ISO/IEC TR 18016:2003

Information technology - Message Handling Systems (MHS): Interworking with Internet e-mail

ISO/IEC TR 18016:2003 identifies documents that specify how implementations of the MHS defined in the ITU-T X.400 series Recommendations | ISO/IEC 10021 may interwork with implementations of Internet e-mail. No requirements for conformance to this Technical Report are imposed.

Technologies de l'information — Systèmes de traitement des messages (MHS) — Travail avec messagerie électronique Internet

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 10-Nov-2003
• ICS: 35.240.20 - IT applications in office work
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 - Telecommunications and information exchange between systems
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6/WG 7 - Network, transport and future network
• Current Stage: 9093 - International Standard confirmed
• Start Date: 26-May-2015
• Completion Date: 30-Oct-2025

Overview

ISO/IEC TR 18016:2003 - "Information technology - Message Handling Systems (MHS) - Interworking with Internet e-mail" is a Technical Report that identifies the documents and normative references which describe how Message Handling Systems (MHS) based on the ITU‑T X.400 series / ISO/IEC 10021 can interwork with Internet e‑mail environments (SMTP/RFC‑822/MIME). This is a type 3 Technical Report (state‑of‑the‑art) produced by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6. The report itself does not impose conformance requirements; rather it collects and points to the specifications and RFCs needed for MHS ↔ Internet e‑mail interoperability.

Key topics

• Scope of interworking between MHS (X.400 / ISO/IEC 10021) and Internet e‑mail (RFC‑822/MIME).
• Normative reference list of MHS documents (X.400 series / ISO/IEC 10021 parts) that cover: system and service overview, overall architecture, message transfer, message store, protocols, interpersonal messaging, routing, management and logging.
• Relevant Internet e‑mail RFCs that define mapping and gateway behavior, including:
  • RFC 1494 (X.400 ↔ RFC‑822 message body equivalences)
  • RFC 1506 (Tutorial on gatewaying between X.400 and Internet mail)
  • RFC 2156 (MIXER - Mime Internet X.400 Enhanced Relay)
  • RFC 2157 (Mapping between X.400 and RFC‑822/MIME message bodies)
• Interoperability considerations documented by ISO/IEC and ITU‑T recommendations-routing, message format mapping, and management guidance (as referenced).
• Non‑normative nature: the TR is informational; compliance is defined by the underlying referenced standards and RFCs rather than this report.

Practical applications

• Designing and deploying mail gateways that translate between X.400-based MHS and Internet e‑mail systems (SMTP/MIME).
• Guiding system architects and vendors who need to ensure message format, envelope, and routing compatibility across MHS and Internet mail domains.
• Supporting migration projects from X.400 infrastructures to Internet e‑mail while maintaining interoperability.
• Assisting messaging system managers and operations teams with references for routing, logging, and management when integrating heterogeneous messaging systems.
• Informing interoperability testing and compliance validation by pointing to the authoritative mapping and gateway RFCs.

Who uses this standard

• Messaging gateway developers, system integrators, telecom and IT architects, standards bodies, and organizations maintaining legacy X.400 deployments that must interoperate with modern Internet e‑mail.

Related standards

• ITU‑T X.400 series / ISO/IEC 10021 parts (system overview, architecture, MTS, message store, protocols, routing)
• RFC 1494, RFC 1506, RFC 2156, RFC 2157 (X.400 ↔ RFC‑822/MIME mapping and gateway guidance)

Keywords: ISO/IEC TR 18016:2003, MHS, X.400, Internet e‑mail, interworking, gatewaying, RFC2157, MIXER, MIME, message interoperability.

Standards Content (Sample)

TECHNICAL ISO/IEC
REPORT TR
First edition
2003-11-01
Information technology — Message
Handling Systems (MHS) — Interworking
with Internet e-mail
Technologies de l'information — Systèmes de traitement des messages
(MHS) — Travail avec messagerie électronique Internet

Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2003
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Foreword
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