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IETF RFC 5442
LEMONADE Architecture - Supporting Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Mobile Email (MEM) Using Internet Mail
Last modified on Monday, March 9th, 2009
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Network Working Group E. Burger
Request for Comments: 5442 Consultant
Category: Informational G. Parsons
Nortel Networks
March 2009
LEMONADE Architecture - Supporting Open Mobile Alliance (OMA)
Mobile Email (MEM) Using Internet Mail
 Status of This Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
memo is unlimited.
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Copyright (c) 2009 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
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Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
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This document may contain material from IETF Documents or IETF
Contributions published or made publicly available before November
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material may not have granted the IETF Trust the right to allow
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Without obtaining an adequate license from the person(s) controlling
the copyright in such materials, this document may not be modified
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than English.
Abstract
This document specifies the architecture for mobile email, as
described by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), using Internet Mail
protocols. This architecture was an important consideration for much
of the work of the LEMONADE (Enhancements to Internet email to
Support Diverse Service Environments) working group in the IETF.
This document also describes how the LEMONADE architecture meets
OMA's requirements for their Mobile Email (MEM) service.
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RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................2
2. OMA Mobile Email (MEM) ..........................................2
2.1. OMA MEM Requirements .......................................2
2.2. OMA MEM Architecture .......................................3
2.2.1. OMA MEM Logical Architecture ........................3
2.2.2. OMA MEM Deployment Issues ...........................4
2.3. OMA MEM Technical Specification ............................6
3. IETF LEMONADE Architecture ......................................6
3.1. Relationship between the OMA MEM and LEMONADE Logical
Architectures ..............................................7
3.2. LEMONADE Realization of OMA MEM with
non-LEMONADE-Compliant Servers .............................9
3.2.1. LEMONADE Realization of OMA MEM with
non-LEMONADE IMAP Servers ...........................9
3.2.2. LEMONADE Realization of OMA MEM with non-IMAP
Servers ............................................10
4. Filters and Server-to-Client Notifications and LEMONADE ........11
5. Security Considerations ........................................13
6. Acknowledgements ...............................................13
7. Informative References .........................................13
1. Introduction
This document describes the architecture of OMA Mobile Email (MEM)
using Internet Mail protocols defined by the IETF. The LEMONADE
working group has enhanced many of these protocols for use in the
mobile environment. The LEMONADE profile [PROFILE] and its revision,
[PROFILE-bis], summarize such protocols and protocol use. This
document shows how the OMA MEM Requirements document [MEM-req], OMA
MEM Architecture [MEM-arch], and OMA MEM Technical Specification
[MEM-ts] relate to the work of LEMONADE in the IETF.
2. OMA Mobile Email (MEM)
The OMA Mobile Email (MEM) sub-working group has spent some time
studying the requirements and architecture of mobile email. IETF
LEMONADE has been liaising with them and has based much of its
Internet Mail enhancements on their input. This section summarizes
the output of the OMA.
2.1. OMA MEM Requirements
The OMA MEM activity collected a set of use cases and derived
requirements for a Mobile Email (MEM) enabler. The OMA MEM
Requirements document [MEM-req] summarizes this work. Some
requirements relate to email protocols, some involve other OMA
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RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
technologies outside the scope of the IETF, and some relate to
implementations and normative interoperability statements for clients
and servers.
2.2. OMA MEM Architecture
This section introduces the OMA MEM Architecture.
2.2.1. OMA MEM Logical Architecture
The OMA MEM activity has derived a logical architecture from the
requirements and use cases described in [MEM-req]. A simplification
for illustrative purposes is shown in Figure 1, where arrows indicate
content flows.
