Preface – About this Manual

This manual is for LISTSERV Lite running under Microsoft Windows.

This manual makes the following assumptions:

1. You have a supported Microsoft Windows operating system installed and operating normally on a computer in your network that meets the various technical requirements listed later in this guide;

2. You have physical access to the machine in question and are logged in as Administrator, or at least as a member of the Administrators group with full control of the machine;

3. You can troubleshoot your supported version of Microsoft Windows (i.e. native OS problems, not problems related to LISTSERV) without assistance from this guide or from L-Soft.

Number three is particularly important. If you have purchased support from L-Soft for LISTSERV Lite, L-Soft will be happy to assist you with LISTSERV-related problems arising under a supported version of Microsoft Windows but is unable to assist you in setting up your operating system, the Internet Information Service (or any other web server software available for the supported Microsoft Windows operating systems), or any aspect of your operating system that is not directly related to LISTSERV's operation. If you are not familiar with Microsoft Windows operating systems, please be aware that L-Soft cannot help you with either their installation or subsequent troubleshooting.

This manual makes the following assumptions:

"Windows" or "the Windows operating system" means the Microsoft Windows Server and Workstation operating system versions currently supported by L-Soft. In other words, if we say "Windows", we mean "all of the Microsoft Windows operating systems under which LISTSERV is currently supported".

"Windows Server" means specifically the Microsoft Windows Server operating systems which are currently supported by L-Soft.

"Windows Workstation" means specifically the Microsoft Windows workstation operating systems which are currently supported by L-Soft.

If we indicate a specific Microsoft Windows operating system by name, for example, "Windows 10", we mean specifically that version of the operating system and no other.

At the release date of LISTSERV 16.0-2017a, the following Microsoft Windows operating systems were supported by L-Soft for use with LISTSERV:

L-Soft LISTSERV 16.0-2017a Supported Microsoft Windows Operating Systems

LISTSERV for Microsoft Windows	Windows 7 (64-bit only)
	Windows 8.x (64-bit only)
	Windows 10 (64-bit only)
	Windows Server 2008 R2
	Windows Server 2012
	Windows Server 2012 R2
	Windows Server 2016

As of this release, support for 32-bit Microsoft Windows operating systems has been withdrawn by L-Soft.

Section 1 Things to Consider Before Installation

You will need to gather some information before you start installation:

· What is the DNS hostname for the machine on which LISTSERV is going to be installed? This is something like LISTSERV.YOURDOMAIN.COM . It must be a fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) and it must map to an A or MX record as noted above in the networking requirements. While it is possible to use a bracketed IP (eg, [10.0.0.24]) for testing purposes, as noted above the use of bracketed IPs in production is not supported and not recommended.

· What SMTP server do you intend to use for LISTSERV's outgoing mail? Like the hostname for the LISTSERV machine, this must be an FQDN hostname listed in DNS. If you will be installing L-Soft's legacy LSMTP MTA on the same machine as LISTSERV then the answer to this question is identical to the answer for #1. Otherwise this must be the name of an external machine, ie, one running sendmail or some other SMTP implementation that can accept LISTSERV's outgoing mail for delivery. (If you will be installing LSMTP you will probably still want to identify an external SMTP machine to use temporarily to test LISTSERV prior to installing LSMTP, which is the recommended procedure.)

· What are the email addresses for the LISTSERV maintainers (the person or persons who are authorized to create lists and operate/maintain the server)?

· What drive and directory are you going to install LISTSERV into? (The installation script defaults to C:\LISTSERV; if you have more space on another drive, eg, a RAID array or other large disk, you will want to install LISTSERV on that drive rather than on C:.)

· What program group or folder do you want LISTSERV's icons to be placed in?

1.1 Technical Requirements

There are three classes of technical requirements for running LISTSERV under Windows --hardware, software, and networking. Please read each section carefully.

1.1.1 Hardware Requirements

1. CPU Architecture: LISTSERV runs under 64-bit Windows on 64-bit Intel architectures only.

2. Multiple Processors: While LISTSERV itself will not use multiple processors (LISTSERV is a single-threaded application), overall machine performance may be enhanced by use of multiple processors if other applications running simultaneously on the machine can take advantage of them.

3. Memory: L-Soft recommends that a dedicated Windows LISTSERV machine start out with a minimum of 4GB, as this will minimize paging and can lead to a marked improvement in performance, particularly if the web archive/administration interface (see below) is implemented.

