Network Working Group J. Myers
Request for Comments: 2554 Netscape Communications
Category: Standards Track March 1999
SMTP Service Extension
for Authentication
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999). All Rights Reserved.
1. Introduction
This document defines an SMTP service extension [ESMTP] whereby an
SMTP client may indicate an authentication mechanism to the server,
perform an authentication protocol exchange, and optionally negotiate
a security layer for subsequent protocol interactions. This
extension is a profile of the Simple Authentication and Security
Layer [SASL].
2. Conventions Used in this Document
In examples, "C:" and "S:" indicate lines sent by the client and
server respectively.
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", and "MAY"
in this document are to be interpreted as defined in "Key words for
use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels" [KEYWORDS].
3. The Authentication service extension
(1) the name of the SMTP service extension is "Authentication"
(2) the EHLO keyword value associated with this extension is "AUTH"
Myers Standards Track [Page 1]