__________
| Other |
+---| Mobile |<--+
| | Enablers | |
| |__________| |
|ME-4 |ME-3
_v____ ___v____ ________
| |ME-1 | | | |
| MEM |-------->| MEM | I2 | Email |
|Client| ME-2| Server |<---->| Server |
|______|<--------|________| |________|
^
|ME-5
|
Figure 1: Basic OMA MEM Logical Architecture
Figure 1 identifies the following elements:
o The MEM client that implements the client-side functionality of
the OMA Mobile Email enabler. It is also responsible for
providing the mobile email user experience and interface to the
user and storing the email and data to be sent to the MEM server
when not connected.
o The MEM server that implements the server-side functionality of
the OMA Mobile Email (MEM) enabler.
o The MEM protocol between the MEM client and MEM server. It is
responsible for all the in-band data exchanges that take place
between the MEM client and server in order to update the MEM
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RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
client with email server changes and the email server with changes
in the MEM client, and in order to send new email from the email
server.
o Other OMA enablers that are needed to directly support the Mobile
Email enabler. They are out of the scope of the IETF but may
include support for:
* Client provisioning and management for over-the-air
installation of the MEM client on the device, provisioning of
the client settings, and revocation of client privileges.
* Messaging enablers for out-of-band notification, where out-of-
band notifications that are server-to-client event exchanges
are not transported by the MEM protocol but via other channels.
* Billing, charging, and so on.
OMA identifies different interfaces:
o ME-1: MEM client interface to interact via the MEM protocol with
the MEM server.
o ME-2: Corresponding interface of the MEM server.
o ME-3: Out-of-band MEM server interfaces; for example, to support
generation of server-to-client notifications.
o ME-4: Out-of-band MEM client interfaces (e.g., to receive server-
to-client notifications).
o ME-5: Interface for management of MEM enabler server settings,
user preferences, and filters, globally and per account.
The MEM server enables an email server. In a particular
implementation, the email server may be packaged with (internal to
it) the MEM server or be a separate component. In such cases,
interfaces to the email server are out of scope of the OMA MEM
specifications. In the present document, we focus on the case where
the backend consists of IETF IMAP and SUBMIT servers. However, we
also discuss the relationship to other cases. The I2 interface is an
OMA notation to designate protocol / interfaces that are not
specified by the MEM enabler but may be standardized elsewhere.
2.2.2. OMA MEM Deployment Issues
The OMA MEM Architecture document [MEM-arch] further identifies
deployment models.
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RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
2.2.2.1. OMA MEM Proxy
The OMA MEM Architecture document [MEM-arch] identifies OMA MEM
server proxies as server components that may be deployed ahead of
firewalls to facilitate firewall traversal.
2.2.2.2. OMA MEM Deployment Cases
OMA MEM identifies that each component (MEM client, MEM servers,
other enablers, and the email server) may be deployed in different
domains, possibly separated by firewalls and other network
intermediaries. MEM proxies may be involved in front of a firewall
that protects the MEM server domain.
OMA MEM targets support of configurations where:
o All components are within the same domain, such as in a mobile
operator.
o The MEM client and other enablers are in the mobile operator
domain, there is a MEM proxy, and the MEM server and email server
are in the domain of the email service provider.
o The MEM client and other enablers as well as a MEM proxy are in
the mobile operator domain, and the MEM server and email server
are in the domain of the email service provider.
o The MEM client and other enablers are in the mobile operator
domain, a MEM proxy is in a third-party service provider domain,
and the MEM server and email server are in the domain of the email
service provider.
o The MEM client, other enabler, and MEM server are in the mobile
operator domain, and the email server is in the domain of the
email service provider.
o The MEM client and other enablers are in the mobile operator
domain, the MEM server is in a third-party service provider
domain, and the email server is in the domain of the email service
provider.
The email service provider can be a third-party service provider, a
network service provider, or an enterprise email service.
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RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
2.3. OMA MEM Technical Specification
The OMA MEM activity will conclude with a specification for a Mobile
Email (MEM) enabler. The ongoing work is in the OMA MEM Technical
Specification [MEM-ts]. LEMONADE is a basis for the mechanism.
However, some additional details that are outside the scope of the
IETF will also be included.
OMA provides ways to perform provisioning via OMA client provisioning
and device management. Other provisioning specifications are
available (e.g., SMS based).
OMA provides enablers to support out-of-band notification mechanisms,
filter specifications (such as XDM), and remote deactivate devices,
and to perform other non-Internet activities.
3. IETF LEMONADE Architecture
This section introduces the LEMONADE Architecture.
