We have a deidcated server with a fixed IP (e.g =202.34.123.45)
and a running mail server but NO domain associated with it.

I tried to send several times from serveral mail accounts from all over the world
emails to an eMail account on this server (e.g. to karl@202.34.123.45).
Unfortunately this doens't work.

The SMTP mail delivery system seems to need a domain name and NOT an IP. Why?

For web pages I can write http://202.34.123.45
Why is such a trick not possible for emails ?

Tim

On 20 Dec 2006 18:45:33 GMT, Tim Tuples wrote:

Probably because the relevant RFC requires domain literals in email
addresses to be of the form: <example@[127.0.0.1]>. Please note that the
issue is the brackets, not the particular IP address. IOW, replace
"202.34.123.45" with "[202.34.123.45]".

Tim Tuples wrote:

Syntax error.  Try karl@[202.34.123.45] instead.  IP addresses must be
quoted in square brackets in email addresses.

That's possible, a lot of systems no longer allow someone to send email to
hosts named by IP because it's usually a spam vector with little modern
legitimate use.

Not always.  If a website is multihosting several sites, several sites will
have that IP and the server's listening to which URL you want in the GET
request when you connect to the web server.

Tim Tuples wrote:

You are the only person who knows that your IP is fixed. Others have no
way of knowing that.

You have the format wrong, it's karl@[202.34.123.45]

There is no other way to delineate the source and scope of the system's
authority. What is "postmaster@[202.34.123.45]" the postmaster of? If
you email "postmas***@microsoft.com", you know you are reaching someone
with authority over the "microsoft.com" mail domain, or at least if
not, it's clearly Microsoft's fault. If you receive/send emails to and
from "postmaster@[202.34.123.45]", is that a person who still has that
authority the next day? How can you know?

DS

Tim Tuples <t***@gmail.com> wrote:

According to RFC 2821, the format of the address you're using is almost
acceptable to SMTP mail agents.  Here's a quote:

4.1.3 Address Literals

   Sometimes a host is not known to the domain name system and
   communication (and, in particular, communication to report and repair
   the error) is blocked.  To bypass this barrier a special literal form
   of the address is allowed as an alternative to a domain name.  For
   IPv4 addresses, this form uses four small decimal integers separated
   by dots and enclosed by brackets such as [123.255.37.2], which
   indicates an (IPv4) Internet Address in sequence-of-octets form.  For
   IPv6 and other forms of addressing that might eventually be
   standardized, the form consists of a standardized "tag" that
   identifies the address syntax, a colon, and the address itself, in a
   format specified as part of the IPv6 standards [17].

So, the RFC for SMTP mail dictates that you should be able to specify
karl@[202.34.123.45].  However, Outlook doesn't like that.  When I tried it
without the brackets, Outlook accepted the address, but the message never
arrived.  Apparently, Outlook is not a standard-conforming mail program, but
then, you knew that already.

Tim Tuples <t***@gmail.com> typed:
Show quoteHide quoteWhat you're looking for is referred to as "acceptance of domain literals"
(see RFC1123). Without knowing anything about your mail server, I couldn't
possibly guess how to set it up (nor whether your senders' servers will like
it, even if you do).

Seriously, I would just register a domain name and start using it. It
doesn't cost much, and if this server isn't just a plaything//lab/home
server, it's well worth it.

PS: I noticed you'd set the followup-to to a single group, the
winxp.network_web one - if you want people to be able to participate in the
thread, best not to do that. At any rate, this isn't a WinXP issue.

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