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authorThomas Voss <mail@thomasvoss.com> 2024-11-27 20:54:24 +0100
committerThomas Voss <mail@thomasvoss.com> 2024-11-27 20:54:24 +0100
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+Network Working Group N. Freed
+Request for Comments: 2920 Innosoft
+STD: 60 September 2000
+Obsoletes: 2197
+Category: Standards Track
+
+
+ SMTP Service Extension for Command Pipelining
+
+Status of this Memo
+
+ This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
+ Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
+ improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
+ Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
+ and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
+
+Copyright Notice
+
+ Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2000). All Rights Reserved.
+
+Abstract
+
+ This memo defines an extension to the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
+ (SMTP) service whereby a server can indicate the extent of its
+ ability to accept multiple commands in a single Transmission Control
+ Protocol (TCP) send operation. Using a single TCP send operation for
+ multiple commands can improve SMTP performance significantly.
+
+1. Introduction
+
+ Although SMTP is widely and robustly deployed, certain extensions may
+ nevertheless prove useful. In particular, many parts of the Internet
+ make use of high latency network links. SMTP's intrinsic one
+ command-one response structure is significantly penalized by high
+ latency links, often to the point where the factors contributing to
+ overall connection time are dominated by the time spent waiting for
+ responses to individual commands (turnaround time).
+
+ In the best of all worlds it would be possible to simply deploy SMTP
+ client software that makes use of command pipelining: batching up
+ multiple commands into single TCP send operations. Unfortunately, the
+ original SMTP specification [RFC-821] did not explicitly state that
+ SMTP servers must support this. As a result a non-trivial number of
+ Internet SMTP servers cannot adequately handle command pipelining.
+ Flaws known to exist in deployed servers include:
+
+
+
+
+
+Freed Standards Track [Page 1]
+
+RFC 2920 SMTP for Command Pipelining September 2000
+
+
+ (1) Connection handoff and buffer flushes in the middle of the
+ SMTP dialogue. Creation of server processes for incoming SMTP
+ connections is a useful, obvious, and harmless implementation
+ technique. However, some SMTP servers defer process forking
+ and connection handoff until some intermediate point in the
+ SMTP dialogue. When this is done material read from the TCP
+ connection and kept in process buffers can be lost.
+
+ (2) Flushing the TCP input buffer when an SMTP command fails. SMTP
+ commands often fail but there is no reason to flush the TCP
+ input buffer when this happens. Nevertheless, some SMTP
+ servers do this.
+
+ (3) Improper processing and promulgation of SMTP command failures.
+ For example, some SMTP servers will refuse to accept a DATA
+ command if the last RCPT TO command fails, paying no attention
+ to the success or failure of prior RCPT TO command results.
+ Other servers will accept a DATA command even when all
+ previous RCPT TO commands have failed. Although it is possible
+ to accommodate this sort of behavior in a client that employs
+ command pipelining, it does complicate the construction of the
+ client unnecessarily.
+
+ This memo uses the mechanism described in [RFC-1869] to define an
+ extension to the SMTP service whereby an SMTP server can declare that
+ it is capable of handling pipelined commands. The SMTP client can
+ then check for this declaration and use pipelining only when the
+ server declares itself capable of handling it.
+
+1.1. Requirements Notation
+
+ This document occasionally uses terms that appear in capital letters.
+ When the terms "MUST", "MUST NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", and "MAY"
+ appear capitalized, they are being used to indicate particular
+ requirements of this specification. A discussion of the meanings of
+ the terms "MUST", "SHOULD", and "MAY" appears in [RFC-1123]; the
+ terms "MUST NOT" and "SHOULD NOT" are logical extensions of this
+ usage.
