefore, it can operate on unattended computers. The Trilent Mail Proxy is very efficient. When not actually passing mail messages, it enters an efficient wait state which uses very few computing resources.

Single-Computer Operation
If you do not have a network, but only a single computer connected to the Internet, you can still use the mail proxy.

Every computer that supports IP (Internet protocol) is equipped with a loopback interface. The loopback is an internal ("dummy") interface that allows networking programs on the same computer to communicate. This interface behaves in every respect identically to a "real" interface connected to an outside network via a networking card. The well-known IP address of the loopback interface is always the same: 127.0.0.1. This arrangement is illustrated on the following diagram:


In this scenario, both the mail client and the Trilent Mail Proxy are installed on the same computer. The inside interface of the proxy is now the loopback interface. Enter address 127.0.0.1 into the "Inside Interface" box as shown in the Enter the Gateway Host Data section. The mail client program has to be configured to connect to the proxy address, which in this case is the loopback interface.

The benefits of using the Trilent Mail Proxy on a single computer are limited. It is typically so used for testing, or when some specific features of the proxy are needed.

Message Log
The Trilent Mail Proxy service logs status and error messages in the system event log. To review the log, open the Control Panel, open the "Administrative Tools" window and click on the "Event Viewer" icon. A list of logged events opens, as shown below. (Usually the list is much longer than that shown in our example.) Look under "System Log" for any Trilent Mail Proxy messages.




Using Mail Monitor
The Trilent Mail Proxy includes a simple mail monitor, capable of monitoring a single e-mail connection. This is useful for troubleshooting or simply to observe the mail protocols (SMTP/POP3) in action. To start the mail monitor, click on the "About" tab of the control applet. The screen will look like this:



Click on the "Monitor" button. A dialog box will apear:


Press the "Start" button to begin monitoring mail. A console screen opens that will echo any mail session. The direction of the mail transmissions is represented by the text color, as shown above. Here is an example of a short POP3 session (checking for incoming email) as shown on the monitor screen:

Waiting for messages.. Trilent Mail Proxy started. POP3 connection opened by client 192.168.0.3. +OK QPOP (version 3.21beta1) at pop3.example.net starting. <139.1129870433@pop 3.example.net> USER john +OK Password required for john. PASS mypassword +OK john has 0 messages (0 octets). STAT +OK 0 0 QUIT +OK Pop server at pop3.example.net signing off. POP3 connection closed.

Press "Cancel" to exit the monitor.

Note: Since only a single mail connection can be monitored, the mail proxy will be started in a single-connection mode that allows only one mail connection at a time. (Normally, the mail proxy supports 30 simultaneous mail connections.)

If the mail proxy service is already running, it will be stopped and then restarted in the single-connection mode. In this case, the following dialog box warns you of the danger of terminatating any ongoing mail connections (and annoying other users.) Clicking on the "No" button exits the monitor.



Uninstalling the Mail Proxy
Use the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel to completely remove the Trilent Mail Proxy from your computer. You can also use the shortcut from the Start menu. Click on "Start", then on "Programs", "Trilent", "Mail Proxy", and finally on "Uninstall Mail Proxy".

TROUBLESHOOTING

This section will help you troubleshoot problems with the Trilent Mail Proxy. The problems may be classified into two groups: Initial problems (when you never could get the Trilent Mail Proxy to work) and operational problems (Trilent Mail Proxy used to work correctly, but works no more). The former are mainly setup and configuration problems, the latter are more open-ended and involve the whole network. Please follow the common sense troubleshooting steps shown below before contacting the technical support.

Setup Problems
The TrilentMail Proxy setup program does not complete successfully. Read the setup error messages for a clue of what went wrong. Go back to the Before You Begin section of this manual and review the prerequisites to a successful setup. This is a usual culprit. Make sure your copy of the TrilentMailProxyXX.exe has not been corrupted during the download.

Configuration Problems
When the setup completes successfully, but the Mail Proxy doesn't seem to work, it usually indicates problems with configuration of the proxy itself, your network, or the mail system.

1. Did the setup really complete successfully? Make sure by reviewing the Configuration section of this manual. Open the Mail Proxy control applet and verify the information you have entered is still there.
   
   
2. Is the Mail Proxy service running? Make sure by opening the Services applet as shown in the Start the Mail Proxy Service section of this manual.
   
   
3. Do you have a functioning Internet mail? Can you connect to the mail server from your host computer (without the Mail Proxy)? If you do not, please install and configure it now. The importance of this step cannot be overemphasized. There is no point in troubleshooting the Mail Proxy when your mail system does not work.
   
   
4. Is your mail system an Internet mail?Most Internet mail systems follow two protocols: SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) for outgoing mail, and POP3 (Post Office Protocol) for incoming mail. Your mail server (and client) must follow these protocols for the Trilent Mail Proxy to work. This is not much of a constraint, since virtually all Internet mail is compliant with these protocols.
   
   However, some enterprise mail systems follow different protocols and some Internet service providers offer non-compliant mail systems to their customers. If you have a Web Mail, it may or may not be based on the mail standards. However, troubleshooting Web Mail is beyond the scope of this manual.
   
   
5. Do you have a dial-up connection to the Internet? Dial-up connections typically assign a different IP address to your computer each time a connection is made. Current version of the Trilent Mail Proxy only supports fixed IP addresses.
   
   
6. Configure the Mail Proxy on a single computer. If you have successfully gone through all the above steps, try to configure the mail proxy and an email client on a single computer connected to the Internet. You should have the mail client already installed and tested on this computer. You should also have the Trilent Mail Proxy service installed and running on the same host. The details of the setup are shown in the Single-Computer Operation section. Test the operation.
   
   
7. If you have a firewall installed on your host, check its configuration. Does it allow the Trilent Mail Proxy to connect to the outside world?
   
   
8. If everything else fails contact our Technical Support via email.
   
   

Operational Problems
If the Mail Proxy had been working correctly for a period of time and then suddenly failed, it usually indicates changes or problems within the network. The main culprits are usually the mail server or the name server. You should investigate any recent changes in your network but of course it does not help when the changes are in your ISP’s network.

1. Review the system event log (as shown in the Message Log section) for any error messages. Error messages usually give pretty accurate clues as to that has happened.
   
   
2. Make sure the Mail Proxy service is running. If needed, start the service (as shown Start the Mail Proxy Service section) and review the event log again.
   
   
3. Did your license expire? The Trilent Mail Proxy is a licensed software. If you are using a limited time evaluation license or a demo copy of the software, your license might have just expired.
   
   
4. Check your network for any recent changes. Verify that the mail server and the domain name server work correctly (this is beyond the scope of this manual.)  Bypass the mail proxy by connecting your mail client on the gateway host  to the mail server directly. Does it work?
   
   
5. It may be a bug in our program. Despite our best efforts, sometimes a software bug slips in. If your problem looks like a bug, please report it to our Technical Support. We highly value and welcome your feedback.