
            DataEnter, Michael Kocum
            Wagramerstrasse 93/5/10
            A-1220 Vienna
            AUSTRIA

        CIS: 70143,1667
   Internet: michael@dataenter.co.at
        Fax: +43/1/2031320





Introduction to MailProbe for MSMail and Exchange
-------------------------------------------------

MailProbe verifys that your Mail system and your gateways are up and
running by probing into a given address, opening a file or sending a
ICMP echo.

Nearly every system which is reachable by email or TCP/IP can be checked.
This includes MSMail Postoffices, the Internet or CompuServe.

MailProbe shows you a lot of statistic values about your system and
alerts you in the case of an error.

MailProbe consists of MailProbe Server, which is the worker thread and
MailProbe Admin which is used to display statistic or change your
configuration.



System Requirements
-------------------

  DOS   version :  DOS 3.3
  Win32 version :  Windows NT 3.1 or Windows 95
  OS/2  version :  OS/2 2.x

  Microsoft Mail, version 3.2 or
  Windows for Workgroups or
  Exchange 4.0


Installation
------------

   1) MailProbe does it work by sending messages to another address and
      then it waits for the return. On return of the message it will
      update the log files and mark the Probe as up and running.

      If no message is returned in the user defined time, MailProbe
      triggers an action, which is basicly a message to a human person.
      Multiply actions based on the time can be defined.

   2) MailProbe requires a single user mailbox on your Microsoft Mail
      system in order to work. You have to create this mailbox before
      installing MailProbe. On a Microsoft Mail Postoffice this is done
      via ADMIN.EXE.

      MailProbe needs this mailbox for communication with other
      addresses or non existing users, it sends its messages using this
      mailbox.

      We suggest that you use "MailProbe" as the mailbox name and
      "MailProbe" as the alias.

      Note: No other person should use this mailbox!!!


   3) Create a directory on your server and copy all the files into this
      directory. We suggest that you create a directory called MailProb
      below your MAILEXE, so it is clear that MailProbe belongs to MS
      Mail.


   4) Start MPAdmn16.exe or MPAdmn32.exe to configure it.
      On your first start you will prompted for the mailbox that you
      created in step 2 and the path to your MailData.

      Due that no probe is defined yet, an empty list is shown.
      Press CTRL-N or select "New Probe..." from the menu to create a
      probe.

      Note: The address fields is a drop down list which is filled with
      all known postoffices and a Internet address if you have a SMTP
      gateway installed.


   5) After you created a Probe start MPSrv.exe, MPSrv2.exe or
      MPSrv32.exe and take a look at the screen to see if MailProbe
      works.


Running MailProbe on the same machine as External
-------------------------------------------------

In order to work, MailProbe has to poll MS Mail for messages from time to
time. In NT or OS/2 you can start a task with MailProbe and so there is
not problem.

In DOS however, only one program can work at a time. The way it works
under DOS, is to run External and MailProbe in a loop. The following batch
file shows how do do it.

Note: You need SingleCycle=True in MailProb.Ini to let it work.


@echo off
:Start

   rem Change to MailProbe directory
   cd MailProb

   rem Execute MailProbe
   MPSrv

   rem Change back to directory where External is located
   cd ..

   rem Call External for 15 minutes
   external -BR0:0:15

   rem Check Externals errorlevel to find out if the
   rem operator pressed  ESC
   if errorlevel 66 goto End
   if errorlevel 63 goto Start
   if errorlevel 62 goto End
:End



Installing MailProbe as a Microsoft NT Service ( Win32 version only )
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Keep in mind that MailProbe needs to reside on a local disk or the Service
Controller can't start. For the samples below, we assume MailProbe is
in C:\MailProb.

Be sure that MailProbe is running well in Console Mode and there is no
error, because once you run it as a Service, you cant see a screen and
a problem will only be visible in the log file.


There are two different install methods depending of the location of
your postoffice.


a) Your postoffice is is on a local disk

   Start MailProbe one time with an argument of "install",

   i.e. type
   MPSrv32 install

   and MailProbe will create the service. By default it's an AUTOSTART
   Service and any time your computer is started, MailProbe will start.

   You can start and stop MailProbe at any time via the "Control Panel".

   Note: In MailProb.Ini, MailDrive= had to point to a local
         directory, NOT to a sharename,

         i.e use  MailDrive=C:\MAILDATA
         and not  MailDrive=M



b) Your postoffice is on a network disk

   Start MailProbe one time with an argument of "install",

   i.e. type
   MPSrv32 install

   and MailProbe will create the service. By default it's an AUTOSTART
   Service and any time your computer is started, MailProbe will start.

   Note: Before you do the next part its a good idea to create
         a user "MailProbe" on your NT machine

   Open "Control Panel", select "Services",
   locate MailProbe and press the button labeled "Startup...".