The IETF LEMONADE activity has derived a LEMONADE profile
[PROFILE-bis] with the logical architecture represented in Figure 2,
where arrows indicate content flows.
______________
| |
_________| Notification |
| | Mechanism |
| |______________|
|Notif. ^
|Protocol |
| ___|______
| | | _____
__v__ IMAP | LEMONADE | ESMTP | |
| |<----------->| IMAP |<---------------| MTA |
| MUA |- | Store | |_____|
|_____| \ |__________|
\ |
\ |URLAUTH
\SUBMIT |
\ ____v_____
\ | | _____
\ | LEMONADE | ESMTP | |
---->| Submit |--------------->| MTA |
| Server | |_____|
|__________|
Figure 2: LEMONADE logical architecture
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RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
The LEMONADE profile [PROFILE] assumes:
o IMAP protocol [RFC 3501], including LEMONADE profile extensions
[PROFILE].
o SUBMIT protocol [RFC 4409], including LEMONADE profile extensions.
o LEMONADE profile compliant IMAP store connected to an MTA (Mail
Transfer Agent) via the ESMTP [EMAIL].
o LEMONADE profile compliant submit server connected to an MTA,
often via the ESMTP.
o Out-of-band server-to-client notifications relying on external
notification mechanisms (and notification protocols) that may be
out of the scope of the LEMONADE profile.
o LEMONADE-aware MUA (Mail User Agent). While use of out-of-band
notification is described in the LEMONADE profile, support for the
underlying notifications mechanisms/protocols is out of the scope
of the LEMONADE specifications.
Further details on the IETF email protocol stack and architecture can
be found in [MAIL].
3.1. Relationship between the OMA MEM and LEMONADE Logical
Architectures
Figure 3 illustrates the mapping of the IETF LEMONADE logical
architecture on the OMA MEM logical architecture.
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RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
_____________________
| Other_Mob. Enablers |
| |--------------| |
_________| Notification | |
| | | Mechanism | |
| | |______________| |
|Notif. |____________^________|
|Protocol ______|__________
ME-4 | | ___|_ME-3_ |
___|____ | | | | _____
| __v__ | IMAP | | LEMONADE | | ESMTP | |
|| |<----------->| IMAP |<-----------| MTA |
|| MUA || ME-2a | | Store | | |_____|
||_____||\ME-1 | |__________| |
| MEM | \ | | |
| Client| \ | |URLAUTH |
|_______| \SUBMIT | |
\ | ____v_____ |
\ | | | | _____
\ | | LEMONADE | | ESMTP | |
---->| Submit |----------->| MTA |
ME-2b | | Server | | |_____|
| |__________| |
|MEM Email |
|Server Server|
|_________________|
^
|ME-5
|
Figure 3: Mapping of LEMONADE Logical Architecture
onto the OMA MEM Logical Architecture
As described in Section 3, the LEMONADE profile assumes LEMONADE
profile compliant IMAP stores and SUBMIT servers. Because the
LEMONADE profile extends the IMAP store and the SUBMIT server, the
mobile enablement of email provided by the LEMONADE profile is
directly provided in these servers. Mapping to the OMA MEM logical
architecture for the case considered and specified by the LEMONADE
profile, we logically combine the MEM server and email server.
However, in LEMONADE we split them logically into a distinct LEMONADE
message store and a LEMONADE SUBMIT server. ME-2 consists of two
interfaces. ME-2a is IMAP extended according to the LEMONADE
profile. ME-2b is SUBMIT extended according to the LEMONADE profile.
The MUA is part of the MEM client.
Burger & Parsons Informational PAGE 8
RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
The external notifications mechanism is part of the OMA enablers
specified by the OMA.
3.2. LEMONADE Realization of OMA MEM with non-LEMONADE-Compliant
Servers
The OMA MEM activity is not limited to enabling LEMONADE-compliant
servers. It explicitly identifies the need to support other
backends. This is, of course, outside the scope of the IETF LEMONADE
activity.
