Path: utzoo!lsuc!ncrcan!ontenv!soley
From: soley@ontenv.UUCP (Norman S. Soley)
Newsgroups: can.uucp
Subject: .ca domain weirdness with pathalias and smail
Keywords: smail2.5 pathalias
Message-ID: <314@ontenv.UUCP>
Date: 12 Dec 88 15:48:53 GMT
Distribution: can
Organization: Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Toronto
Lines: 24

I've recently noticed a problem with the .ca domain maps. Every map
entry generates at least two lines of pathalias output, the first
looks like:

subdomain.ca	hop1!hop2!hop3!machine!%s 

Which is exactly what is supposed to happen. The second one:

.subdomain.ca	hop1!hop2!hop3!%s

is bad news, hop3 is not an authority for .subdomain.ca, machine is. 

You should be safe mailing to user@subdomain.ca and only experience
problems mailing to user@internal.subdoms.subdomain.ca 

Tht is unless you are using smail 2.5. Seems the resolution algorithm
is a little botched so that user@subdomain.ca will always resolve to 
hop1!hop2!hop3!user because it matches the .subdomain.ca line in the
path file first. Presto! all mail to any .ca site fails. 
-- 
Norman Soley - Data Communications Analyst - Ontario Ministry of the Environment
UUCP:	uunet!attcan!lsuc!ncrcan!ontenv!soley	VOICE:	+1 416 323 2623
OR:     soley@ontenv.UUCP 
  " Stay smart, go cool, be happy, it's the only way to get what you want"