+
+2. Framework for the Command Pipelining Extension
+
+ The Command Pipelining extension is defined as follows:
+
+ (1) the name of the SMTP service extension is Pipelining;
+
+ (2) the EHLO keyword value associated with the extension is
+ PIPELINING;
+
+
+
+
+Freed Standards Track [Page 2]
+
+RFC 2920 SMTP for Command Pipelining September 2000
+
+
+ (3) no parameter is used with the PIPELINING EHLO keyword;
+
+ (4) no additional parameters are added to either the MAIL FROM or
+ RCPT TO commands.
+
+ (5) no additional SMTP verbs are defined by this extension; and,
+
+ (6) the next section specifies how support for the extension
+ affects the behavior of a server and client SMTP.
+
+3. The Pipelining Service Extension
+
+ When a client SMTP wishes to employ command pipelining, it first
+ issues the EHLO command to the server SMTP. If the server SMTP
+ responds with code 250 to the EHLO command, and the response includes
+ the EHLO keyword value PIPELINING, then the server SMTP has indicated
+ that it can accommodate SMTP command pipelining.
+
+3.1. Client use of pipelining
+
+ Once the client SMTP has confirmed that support exists for the
+ pipelining extension, the client SMTP may then elect to transmit
+ groups of SMTP commands in batches without waiting for a response to
+ each individual command. In particular, the commands RSET, MAIL FROM,
+ SEND FROM, SOML FROM, SAML FROM, and RCPT TO can all appear anywhere
+ in a pipelined command group. The EHLO, DATA, VRFY, EXPN, TURN,
+ QUIT, and NOOP commands can only appear as the last command in a
+ group since their success or failure produces a change of state which
+ the client SMTP must accommodate. (NOOP is included in this group so
+ it can be used as a synchronization point.)
+
+ Additional commands added by other SMTP extensions may only appear as
+ the last command in a group unless otherwise specified by the
+ extensions that define the commands.
+
+ The actual transfer of message content is explicitly allowed to be
+ the first "command" in a group. That is, a RSET/MAIL FROM sequence
+ used to initiate a new message transaction can be placed in the same
+ group as the final transfer of the headers and body of the previous
+ message.
+
+ Client SMTP implementations that employ pipelining MUST check ALL
+ statuses associated with each command in a group. For example, if
+ none of the RCPT TO recipient addresses were accepted the client must
+ then check the response to the DATA command -- the client cannot
+ assume that the DATA command will be rejected just because none of
+ the RCPT TO commands worked. If the DATA command was properly
+ rejected the client SMTP can just issue RSET, but if the DATA command
+
+
+
+Freed Standards Track [Page 3]
+
+RFC 2920 SMTP for Command Pipelining September 2000
+
+
+ was accepted the client SMTP should send a single dot.
+
+ Command statuses MUST be coordinated with responses by counting each
+ separate response and correlating that count with the number of
+ commands known to have been issued. Multiline responses MUST be
+ supported. Matching on the basis of either the error code value or
+ associated text is expressly forbidden.
+
+ Client SMTP implementations MAY elect to operate in a nonblocking
+ fashion, processing server responses immediately upon receipt, even
+ if there is still data pending transmission from the client's
+ previous TCP send operation. If nonblocking operation is not
+ supported, however, client SMTP implementations MUST also check the
+ TCP window size and make sure that each group of commands fits
+ entirely within the window. The window size is usually, but not
+ always, 4K octets. Failure to perform this check can lead to
+ deadlock conditions.
+
+ Clients MUST NOT confuse responses to multiple commands with
+ multiline responses. Each command requires one or more lines of
+ response, the last line not containing a dash between the response
+ code and the response string.
+
+3.2. Server support of pipelining
+
+ A server SMTP implementation that offers the pipelining extension:
+
+ (1) MUST respond to commands in the order they are received from
+ the client.
+
+ (2) SHOULD elect to store responses to grouped RSET, MAIL FROM,
+ SEND FROM, SOML FROM, SAML FROM, and RCPT TO commands in an
+ internal buffer so they can sent as a unit.
+
+ (3) SHOULD issue a positive response to the DATA command if and
+ only if one or more valid RCPT TO addresses have been
+ previously received.
