more on FEMA mail server lacks MX record, bounced mail during emergency

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dave Crocker <dhc2 () dcrocker net>
Date: September 13, 2005 3:32:56 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: Ip Ip <ip () v2 listbox com>, craigp <craig () aland bbn com>
Subject: Re: [IP] more on FEMA mail server lacks MX record, bounced  
mail during emergency
Reply-To: dcrocker () bbiw net



Dave and Craig,



> Um, this article is a bit under cooked.
> Mail servers have been required since 1986 to look for MX records  
> (this
> is not new) and have been required since 1986 to look for an A record
> if MX doesn't exist.
...

> > Well, then, where is the fema.gov mail server? Attempts to connect to
> > ns2.fema.gov were successful, ...


A debate about A vs. MX DNS records and requirements is important for  
telling admins what they should/must do.

In terms of the salient issue for IP, the discussion on the nanog  
(operations) mailing list about this made a very basic, very simple  
point quite clear:

     FEMA advertises email addresses that do not work, and the
     nature of the problem appears to be quite deep in their
     network administration.

     Further they are apparently unresponsive to operations problem
     reports.

Since FEMA is tasked with operations-related activities in a time of  
crisis, this failure of such a basic communication just adds to the  
frustrations with the organization.


One of the guys who wrote specs that made Craig's work necessary...

d/
--

 Dave Crocker
 Brandenburg InternetWorking
 +1.408.246.8253
 dcrocker  a t ...
 WE'VE MOVED to:  www.bbiw.net


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