4. Disk Space Needed: LISTSERV itself takes up very little space (perhaps 4MB total for all of its default system files). When planning a LISTSERV system you need to take into account how large your lists will be (100 bytes per subscriber entry in a given list) and how much space you will need for discussion list archives, which have the potential to grow quite large depending on your traffic and number of lists. For most small systems, a 4GB or larger drive is probably sufficient for some time. Larger systems will naturally require larger disks.

5. Disk Architecture: LISTSERV will run perfectly well for most sites on inexpensive SATA disks of the modern sort. If performance is an issue, it will be greatly enhanced by the use of fast SAS disks in a RAID array with write-back caching and a write-back battery back-up. Write-through caching is not recommended. Usually it is best to divide a RAID array into at least two partitions: A boot partition of 3GB (effective 1.5GB) RAID 0+1, and a data partition making up the rest of the available disk space at RAID 5. If it is not feasible to divide the array in this manner, RAID 0+1 for the entire array is suggested. (The boot partition can be larger if desired -- particularly as very large disks are much more economical than in the past -- but we would still recommend that it be configured RAID 0+1).

With prices continuing to drop for modern data storage, the above should be considered absolute minimums and we would actually recommend starting with larger disks and partitions wherever possible.

To date we have not done any testing with solid-state drives. However we consider it prudent to caution against using SSD for highly-dynamic data such as LISTSERV's spool and archives. SSD might profitably be used for boot partitions, however, where data (at least in comparison to LISTSERV's data) rarely or only occasionally changes.

6. Disk Format and Security: L-Soft strongly recommends that LISTSERV be installed on an NTFS-formatted partition. LISTSERV will run out of a FAT partition, but FAT does not provide the same level of security and performance available with NTFS.

General performance notes:

· L-Soft STRONGLY DISCOURAGES running LISTSERV out of a RAM disk in order to speed up I/O. This is not a supported configuration and if you have problems with it the support group's response will be to tell you to stop using the RAM disk.

· If system RAM is tight, either a fast disk or more RAM is a necessity if you are to minimize I/O time lost to paging. An otherwise fast system can become quite sluggish if it is required constantly to read and write to virtual memory. Adding more RAM is usually preferred as it is more efficient to access RAM than it is to access even a fast disk.

1.1.2 Software Requirements

1. LISTSERV requires one of the Microsoft Windows operating systems listed in the matrix found in the Preface to this manual.

2. Either Internet Information Service (IIS) or some other WWW server (ie, Apache) should be installed on the machine if you intend to use the web archive and administration interface. LISTSERV's web interface cannot be installed on a separate machine. If you are using an older version of IIS which includes the IIS SMTP service, IIS SMTP should be disabled or not installed unless you intend to use it for inbound and outbound mail (in which case, please contact L-Soft support to receive a white paper describing how to do this).

Note: While sites with valid licenses for L-Soft's legacy LSMTP mailer may of course continue to use LSMTP for both inbound and outbound mail, L-Soft strongly discourages the use of this discontinued, no longer supported product. We will be happy to discuss alternatives with you; please simply write to support@lsoft.com and request details.

3. INBOUND MAIL: The SMTP "listener" service (SMTPL.EXE) provided in the LISTSERV installation kit must be installed. Third-party SMTP MTAs (Mail Transfer Agents) are supported for inbound LISTSERV mail if they can be configured to redirect LISTSERV's mail to SMTPL running on a non-standard port (for instance, 40025).

4. OUTBOUND MAIL: The SMTPL.EXE "listener" service cannot be used for outbound mail. You will need to have access to an SMTP MTA that can handle LISTSERV's outbound mail. This machine can be a unix machine running one of the standard unix MTAs (sendmail/qmail/postfix), a Windows machine running Microsoft Exchange, or any fully-standards-compliant SMTP server running on any platform, as long as it can handle the amount of traffic you will generate with LISTSERV.

Low-end SMTP servers can handle modest delivery loads (perhaps 10K-25K messages per hour, although we have seen a well-tuned IIS SMTP instance handle up to 75K per hour). For heavier delivery loads, L-Soft recommends a high-performance SMTP server that can handle loads of more than 1 million messages per hour.

