Implementers Guide for Facsimile Using Internet Mail
RFC 3249

• Status
• IESG evaluation record
• IESG writeups
• Email expansions
• History

• Versions
• 08

Network Working Group                                          V. Cancio
Request for Comments: 3249                             Xerox Corporation
Category: Informational                                      M. Moldovan
                                                G3 Nova Technology, Inc.
                                                               H. Tamura
                                                     Ricoh Company, LTD.
                                                                 D. Wing
                                                           Cisco Systems
                                                          September 2002

          Implementers Guide for Facsimile Using Internet Mail

Status of this Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
   memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2002).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This document is intended for the implementers of software that use
   email to send to facsimiles using RFC 2305 and 2532.  This is an
   informational document and its guidelines do not supersede the
   referenced documents.

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ..................................................  2
   1.1 Organization of this document ................................  2
   1.2 Discussion of this document ..................................  2
   2. Terminology ...................................................  3
   3. Implementation Issues Specific to Simple Mode .................  3
   3.1 Simple Mode Fax Senders ......................................  3
   3.1.1 Multipart-alternative ......................................  3
   3.2 Simple Mode Fax Receivers ....................................  4
   3.2.1 Multipart-alternative and Storage Capacity .................  4
   4. Implementation Issues Specific to Extended Mode ...............  4
   4.1 Multipart-alternative ........................................  4
   4.2 Correlation of MDN with Original Message .....................  4
   4.3 Correlation of DSN with Original Message .....................  5
   4.4 Extended Mode Receivers ......................................  5
   4.4.1 Confirmation of receipt and processing from User Agents ....  5
   4.4.1.1 Discrepancies in MDN [9] Interpretation ..................  5

Cancio, et. al.              Informational                      [Page 1]
RFC 3249            Implementers Guide for Facsimile      September 2002

   4.4.1.2 Disposition-Type and body of message in MDN ..............  6
   4.4.2 "Subject" of MDN and DSN in Success and Failure Cases ......  6
   4.4.3 Extended Mode Receivers that are MTAs (or ESMTP servers) ...  7
   4.4.3.1 Success Case Example .....................................  7
   4.4.3.2 Failure Case Example 1 ...................................  9
   4.4.3.3 Failure Case Example 2 ................................... 10
   4.4.4 Extended Mode Receivers that are POP3/IMAP4 ................ 11
   4.4.4.1 Success Case Example ..................................... 11
   4.4.4.2 Failure Case Example ..................................... 12
   4.4.5 Receiving Multiple Attachments ............................. 13
   5. Implementation Issues Specific to the File Format ............. 13
   5.1 IFD Placement & Profile-S Constraints ........................ 13
   5.2 Precautions for implementers of RFC 2301 [4] ................. 14
   5.2.1 Errors encountered during interoperability testing ......... 14
   5.2.2 Color Gamut Considerations ................................. 14
   5.2.3 File format Considerations ................................. 15
   5.2.3.1 Considerations for greater reader flexibility ............ 15
   5.2.3.2 Error considerations ..................................... 16
   5.3 Content-Type for the file format ............................. 17
   6. Implementation Issues for Internet Fax Addressing ............. 17
   7. Security Considerations ....................................... 18
   8. Acknowledgements .............................................. 18
   9. References .................................................... 18
   10. Authors' Addresses ........................................... 20
   11. Full Copyright Statement ..................................... 21

1. Introduction

   This document clarifies published RFCs which standardize facsimile
   communications using Internet Email.  The intent is to prevent
   implementations that deviate in such a way as to cause
   interoperability problems.

1.1 Organization of this document

   This document contains four sections that clarify, in order, the
   handling of simple mode fax messages, extended mode fax messages, the
   file format, and the internet addressing of fax recipients.

   See Section 2 for terminology.

1.2 Discussion of this document

   Discussion of this document should take place on the Internet fax