+
+ (4) MUST NOT, after issuing a positive response to a DATA command
+ with no valid recipients and subsequently receiving an empty
+ message, send any message whatsoever to anybody.
+
+ (5) MUST NOT buffer responses to EHLO, DATA, VRFY, EXPN, TURN,
+ QUIT, and NOOP.
+
+ (6) MUST NOT buffer responses to unrecognized commands.
+
+
+
+
+
+Freed Standards Track [Page 4]
+
+RFC 2920 SMTP for Command Pipelining September 2000
+
+
+ (7) MUST send all pending responses immediately whenever the local
+ TCP input buffer is emptied.
+
+ (8) MUST NOT make assumptions about commands that are yet to be
+ received.
+
+ (9) MUST NOT flush or otherwise lose the contents of the TCP input
+ buffer under any circumstances whatsoever.
+
+ (10) SHOULD issue response text that indicates, either implicitly
+ or explicitly, what command the response matches.
+
+ The overriding intent of these server requirements is to make it as
+ easy as possible for servers to conform to these pipelining
+ extensions.
+
+4. Examples
+
+ Consider the following SMTP dialogue that does not use pipelining:
+
+ S: <wait for open connection>
+ C: <open connection to server>
+ S: 220 Innosoft.com SMTP service ready
+ C: HELO dbc.mtview.ca.us
+ S: 250 Innosoft.com
+ C: MAIL FROM:<mrose@dbc.mtview.ca.us>
+ S: 250 sender <mrose@dbc.mtview.ca.us> OK
+ C: RCPT TO:<ned@innosoft.com>
+ S: 250 recipient <ned@innosoft.com> OK
+ C: RCPT TO:<dan@innosoft.com>
+ S: 250 recipient <dan@innosoft.com> OK
+ C: RCPT TO:<kvc@innosoft.com>
+ S: 250 recipient <kvc@innosoft.com> OK
+ C: DATA
+ S: 354 enter mail, end with line containing only "."
+ ...
+ C: .
+ S: 250 message sent
+ C: QUIT
+ S: 221 goodbye
+
+ The client waits for a server response a total of 9 times in this
+ simple example. But if pipelining is employed the following dialogue
+ is possible:
+
+ S: <wait for open connection>
+ C: <open connection to server>
+ S: 220 innosoft.com SMTP service ready
+
+
+
+Freed Standards Track [Page 5]
+
+RFC 2920 SMTP for Command Pipelining September 2000
+
+
+ C: EHLO dbc.mtview.ca.us
+ S: 250-innosoft.com
+ S: 250 PIPELINING
+ C: MAIL FROM:<mrose@dbc.mtview.ca.us>
+ C: RCPT TO:<ned@innosoft.com>
+ C: RCPT TO:<dan@innosoft.com>
+ C: RCPT TO:<kvc@innosoft.com>
+ C: DATA
+ S: 250 sender <mrose@dbc.mtview.ca.us> OK
+ S: 250 recipient <ned@innosoft.com> OK
+ S: 250 recipient <dan@innosoft.com> OK
+ S: 250 recipient <kvc@innosoft.com> OK
+ S: 354 enter mail, end with line containing only "."
+ ...
+ C: .
+ C: QUIT
+ S: 250 message sent
+ S: 221 goodbye
+
+ The total number of turnarounds has been reduced from 9 to 4.