If the outbound MTA is running on an external machine, that machine must be configured to accept for delivery so-called "relay mail" from the machine running LISTSERV (it may of course otherwise be configured to reject "relay mail" coming from other hosts).

If you need a "turnkey" single-machine solution for LISTSERV, please contact the support department for assistance.

1.1.3 Networking requirements

1. TCP/IP connectivity, preferably 24/7, with enough bandwidth to handle your workload. Please note carefully that LISTSERV is not designed to dial up and access POP mailboxes. The proper installation and operation of LISTSERV is contingent on direct connection to the Internet in order for it to receive and send SMTP mail. If you do not understand this, L-Soft strongly recommends that you get expert technical advice before proceeding further, or consider using a hosting service instead of running LISTSERV yourself
(see http://www.lsoft.com/products/ease.asp for an overview of hosting services offered by
L-Soft).

2. In conjunction with networking requirement #1, and as a fundamental requirement of the SMTP mail protocol, LISTSERV requires a static IP address which is mapped via a DNS A or MX record to a particular host name (typically LISTSERV.yourdomain, for example, LISTSERV.EXAMPLE.COM). If you are planning to use the web archive/administration interface with LISTSERV, an A record is required at minimum (web browsers cannot connect to hosts that have only an MX record). Please note carefully that L-Soft does not support LISTSERV servers running without DNS entries (ie we do not support servers configured with bracketed IP addresses instead of FQDNs [fully-qualified domain names, for example, LISTSERV.EXAMPLE.COM]).

The use of a CNAME is STRONGLY DISCOURAGED because typically such hostnames are rewritten ("canonicalized") when mail sent from them traverses the Internet.

Microsoft's WINS and MAPI protocols are not supported or used by LISTSERV.

There are no guarantees that LISTSERV will work with a dynamically-assigned IP address (for instance, one obtained through DHCP), and a DNS entry is required if you expect people to be able to send mail to, and also--in many cases where the user's ISP does a reverse DNS lookup to validate that the mail is not spam--to receive mail from the server.

Again, if you do not understand any part of this requirement, L-Soft strongly recommends that you get expert technical advice before proceeding further.

3. If installing LISTSERV behind a firewall with the expectation that users from the outside world will be able to access it, it is imperative that you provide access to the following TCP ports on the LISTSERV machine: Port 25 (SMTP) and port 80 (webserver, if the web archive/administration feature is enabled). It may also be necessary to provide access to port 53 (nameserver) if LISTSERV is unable to resolve the name of its outgoing mail host.

Installing LISTSERV behind a firewall is almost more of an art than a science (and every firewall seems to be different) but the bottom line is that the above ports must be open if you expect LISTSERV to work. It is not recommended to route incoming LISTSERV mail through another machine (ie the firewall) as this normally leads to complications.

1.1.4 Older Versions of Windows Server No Longer Supported

Starting with LISTSERV 16.0-2017a, L-Soft no longer supports Microsoft Windows Server earlier than Server 2008 R2. Only 64-bit Windows operating systems are supported.

1.1.5 Older Versions of Windows Workstation No Longer Supported

L-Soft stopped supporting Windows XP in late 2014, with version 16.0-2014b. Starting with LISTSERV 16.0-2017a, L-Soft supports only the 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows 7, 8.x, and 10. Use of the Professional or Ultimate Editions is strongly recommended; use of the Home Edition is not recommended.

Section 2 Installing LISTSERV

L-Soft provides its software via FTP download only. The installation kits for LISTSERV Lite for Windows are found at

http://www.lsoft.com/download/listservlite.asp

These kits are complete implementations of LISTSERV Lite Free Edition for Windows. If you have already purchased a paid copy of LISTSERV Lite you will have received a production LAK separately--we will describe the installation of that key later in this document.

2.1 Starting the installation

First, place the distribution kit into a temporary directory (e.g., C:\TEMP or C:\SCRATCH). DO NOT try to run the kit from the directory into which you are going to actually install LISTSERV.

Next, make sure that you are logged in either as the Administrator user or as a member of the Administrators group. You cannot install LISTSERV unless you have administrative control of the computer.

The kit is a self-contained, self-extracting setup kit that includes all of the files you will need for the installation. Simply run LISTSERV-LITE.EXE from a DOS prompt or double-click on it in Windows Explorer to start the installation and follow the script.

