Electronic Mail
on the Unix Cluster

 

Email service can be very slow on blue.unix, since it is designated to be used mainly as a "number-cruncher" by users who run programs requiring millions and millions of calculation. The Central Mail Service may be a better option. If you have been registered on unix.mail, please check one (or both) of the following for instructions on changing to the CMS:

If you are logged in on blue.unix most of the time and want to receive your email on the Cluster, your Unix account will be set up to do this. If you use Eudora or Netscape to read e-mail, certain configuration options must be set for these programs to work. Instructions for making these changes can be found by selecting one of the following links:

When users receive email on the Cluster, they will see some peculiarities in their electronic mail, including the following:

  • Each person's return address will change to include the name of the computer to which their mailbox is moved. This action does not require you to make any changes.
  • Some of our customers use Eudora or Netscape to read their mail. They sometimes find it frustrating to try to read their messages when that machine is slow due to a large computational load. ITC encourages these people to move their mailbox to the Central Mail Service. They will still be able to use their preferred mail program (Eudora or Netscape) but will find access to their mailbox much faster as the Central Mail Service computer is reserved strictly for electronic mail; computational jobs are not allowed to be run there.
  • If you are subscribed to one or more electronic mailing lists, ITC will provide a way for you to send a message to the list management address that will allow you to unsubscribe as if you were sending the message from the old system. (See the Cluster Tools document for more details.) When you have received a message from the list management site that you have been unsubscribed from the list with your old address, you can then subscribe to the list with your new address.
  • If you use the Unix system for computational purposes as well as for electronic mail, you may continue to receive mail on the cluster. Your return address will change to reflect the name of the cluster, which will be unix.mail.virginia.edu. Instructions for updating Eudora, Netscape 3.x, and Netscape 4.x (Communicator) configurations are presented below.


Eudora

    NOTE: You do not have to change any other settings than the ones listed below to change to the Unix cluster. If you have any other questions about configuring Eudora, please read the ITCWeb page on Eudora or send e-mail to consult@virginia.edu.

  • From Eudora's menu bar, select the following menu choices:
    • PC version:      Tools, then Options
    • Mac Version:   Special, then Settings

  • Select Hosts in the Options/Settings window.

  • Change the information in the POP account box. Addresses for accounts on blue.unix will be:
  • your-computing-id@unix.mail.virginia.edu

  • Where your-computing-id is the combination of your initials, letters, and numbers that you use to access ITC's servers.

  • Change the value in the SMTP: to read as follows
  • smtp.mail.virginia.edu

  • Your Hosts dialog box should now resemble:


Eudora Options Dialog Box

 

  • Select the Personal Info category in the Options window. Change the Return address: value to "your-computing-id@virginia.edu" if it is not already set.

  • Macintosh users should now click the OK button to finish; Windows users need to make a couple more changes and should do the next few steps.

  • Click on the Checking Mail option.

  • Click on the button beside "Status: headers." This button appears in about the middle of the dialog box pictured below. This option prevents Eudora from downloading your mail again after making the change to blue.

  • Click OK to close the Options window.

PC Eudora Change

 


 

Netscape 7.x (Communicator)

ITC does not recommend using Netscape to read electronic mail; there are better and more secure programs for reading mail, such as Simeon, Eudora,or or one of the Unix mail programs. However, if you use Netscape to read electronic mail, you will have to change your Netscape configuration if you choose to migrate to the Central Mail Service.

Note: These instructions are for those currently using Netscape 7.x to read their electronic mail messages. The instructions do not provide full Netscape configuration information.

  • Click Edit from the menu bar at the top of the Netscape mail window.

  • Click Mail and newsgroup account settings from the drop-down Edit menu.

  • Click on the add account button, and fill in the appropriate information.

  • Click on pop3 when it askes for mail server type.

  • In the Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server box, enter

    smtp.mail.virginia.edu

  • In the Incoming Mail (POP3) Server box, type:

    unix.mail.virginia.edu

    NOTE: If you have selected "Leave on server" (under "After delivery:"), then periodically you must clean up your server mailbox manually. To do so, telnet to the cluster and use a Unix mail program, such as Pine, to delete the accumulated messages. If you have chosen "Remove from server", then your email will be deleted from the Unix mail server each time Netscape copies new messages to your local computer.
  • Your Mail Server dialog box should now resemble:


Netscape 4 Settings



  • To set the time interval for Netscape to use for checking for new mail, click on server settings. Select the "Check for mail every x minutes" option, and then enter a value in the edit box. ITC recommends setting this option to 10-15 minutes.

  • Click OK to exit. Netscape Communicator should be ready to use.



Pegasus Mail

  • Start Pegasus Mail.

  • Click on the File menu.

  • Click on the "Network Configuration..." item.

Pegasus Mail File Menu

  • You now see a dialog box similar to the following:


Pegasus Mail Settings

  • Click inside the POP3 Host field and replace the current setting with:
  • unix.mail.virginia.edu

  • Click inside the SMTP field and enter:
  • smtp.mail.virginia.edu

  • Click on the OK box to change the settings.

  • Pegasus Mail is now ready for use.




Umenu and Unix Mailers

If you use Umenu or one of the Unix mailers (Pine, Elm, Upenelm, Mush) to read your e-mail, the only thing that you will need to verify is the name of the machine that you log into. You should to log into blue.unix.virginia.edu to read your e-mail.

One side effect of the Cluster's mail configuration is that e-mail which is copied to your "sent-mail" folder or is received from yourself as part of a mailing list will have an alternate address in the header. This does not affect the functionality of your email, but there is a workaround for those who find it bothersome. Please see the FAQ document for instructions.


 

© 2008 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia.

The information contained on the University of Virginia’s Department of Information Technology and Communication (ITC) website is provided as a public service with the understanding that ITC makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability or suitability of the information, including warrantees of title, non-infringement of copyright or patent rights of others. These pages are expected to represent the University of Virginia community and the State of Virginia in a professional manner in accordance with the University of Virginia’s Computing Policies.