+
+ The next example illustrates one possible form of behavior when
+ pipelining is used and all recipients are rejected:
+
+ S: <wait for open connection>
+ C: <open connection to server>
+ S: 220 innosoft.com SMTP service ready
+ C: EHLO dbc.mtview.ca.us
+ S: 250-innosoft.com
+ S: 250 PIPELINING
+ C: MAIL FROM:<mrose@dbc.mtview.ca.us>
+ C: RCPT TO:<nsb@thumper.bellcore.com>
+ C: RCPT TO:<galvin@tis.com>
+ C: DATA
+ S: 250 sender <mrose@dbc.mtview.ca.us> OK
+ S: 550 remote mail to <nsb@thumper.bellore.com> not allowed
+ S: 550 remote mail to <galvin@tis.com> not allowed
+ S: 554 no valid recipients given
+ C: QUIT
+ S: 221 goodbye
+
+ The client SMTP waits for the server 4 times here as well. If the
+ server SMTP does not check for at least one valid recipient prior to
+ accepting the DATA command, the following dialogue would result:
+
+ S: <wait for open connection>
+ C: <open connection to server>
+ S: 220 innosoft.com SMTP service ready
+
+
+
+Freed Standards Track [Page 6]
+
+RFC 2920 SMTP for Command Pipelining September 2000
+
+
+ C: EHLO dbc.mtview.ca.us
+ S: 250-innosoft.com
+ S: 250 PIPELINING
+ C: MAIL FROM:<mrose@dbc.mtview.ca.us>
+ C: RCPT TO:<nsb@thumper.bellcore.com>
+ C: RCPT TO:<galvin@tis.com>
+ C: DATA
+ S: 250 sender <mrose@dbc.mtview.ca.us> OK
+ S: 550 remote mail to <nsb@thumper.bellore.com> not allowed
+ S: 550 remote mail to <galvin@tis.com> not allowed
+ S: 354 enter mail, end with line containing only "."
+ C: .
+ C: QUIT
+ S: 554 no valid recipients
+ S: 221 goodbye
+
+5. Security Considerations
+
+ This RFC does not discuss security issues and is not believed
+ to raise any security issues not endemic in electronic mail
+ and present in fully conforming implementations of [RFC-821].
+
+6. Acknowledgements
+
+ This document is based on the SMTP service extension model
+ presented in RFC 1425. Marshall Rose's description of SMTP
+ command pipelining in his book "The Internet Message" also
+ served as a source of inspiration for this extension.
+
+7. References
+
+ [RFC-821] Postel, J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol", STD 10, RFC
+ 821, August 1982.
+
+ [RFC-1123] Braden, R., "Requirements for Internet Hosts --
+ Application and Support", STD 3, RFC 1123, October, 1989.
+
+ [RFC-1854] Freed, N., "SMTP Service Extension for Command
+ Pipelining", RFC 1854, October 1995.
+
+ [RFC-1869] Klensin, J., Freed, N., Rose, M., Stefferud, E. and D.
+ Crocker, "SMTP Service Extensions", STD 10, RFC 1869,
+ November 1995.
+
+ [RFC-2197] Freed, N., "SMTP Service Extension for Command
+ Pipelining", RFC 2197, September 1997.
+
+
+
+
+
+Freed Standards Track [Page 7]
+
+RFC 2920 SMTP for Command Pipelining September 2000
+
+
+8. Author's Address
+
+ Ned Freed
+ Innosoft International, Inc.
+ 1050 Lakes Drive
+ West Covina, CA 91790
+ USA
+
+ Phone: +1 626 919 3600
+ Fax: +1 626 919 361
+ EMail: ned.freed@innosoft.com
+
+ This document is a product of work done by the Internet Engineering
+ Task Force Working Group on Messaging Extensions, Alan Cargille,
+ chair.
+
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+Freed Standards Track [Page 8]
+
+RFC 2920 SMTP for Command Pipelining September 2000
+
+
+9. Full Copyright Statement
+
+ Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2000). All Rights Reserved.
+
+ This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
+ others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
+ or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
+ and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
+ kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
+ included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this
+ document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
+ the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
+ Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
+ developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
+ copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
+ followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
+ English.
+
+ The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
+ revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.
+
+ This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
+ "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
+ TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
+ BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
+ HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
+ MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
+
+
+
+Acknowledgement
+
+ Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
+ Internet Society.
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+Freed Standards Track [Page 9]
+