2.2 Basic configuration

The installation script will ask whether or not you want to go ahead and configure the LISTSERV server. You MUST do a basic server configuration at install time or the installer will exit, but bear in mind that a more complex configuration can be done after finishing the installation, if necessary. For the basic configuration done at install time, you will need to have the information discussed below for NODE, SMTP_FORWARD, and POSTMASTER. (Note: This basic configuration step is skipped for upgrades, which are assumed to be already configured.)

Configuring the server after installation is done via the web administration interface. Log in as a LISTSERV administrator, and choose Server Administration/Site Configuration/Site Configuration to enter the web-based configurator.

It should be noted that the MAIN\SITE.CFG file is now used only for initial startup and for certain settings which need to be read in immediately when LISTSERV starts; changes made via the web configurator are written to a platform-independent file which is maintained by LISTSERV and which should not be hand-edited.

In addition, the old SITE.EXE configuration GUI is no longer supported or provided (because it operates on the MAIN\SITE.CFG file). If you have a copy from a previous installation, it should not be used, and L-Soft recommends that it simply be deleted along with SITE.HLP and SITEDATA.FILE.

2.2.1 NODE

The NODE setting is the fully-qualified domain name as registered in DNS for the machine LISTSERV is running on. As noted above, it is possible to insert a square-bracketed dotted-decimal IP address in this box for testing purposes, but L-Soft neither recommends nor supports this in production. This is the host name that LISTSERV will always identify itself with when it sends mail out.

2.2.2 MYDOMAIN

MYDOMAIN does not refer to your corporate domain. MYDOMAIN is the space-separated list of all possible host names your machine might be known as. In many cases the value of MYDOMAIN is the same as NODE, but for instance some machines running LISTSERV also run the enterprise's World Wide Web server, and may thus be identified in DNS as something like "WWW.MYCOMPANY.COM". If you're running L-Soft's legacy LSMTP MTA, you might also be using the POP3 feature in LSMTP to handle your corporate mail accounts, and might have a DNS record for "POP.MYCOMPANY.COM" pointing to the LISTSERV machine. And of course we'll assume that NODE has been set above to something like LISTSERV.MYCOMPANY.COM. Using this as an example you would set the MYDOMAIN setting to contain, in space-separated format, all of these names that mail might come in to LISTSERV under, with the NODE value coming first:

LISTSERV.MYCOMPANY.COM WWW.MYCOMPANY.COM POP.MYCOMPANY.COM

Alternately the same thing can be done by specifying

%NODE% WWW.MYCOMPANY.COM POP.MYCOMPANY.COM

This way if someone accidentally writes to LISTSERV@POP.MYCOMPANY.COM, LISTSERV will recognize POP.MYCOMPANY.COM as equivalent to LISTSERV.MYCOMPANY.COM and will process the mail as if it had been addressed to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.MYCOMPANY.COM. Otherwise the mail will bounce as LISTSERV has no other way to know what other names the machine might be known by in DNS.

2.2.3 SMTP_FORWARD

This setting refers to the name of the machine which will be handling LISTSERV's outgoing mail. It must be a fully-qualified domain name of a machine registered in DNS. For instance if your corporate mail gateway is MAIL.MYCOMPANY.COM, you could set SMTP_FORWARD to that value.

2.2.4 POSTMASTER

This is a space-separated list of userid@host.domain type email addresses belonging to people who have authority to manage LISTSERV--specifically the people who are allowed to create lists, but also who have pretty much global authority on the server to look at lists, modify list headers, and so forth. There are some advanced options for this setting but for right now you will probably just want to insert your own email address so that you can test the server.

Note: The POSTMASTER should NEVER be LISTSERV@ anywhere or POSTMASTER@ anywhere. These userids are reserved and mean specific things to LISTSERV. If you need to use a generic name for a postmaster account, it is recommended that you use something like "listmaster" or "lstmaint" instead.

2.2.5 CREATEPW

The password that will be used to create lists and perform certain management functions (such as administering LISTSERV's user password feature). Note that when using the web management features, you do not use the CREATEPW= value, but rather your own personal LISTSERV password, to validate your identity. See the main LISTSERV documentation for information on how to create a personal LISTSERV password.

Note: While they are still available and documented, CREATEPW and its companion STOREPW are obsolete, as postmasters can authenticate all commands with their personal LISTSERV password. If you do not want to set CREATEPW at all, you should set it to the special value *NOPW*, which will disable the authentication system they are associated with. *NOPW* is the recommended value.