   In section "Log On As" select "This account" and select a
   account (user) which MailProbe should use for performing a log on into
   the network.

   The account need to have the right to "Log on as a Service".
   You can set this right when checking "Show Advanced Rights"
   in "User Manager". On NT 3.51 this is done automatic when you select
   the account.


   It's a good idea to create a user "MailProbe" on your NT machine and
   select this user instead of a human person, because if your ever
   change the password or delete the account, MailProbe can't no longer
   log on into the network.

   You can start and stop MailProbe at any time via the "Control Panel".

   Note: In MailProb.Ini, MailDrive= had to be an UNC name and not a drive.

         i.e use  MailDrive=\\SERVER\SHARENAME
         and not  MailDrive=M

         because there is no drive mapping for a Service.



Note: After you started MailProbe as a Service, verify that MailProbe has no
      errors ( i.e. it have access to all your postoffices ).
      You need to take a look into the log file to do this.




Removing MailProbe as a Microsoft NT Service ( Win32 version only )
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Start MailProbe one time with an argument of "remove",

i.e. type
MPSrv32 remove

and MailProbe will delete the service.




More information
----------------

Enclosed you will find FAQ.TXT which answers frequently asked questions



Latest Version:
---------------

You will find the lastest version of MailProbe on

ftp://ftp.dataenter.co.at        or
http://www.dataenter.co.at

Filenames is: MailProb.ZIP




Licensing Agreement
-------------------

    MailProbe (c) is copyrighted 1993-1998 by DataEnter, Michael Kocum,
    portions (c) Microsoft Corp.

    This product and its documentation may not, in whole or in part, be
    copied, reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval
    system, or translated into any other natural or computer language, in
    any form or by any means whatsoever, be it electronic, mechanical,
    magnetic, optical, manual or otherwise, without the prior written
    consent of DataEnter.

    DataEnter makes no warranty or representation, either expressed or
    implied, with respect to the product MailProbe and its
    documentation, their quality, perfomance, merchantability, or
    fitness for a particular purpose. DataEnter reserves the right to
    revise the user's guide and make changes in the content without
    obligation to notify any person or organization of such a change.

    In no event will DataEnter be liable for any direct, indirect,
    special, incidental or consequential damages, real or imagined,
    resulting from the use or purchase of this software.
    Under no circumstances shall DataEnter's liability for damages
    exceed the price paid for the software license.

    Should any remedy hereunder be determined to have failed, all
    limitations of liability and exclusion of damages set forth above
    shall remain in full force and effect.

    The extent of the DataEnter's warranty for the software and its
    documentation is limited to physical defects of the distribution media
    containing the software. Contact DataEnter to obtain return
    authorization for the replacement diskette within 30 days of the
    original date of purchase. Any further statement made by agents,
    employees, distributors or dealers of DataEnter do not constitute
    warranties and are not binding. No employee of DataEnter has the
    authority to modify any portion of this warranty.

    All brand and product names we refer to in the documentation are used
    solely for identification purposes and may be trademarks of other
    companies.

    DataEnter, (the licensor) grants the buyer (the licensee) the right
    to use this copy of MailProbe (the program) on a single computer at
    a single location as long as the licensee complies with the terms of
    this license.

    The licensor reserves the right to terminate this license if the
    licensee violates any part of the agreement.

    The licensee agrees to make copies of the program only for backup
    purposes. The licensee agrees not to copy the documentation and to
    take all necessary precautions to ensure that the backup copies of the
    software are not distributed to or acquired by other parties.

    Microsoft Mail is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.
    Windows for Workgroups is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.


Server History:
---------------

v3.00  96-05-11  Released

v3.01  96-08-31  Fixed a problem with MCI, SNADS and PROFS

v3.02  96-09-25  Fixed a memory free bug in Win32

v3.03  96-10-08  Added database for saving LastRun, SentCount and RecvCount
                 Added ICMPEcho ( Win32 only ) and FileOpen as probe
                 Added BatchFile as kind of action

v3.04  96-12-02  Added check if Postoffice is valid on every loop
                 Added check to make sure the time of the probe we
                 got is not in the future ( possible if computer time
                 is set back )
                 Added AutoPack to database
                 Fixed action message when not testing an address

v3.05  97-01-03  Added description and address as arguments when
                 batchfile is triggered

v3.06  97-03-31  Fixed an error when an ICPM Echo fails and MailProbe
                 tests the address at every cycle

                 Fixed shutdown by pressing ESC in Win32

                 Fixed problem when file server goes down and MailProbe
                 crashes

v3.07  97-05-29  Fixed shutdown after an internal restart
                 Reading all messages from mailbox instead of unread only

v3.08  97-10-17  Added a shadow log for the current day called PS.LOG
                 Added more relaxed handling of invalid messages
                 Added support for CSV files in Excel 97 format
                 Added additional checking for messages from PostMaster
                 Added a new Probe into a Port



