scope:

This Recommendation | International Standard defines the overall architecture of the MHS and serves as a technical introduction to it.

Other aspects of Message Handling are specified in other Recommendations | parts of ISO/IEC 10021. A non-technical overview of Message Handling is provided by ITU-T Rec. X.400 | ISO/IEC 10021-1. The conformance testing of MHS components is described in Rec. X.403. The detailed rules by which the MTS converts the contents of messages from one EIT to another are defined in Rec. X.408. The abstract service the MTS provides and the procedures that govern its distributed operation are defined in ITU-T Rec. X.411 | ISO/IEC 10021-4. The abstract service the MS provides is defined in ITU-T Rec. X.413 | ISO/IEC 10021-5. The application protocols that govern the interactions of MHS components are specified in ITU-T Rec. X.419 | ISO/IEC 10021-6. The Interpersonal Messaging System, an application of Message Handling, is defined in ITU-T Rec. X.420 | ISO/IEC 10021-7. Telematic access to the Interpersonal Messaging System is specified in Rec. T.330. The EDI Messaging Service is described in CCITT Rec. F.435 | ISO/IEC 10021-8, and the EDI Messaging System, another application of Message Handling, is defined in CCITT Rec. X.435 | ISO/IEC 10021-9. The means by which messages may be routed through the MHS is specified in ISO/IEC 10021-10. Management information for MHS components is defined in the X.460-series Recommendations | ISO/IEC 11588.

The ISO/IEC International Standards and ITU-T Recommendations on Message Handling are summarized

The Directory, the principal means for disseminating communication-related information among MHS components, is defined in the X.500-series Recommendations | ISO/IEC 9594, as summarized

The architectural foundation for Message Handling is provided by other Recommendations | International Standards. The OSI Reference Model is defined in ITU-T Rec. X.200 | ISO 7498. The notation for specifying the data structures of abstract services and application protocols, ASN.1, and the associated encoding rules are defined in ITU-T Rec. X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1, ITU-T Rec. X.681 | ISO/IEC 8824-2, ITU-T Rec. X.682 | ISO/IEC 8824-3, ITU-T Rec. X.683 | ISO/IEC 8824-4 and ITU-T Rec. X.690 | ISO/IEC 8825-1. The means for establishing and releasing associations, the ACSE, is defined in ITU-T Rec. X.217 | ISO/IEC 8649 and ITU-T Rec. X.227 | ISO 8650-1. The means for reliably conveying APDUs over associations, the RTSE, is defined in ITU-T Rec. X.218 | ISO/IEC 9066-1 and CCITT Rec. X.228 | ISO/IEC 9066-2. The means for making requests of other open systems, the ROSE, is defined in ITU-T Rec. X.880 | ISO/IEC 13712-1, ITU-T Rec. X.881 | ISO/IEC 13712-2 and ITU-T Rec. X.882 | ISO/IEC 13712-3.

The ISO/IEC International Standards and ITU-T Recommendations which form the foundation for Message Handling are summarized

This Recommendation | International Standard is structured as follows. Section one gives a general overview. Section two presents abstract models of Message Handling. Section three specifies how one can configure the MHS to satisfy any of a variety of functional, physical, and organizational requirements. Section four describes the naming and addressing of users and distribution lists and the routing of information objects to them. Section five describes the uses the MHS may make of the Directory. Section six describes how the MHS is realized by means of OSI. The conventions used in the definition of the abstract services provided by MHS components are defined in Section seven. Annexes provide important supplemental information.

No requirements for conformance to this Recommendation | International Standard are imposed.