2.2.6 MYORG (optional)

A string that identifies your organization in the From: line of administrative mail sent out by LISTSERV. This defaults to the NODE value you coded above, but you can change it to be more descriptive, eg, "University of XYZ" or "My Company, Inc." If you were to set it to "My Company, Inc.", the From: line of administrative mail would look like this:

From: "My Company, Inc. LISTSERV Server (16.0)"
<LISTSERV@LISTSERV.MYCOMPANY.COM>

Only the part preceding "LISTSERV Server" may be modified by the MYORG setting. The rest of this string is hard-coded and cannot be changed.

2.3 Advanced configuration

There are a number of advanced configuration parameters that can be set to modify LISTSERV's behaviour and/or tune it for better performance. The most common parameters are documented in the Site Configuration Keyword Reference document for LISTSERV 16.0. Please be sure to consult the chapter in that manual that discusses keywords and other settings that are disabled or work differently under LISTSERV Lite than they do under LISTSERV Classic.

2.4 Installing the License Activation Key (LAK)

If you are installing the Free Edition, the LAK will be installed for you automatically and you do not need to do anything further in this section. If you have purchased a commercial license for LISTSERV Lite, the procedure to install it is as follows:

1. Create a disk file with the license information supplied. If you received the license registration form electronically, simply delete the mail headers and other extraneous information (you do not need to remove the instructions found at the top of the LAK). If you received it via FAX or postal mail, you will have to retype the information. Please observe spacing carefully. To make the LAK easier to transcribe, we always insert multiple blanks where one is needed. Thus, unless you see a big white space on the FAX, you should not insert any blank. (Note that LAK information can also be entered via the SITE.EXE utility.)

2. Make a backup copy of the file you have just created.

3. Install a copy of the file under the name LICENSE.MERGE in the product's main directory. This would be MAIN\LICENSE.MERGE relative to your LISTSERV root directory (eg C:\LISTSERV\MAIN\LICENSE.MERGE) if you installed LISTSERV under C:\LISTSERV).

4. Start LISTSERV (or stop and restart it if it was already running). It will compile the new LAK, verify its integrity, and merge it into its license database. If no error was detected, it will then delete the LICENSE.MERGE file. This is why you must make a backup copy of the license file before activating it. The LAK will of course remain in the license database, but you may need the original in case of hardware failure.

Important: The LICENSE.MERGE file MUST be a flat ASCII text file (Unicode is not supported).

If you create the LICENSE.MERGE file with NOTEPAD, please note that by default the NOTEPAD application will save your file with a .txt extension (e.g., if you type license.merge in the "Save as" dialog box, NOTEPAD will actually save license.merge.txt). If this happens you must rename the file to license.merge or LISTSERV will not see it on startup. You can avoid this problem by enclosing the name of the file in double quotes, i.e., when you are prompted for the filename in the "Save as" dialog box, enter "license.merge" (you must use the double quote marks!) and press the OK/Save button. If you use the double quotes, your file will be saved as license.merge and not as license.merge.txt .

Since the LISTSERV-LITE mailing list is a user-supported support forum, your LAK information should never be sent there. If you have trouble with the installation of your LAK, the LISTSERV support staff will be happy to assist you at SUPPORT@LSOFT.COM . All other support inquiries should go to the LISTSERV-LITE mailing list.

Section 3 Starting LISTSERV to Verify a Successful Installation

To start LISTSERV for debugging/testing purposes, first open a CMD.EXE "Command Prompt" (otherwise known as a "DOS box" to us old-timers) in "Run as administrator" mode. (You will have to right-click the Command Prompt icon and choose that option.) Next, change to the drive where you have installed LISTSERV, enter CD LISTSERV\MAIN at the prompt, and hit return.

You should now be able to start LISTSERV interactively by entering "LSV START" at the prompt and hitting return. You will see various startup messages go by and then you will be prompted to enter commands if you wish. For instance, a SHOW LICENSE command issued from the interactive command line looks like this:

17 Apr 2017 15:19:36 Initialization complete

17 Apr 2017 15:19:36 You can enter commands via the keyboard at any time

Paused - enter a command:

show lic

17 Apr 2017 15:28:54 From LISTSERV@LISTSERV.EXAMPLE.COM: show lic

* License type: Graduated

* Expiration date: None - perpetual license

* Maintenance until: 31 Dec 2017, serial number MNT-FREE-EDITION-WINNT-20;728996

* Capacity: 10 points (1 in use)

* Product options: LITEFE

* Scope: MAXSUB(500),PERLIST

* Version: 16.0

* Serial number: FREE-EDITION-WINNT

* Build date: 28 Feb 2017

You may start the SMTPL.EXE SMTP "listener" service interactively in the same way.