3.2.1. LEMONADE Realization of OMA MEM with non-LEMONADE IMAP Servers
Figure 4 illustrates the case of IMAP servers that are not LEMONADE-
compliant. In such case, the I2 interface between the MEM server
components and the IMAP store and SUBMIT server are IMAP and SUBMIT
without LEMONADE extensions.
It is important to note the realizations are of a schematic nature
and do not dictate actual implementation. For example, one could
envision collocating the LEMONADE MEM enabler server and the submit
server shown in Figure 4 in a single instantiation of the
implementation. Likewise, we consciously label the LEMONADE MEM
enabler as neither an IMAP proxy nor an IMAP back-to-back user agent.
LEMONADE leaves the actual implementation to the developer.
Burger & Parsons Informational PAGE 9
RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
______________
| |
_________| Notification |
| | Mechanism |
| |______________|
|Notif. ^
|Protocol |
| ___|______ _____________
| | LEMONADE | | | _____
__v__ IMAP | MEM | IMAP |NON-LEMONADE | ESMTP | |
| |<--------->|Enabler |<------>|IMAP |<----->| MTA |
| MUA |\ ME-2a | Server | |Store | |_____|
|_____| \ |__________| |_____________|
\ |
\ |URLAUTH
\SUBMIT |
\ ____v_____ _____________
\ | | | | _____
\ | LEMONADE | SUBMIT |NON-LEMONADE | ESMTP | |
-->| MEM | |Submit | | |
| Enabler |------->|Server |------>| MTA |
ME-2b | Server | | | |_____|
|__________| |_____________|
Figure 4: Architecture to Support Non-LEMONADE IMAP Servers
with a LEMONADE Realization of an OMA MEM Enabler
3.2.2. LEMONADE Realization of OMA MEM with non-IMAP Servers
Figure 5 illustrates the cases where the message store and submit
servers are not IMAP store or submit servers. They may be Post
Office Protocol (POP3) servers or other proprietary message stores.
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RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
______________
| |
_________| Notification |
| | Mechanism |
| |______________|
|Notif. ^
|Protocol |
| ___|______ _____________
| | LEMONADE | | | _____
__v__ IMAP | MEM | I2 |Proprietary | ESMTP | |
| |<--------->|Enabler |<------>|Message |<----->| MTA |
| MUA |\ ME-2a | Server | |Store | |_____|
|_____| \ |__________| |_____________|
\ |
\ |URLAUTH
\SUBMIT |
\ ____v_____ _____________
\ | | | | _____
\ | LEMONADE | I2 |Proprietary | ESMTP | |
-->| MEM | |Submit | | |
| Enabler |------->|Server |------>| MTA |
ME-2b | Server | | | |_____|
|__________| |_____________|
Figure 5: Architecture to Support Non-IMAP Servers with a LEMONADE
Realization of OMA MEM Enabler
I2 designates proprietary adapters to the backends.
4. Filters and Server-to-Client Notifications and LEMONADE
OMA MEM Requirements [MEM-req] and Architecture [MEM-arch] emphasize
the need to provide mechanisms for server-to-client notifications of
email events and filtering. Figure 6 illustrates how notification
and filtering works in the LEMONADE profile [PROFILE].
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RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
______________
| |
_________| Notification |
| | Mechanism |
| |______________|
|Notif. ^
|Protocol -------\ _|__
| ______| ___\>|NF|____
| | | ---- | _____
__v__| IMAP |__ LEMONADE |___ ESMTP __| |
| |<-------->|VF| IMAP |DF |<--------|AF| MTA |
| MUA |\ ME-2a |-- Store |--- --|_____|
|_____| \ |_____________| ^
\_\_______________|_______|
\ |URLAUTH
\SUBMIT |
\ ____v_____
\ | | _____
\ | LEMONADE | ESMTP | |
---->| Submit |--------------->| MTA |
ME-2b | Server | |_____|
|__________|
Figure 6: Filtering Mechanism Defined in LEMONADE Architecture
In Figure 6, we define four categories of filters:
o AF: Administrative Filters - The email service provider usually
sets administrative filters. The user typically does not
configure AF. AF applies policies covering content filtering,
virus protection, spam filtering, etc.
o DF: Deposit Filters - Filters that are executed on deposit of new
emails. They can be defined as SIEVE filters [SIEVE]. They can
include vacation notices [RFC 5230]. As SIEVE filters, one can
administer them using the SIEVE management protocol [MANAGESIEVE].
o VF: View Filters - Filters that define which emails are visible to
the MUA. View filters can be performed via IMAP using the
facilities described in [NOTIFICATIONS].
o NF: Notification Filters - Filters that define for what email
server event an out-of-band notification is sent to the client, as
described in [NOTIFICATIONS].
