Digital Equipment Corp has announced Mailbus Postmaster Version 2.0 for local and wide area networks, intended to provide a low-cost system for integrating and managing electronic mail in a multi-vendor personal computer local network environment. The product comes in separate wide and local area network versions, with the wide area version running under OpenVMS, while the local network version can be used without a VAX VMS server if used solely in a local area implementation. Mailbus Postmaster for local networks runs under MS-DOS and is claimed to provide a comprehensive set of application services for integrating and managing multi-vendor local network electronic mail systems. Using the system, cc:Mail local networks can use mail management services including sorting, routing and security, as well as document and binary attachments, and tagging and message tracking services for auditing, performance planning, charge-back and general accounting. Additional operations include virus detection and inbound and outbound document conversion. Mailbus Postmaster for wide area networks integrates local network electronic mail systems with an enterprise-wide message transfer, directory and management service. It is claimed to enable the user to access a wide range of other electronic mail users inside their enterprise (both DEC and non-DEC equipment) and – using the X400 gateway – into public mail service bureaux or their PTT mail service. The company is also keen to stress automatic, two-way synchronisation of the cc:Mail directories with the Mailbus DDS directory as a key feature. Available this month, the local network version is to cost UKP1,300 while the wide area network version is to have a list price of UKP3,250. Meanwhile, in the same vein, Las Vegas-based Innosoft International Inc has announced that V.2 of its PMDF electronic mail Interconnect system (for store-and-forward electronic mail distribution and routing) is to be fully Open-VMS compatible when it ships this quarter.