You can run only one copy of LISTSERV at any given time. That is, you cannot start LISTSERV interactively if it is already running as a service, or vice-versa, nor can you start LISTSERV in multiple CMD windows. The same applies to the SMTP listener.

When LISTSERV is installed, it is registered in the Services Manager to start automatically as a system service at boot time. Thus if you have rebooted your machine after installing LISTSERV, it may already be running. If it is already running when you attempt to start it in a DOS box, you will get the following error:

C:\LISTSERV\MAIN>lsv start

>>> Unable to create SMTP synchronization events <<<

abnormal program termination

Similarly, if the SMTPL "listener" is already running as a service, you will get something like:

C:\LISTSERV\MAIN>smtpl start

LISTSERV SMTP listener, version 1.1d

>>> Cannot bind to 0.0.0.0, port 25: error 10048

Statistics for this session:

Physical memory: 8132M (3222M available)

Paging file: 16260M (10648M free)

Process memory: 47364k in use

Connections: 0 (max 0, total 0 in this session)

Messages: 0 (0 recipients)

SMTPL uptime: 0 00:00:00 (98.1% CPU utilization)

If the services are running, simply stop them from the Control Panel/Services applet, or just issue the commands

NET STOP LISTSERV

NET STOP LISTSERV-SMTP

in your DOS box before proceeding.

If there are no problems, LISTSERV will start up with messages similar to the following:

E:\LISTSERV\MAIN>lsv start

17 Apr 2017 15:54:04 LISTSERV(R) for Windows version 16.0 starting...

17 Apr 2017 15:54:04 Copyright Eric Thomas 1986-2017

17 Apr 2017 15:54:04 Build date: 28 Feb 2017

17 Apr 2017 15:54:04

17 Apr 2017 15:54:04 SIGNUP files are being compressed...

17 Apr 2017 15:54:04 -> No entry removed.

17 Apr 2017 15:54:04 Nearest backbone host is LISTSERV@PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM

17 Apr 2017 15:54:04 Nearest NJE host is LISTSERV@SEARN

17 Apr 2017 15:54:04 LAK merged successfully:

> LISTSERV-LITEFE-WINNT-*

> UNITS=10

> EXP=NEVER

> REL=16.0

> OPT=NONE

> SCOPE=MAXSUB(500),PERLIST

> SERIAL=FREE-EDITION-WINNT

> CKS=1-14AAD987-725C5B31

17 Apr 2017 15:54:04 LAK merged successfully:

> MNT-LISTSERV-LITEFE-WINNT-*

> UNITS=0

> EXP=28-FEB-2017

> REL=16.0

> OPT=NONE

> SCOPE=SERIAL(FREE-EDITION-WINNT)

> CMT=LITEFE

> SERIAL=MNT-FREE-EDITION-WINNT-24;728996

> CKS=1-BAFB501F-4B3CED37

*******************************************************************************

***************************** License information *****************************

*******************************************************************************

* *

* This is the FREE EDITION of LISTSERV(R) Lite, a product licensed by L-Soft *

* international, Inc. This free edition may not be sold under any *

* circumstances. If you paid for this product, write to SALES@LSOFT.COM *

* immediately and indicate the name of the company which sold it to you. *

* *

* LICENSE: Subject to the restrictions set forth below, you may use this *

* software as you see fit, as long as you do not derive a profit from such *

* use. *

* *

* RIGHT TO COPY: You may copy the software as necessary to use it, and for *

* backup purposes. Our copyright notice must remain on the original copy of *

* the software and be included on any copy you make. *

* *

* NO RIGHT TO MODIFY: You are not allowed to modify the software in any way, *

* except for the interfaces provided with source code, which you may modify *

* and/or recompile for your own use. Any modified version remains our *

* property and subject to the present terms and conditions. *

* *

* FREE EDITION BANNERS: The software uses textual "banners" and graphical art *

* to advertise itself as a free edition which is not for resale or commercial *

* use. You may not alter or suppress these banners or the graphical art, *

* including, but not limited to, the "Powered by LISTSERV - Free Edition" *

* logo and its hyperlink to the L-Soft web page with the full license terms. *

* *

* USE AT YOUR OWN RISK: THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ON AN 'AS IS' BASIS. L-SOFT *

* DOES NOT MAKE ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER WITH *

* RESPECT TO THE SOFTWARE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF *

* MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Neither L-Soft nor any *

* of its employees, officers or agents will be liable for any direct, *

* indirect or consequential damages, even if L-Soft had been advised of the *

* possibility of such damage. *

* *

* For assistance, subscribe to the LISTSERV-LITE mailing list at *

* PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM. *

* *

*******************************************************************************

17 Apr 2017 15:54:05 Cleaning up upload directory...

17 Apr 2017 15:54:05 -> No file deleted

17 Apr 2017 15:54:05 Initialization complete

17 Apr 2017 15:54:05 You can enter commands via the keyboard at any time

SMTPL isn't as verbose. It will start up with only a few messages:

C:\LISTSERV\MAIN>smtpl start

28 Feb 2017 14:39:31 LISTSERV SMTP listener, version 1.1d

28 Feb 2017 14:39:31 Copyright Eric Thomas 1994-2016

28 Feb 2017 14:39:31 Now listening to 0.0.0.0, port 25.

28 Feb 2017 14:39:31 Initialization complete - 200 concurrent threads.

To test the server, send Internet mail to the LISTSERV address with some random command, such as HELP, to check that the SMTP listener and outgoing mail interface are working correctly. Please note that the "LISTSERV address" is the address formed by "LISTSERV@" + the value you defined in the site configuration file for NODE=. For instance, if you defined NODE=LISTSERV.XYZ.COM, the LISTSERV address would be LISTSERV@LISTSERV.XYZ.COM.

DO NOT attempt to create lists or use the WWW interface until the basic email functions (ie, sending commands to LISTSERV by email and getting a response) are tested and working correctly.

Note that LISTSERV will not see any mail you send it via MAPI unless you have a MAPI/SMTP gateway for your LAN. LISTSERV does not include a MAPI gateway and thus does not support MAPI.

When running as services, LISTSERV and SMTPL both create log files in the \LISTSERV\LOG directory but, for performance reasons, the file buffers are not flushed with each and every write. If you attempt to TYPE the log file, it may appear to be empty. If you wait a few minutes, the buffers will be flushed and you will be able to examine the files. LISTSERV generates "crash reports" when it terminates abnormally, which are sent to the LISTSERV postmasters by default. These "crash reports" normally include a traceback of the error along with the last 100 LISTSERV log entries prior to the crash, and should be sent to L-Soft support for problem resolution.

In interactive mode, the log files are also created but the file buffers are flushed continuously. Flushing the logs continuously ensures that, in the event of a severe program failure, the logs will always contain information about the cause of the failure.

(Due to the fact that writing to command windows can significantly slow down an application, interactive mode should be used only when you are trying to troubleshoot a problem.)

Note: While critical errors are reported to the Windows System Event Log and can be examined with Event Viewer (select the Application log), the Windows error codes are almost never useful for debugging problems with LISTSERV and the LISTSERV console log should be consulted in favor of the event log when a problem arises.

When running as services, both LISTSERV and SMTPL may be stopped from the Control Panel/Services applet, or by issuing the commands NET STOP LISTSERV and NET STOP LISTSERV-SMTP from a DOS prompt.

When running in interactive mode, to stop LISTSERV, simply type STOP. To stop SMTPL, wait until there is no more activity and type Ctrl-C.

3.1 Windows Firewall Considerations

It is recommended that sites using the Windows Firewall should open the firewall to the LISTSERV program. This is the preferred method as it makes it easy to change various TCP/IP-related aspects of LISTSERV's operation (e.g., outbound mail port, TCPGUI port) without having to change the firewall.

For the SMTPL.EXE "listener", it is recommended to open the firewall on port 25 from all IP addresses. Alternately, simply open the firewall to the appropriate program. The only advantage to explicitly opening port 25 as opposed to opening the firewall to SMTPL.EXE or some other specific MTA program is that you can easily switch from SMTPL to another MTA or vice versa without having to worry about changing the firewall settings. Port 25 is also a "well-known" port so inbound mail is in almost every case going to come to port 25, regardless of which program is listening on that port for LISTSERV's mail.