Refer to the aforementioned references for implementation and
management of the respective filters.
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RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
5. Security Considerations
We note there are security risks associated with:
o Out-of-band notifications
o Server configuration by client
o Client configuration by server
o Presence of MEM proxy servers
o Presence of MEM servers as intermediaries
o Measures to address the need to traverse firewalls
We refer the reader to the relevant Internet Mail, IMAP, SUBMIT, and
Lemonade documents for how we address these issues.
6. Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge and appreciate the work and comments of the
IETF LEMONADE working group and the OMA MEM working group. We
extracted the contents of this document from sections of
[PROFILE-bis] by Stephane Maes, Alexey Melnikov, and Dave Cridland,
as well as sections of [NOTIFICATIONS] by Stephane Maes and Ray
Cromwell.
7. Informative References
[EMAIL] Klensin, J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol",
RFC 5321, October 2008.
[MAIL] Crocker, D., "Internet Mail Architecture", Work
in Progress, October 2008.
[MANAGESIEVE] Melnikov, A. and T. Martin, "A Protocol for Remotely
Managing Sieve Scripts", Work in Progress,
January 2009.
[MEM-arch] Open Mobile Alliance, "Mobile Email Architecture
Document", OMA,
http://member.openmobilealliance.org/ftp/
public_documents/mwg/MEM/Permanent_documents/
OMA-AD-Mobile_Email-V1_0_0-20070614-D.zip,
June 2007.
Burger & Parsons Informational PAGE 13
RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
[MEM-req] Open Mobile Alliance, "Mobile Email Requirements
Document", OMA, http://www.openmobilealliance.org/,
Oct 2005.
[MEM-ts] Open Mobile Alliance, "Mobile Email Technical
Specification", OMA, Work in Progress,
http://www.openmobilealliance.org/, Oct 2007.
[NOTIFICATIONS] Gellens, R. and S. Maes, "Lemonade Notifications
Architecture", Work in Progress, July 2008.
[PROFILE] Maes, S. and A. Melnikov, "Internet Email to Support
Diverse Service Environments (Lemonade) Profile",
RFC 4550, June 2006.
[PROFILE-bis] Cridland, D., Melnikov, A., and S. Maes, "The
Lemonade Profile", Work in Progress, September 2008.
[RFC 3501] Crispin, M., "INTERNET MESSAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL -
VERSION 4rev1", RFC 3501, March 2003.
[RFC 4409] Gellens, R. and J. Klensin, "Message Submission for
Mail", RFC 4409, April 2006.
[RFC 5230] Showalter, T. and N. Freed, "Sieve Email Filtering:
Vacation Extension", RFC 5230, January 2008.
[SIEVE] Guenther, P. and T. Showalter, "Seive: An Email
Filtering Language", RFC 5228, January 2008.
Burger & Parsons Informational PAGE 14
RFC 5442 LEMONADE Architecture March 2009
Authors' Addresses
Eric W. Burger
Consultant
New Hampshire
USA
Phone:
Fax: +1 530-267-7447
EMail: eburger@standardstrack.com
URI: http://www.standardstrack.com
Glenn Parsons
Nortel Networks
3500 Carling Avenue
Ottawa, ON K2H 8E9
Canada
Phone: +1 613 763 7582
EMail: gparsons@nortel.com
Burger & Parsons Informational PAGE 15
LEMONADE Architecture - Supporting Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Mobile Email (MEM) Using Internet Mail
RFC TOTAL SIZE: 28758 bytes
PUBLICATION DATE: Monday, March 9th, 2009
LEGAL RIGHTS: The IETF Trust (see BCP 78)
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