Meta-group list definitions

In addition to manipulating LDAP attribute values to construct list member addresses as discussed in Constructing list member addresses, the MTA also supports manipulating address forms to effectively create dynamic list names, via so called meta-lists.

 A meta-list for per-department SMS users

As of MS 6.3 and its new   MTA option, it  is possible to define "meta-groups" and  "meta-lists": to, for instance, pre-define via a single  meta-list definition what amounts to an entire collection of different  lists. For instance, with   and    set, msconfig&#x3e; set mta.ldap_url_result_mapping mgrpURLResultMapping msconfig# set mta.process_substitutions 4 then defining a list with attributes including mail: sms@domain.com mgrpErrorsTo: sms-errors@domain.com memberURL: ldap:///o=usergroup?smsID?sub?(department=$S) mgrpUrlResultMapping: X-SMSID-TO-ADDRESS would make it possible to send an SMS message to every member of a given department who has an SMS account by sending to an address of the  form.

 Members stored in an external LDAP directory

Another potential use of   to  "construct" e-mail addresses would be where the member  addresses are stored in an external LDAP directory, rather than in the  usual user/group LDAP directory, with membership being defined in the  external LDAP directory in an indirect fashion, via an    attribute. For instance, if the external directory stores the list definition along the lines of: listName: extlist listID: 1234abcd listMemberRoot: dn-of-root-of-members and then stores members of the list along the lines of: mail: external-user1@domain.com isMember: 1234abcd then in the regular user/group LDAP directory define the list as: mail: extlist@domain.com mgrpErrorsTo: extlist-owner@domain.com memberURL: extldap:///listname-search-base?listID?sub?(listName=extlist) mgrpURLResultMapping: X-EXTLDAP-LISTS with a mapping table X-EXTLDAP-LISTS extldap:///&#x2a;?listID?sub?&#x2a;&#x7c;&#x2a; $CROOT&#x7c;$&#x5d;extldap:///$0?listMemberRoot?sub?$1&#x5b;&#x7c;$2 ! ! Probe is now: ! ROOT&#x7c;listMemberRoot&#x7c;listID !   ROOT&#x7c;&#x2a;&#x7c;&#x2a;          $C$&#x5d;extldap:///$0?mail?sub?(isMember=$1)&#x5b;$E$Y

See also:
 * Constructing list member addresses
 * ldap_url_result_mapping MTA Option
 * process_substitutions MTA Option
 * LDAP URL substitution sequences
 * MTA URL types
 * LDAP external directory lookup MTA options
 * ldap_errors_to MTA Option
 * Indirect or alternate criteria for list membership
 * Defining membership of large lists