Section 5 Upgrading your LISTSERV installation

Because of non-backward-compatible changes made by LISTSERV 16.0 to the format of LISTSERV's SIGNUP files which allow UTF-8 characters to be used in passwords, and the addition of non-reversible subscriber password encryption, L-Soft STRONGLY RECOMMENDS that, prior to upgrading, a full backup be made of your LISTSERV installation.

IMPORTANT: LISTSERV 16.0 requires a version 16.0 LAK!

You must obtain and install a LISTSERV version 16.0 product LAK prior to upgrading your server, or LISTSERV will not start after the upgrade.

IMPORTANT: Install your LISTSERV 16.0 product LAK before upgrading! A valid product LAK (License Activation Key) with "REL=16.0" must be installed before upgrading or LISTSERV will not start after the upgrade.

If you have not received a LISTSERV 16.0 product LAK, please contact your sales representative or SALES@LSOFT.COM before upgrading!

If your product LAK has EXP=NEVER, you will also need to install an appropriate LISTSERV maintenance LAK.

To find out if you can upgrade to LISTSERV 16.0 with your current LAKs, please issue a SHOW LICENSE command to LISTSERV and examine the response. It will be similar to this:

License type: Permanent

Expiration date: None - perpetual license

Maintenance until: 26 May 2008, serial number MNT-XYZ-1;728996

Capacity: Unlimited

Version: 16.0

Serial number: XYZ-1

Build date: 28 Nov 2017

Your license key will be valid for the 16.0 upgrade if your current product LAK is for version 16.0 or higher and your maintenance is not expired.

If you are running the Free Edition, it will look like this:

* License type: Graduated

* Expiration date: None - perpetual license

* Maintenance until: 28 Feb 2017, serial number MNT-FREE-EDITION-WINNT-24;728996

* Capacity: 10 points (0 in use)

* Product options: LITEFE

* Scope: MAXSUB(500),PERLIST

* Version: 16.0

* Serial number: FREE-EDITION-WINNT

* Build date: 28 Feb 2017

For the Free Edition, the license key will be valid for the 16.0 upgrade if your current product LAK is for version 16.0 or higher and your maintenance is the same as (or later than) the build date of the copy you are running.

Upgrading LISTSERV is almost as simple as installing it. Simply follow these steps:

· For paid copies of LISTSERV Lite: If you are upgrading from one full version of LISTSERV Lite to another (for instance, from 15.0 to 16.0), you should have received a new LAK from your sales representative. If you do not have a LAK for the version you are upgrading to, stop right here and contact your L-Soft sales representative. If you are not sure what version you are currently licensed for, send a "SHOW LICENSE" command to LISTSERV.

· For the LISTSERV Lite Free Edition: Your installation kit will contain an updated LAK which permits you to continue running the Free Edition.

· If you have received a new LAK, install it onto your old installation, following the instructions that come with the LAK. Send LISTSERV a "SHOW LICENSE" command after restarting LISTSERV to ensure that the new LAK has been installed properly. Do not proceed further until this step has been correctly completed.

· Back up the entire LISTSERV directory hierarchy (just in case).

· Stop LISTSERV and SMTPL (note that if you are running the legacy LSMTP MTA, you do not need to stop SMTPL as it should be disabled).

· Get the current Windows LISTSERV Lite kit from the LISTSERV Lite download page and install it over your existing installation. Your current configuration, lists, and other settings will be preserved. Note that evaluation kits are production code limited only by an evaluation LAK, which your production LAK will override.

· If you are running the legacy LSMTP MTA as your mailer, open the Windows Control Panel/Services applet and ensure that the "LISTSERV SMTP Listener" service is disabled. This is very important! Note that the current version of the installation GUI will not register SMTPL.EXE as a service if an installation of LSMTP is detected in the Windows registry, but it is still wise to check this.

· If you have the web archive interface installed, either re-run the web archive configuration feature of SITE.EXE or manually copy WA.EXE from the \LISTSERV\MAIN directory to your cgi-bin or scripts directory to update it. The setup program will not do it for you automatically.

· Restart LISTSERV and SMTPL (if not running legacy LSMTP) and send a command to make sure the installation was successful.

Section 7 Additional Resources

7.1 Documentation

7.1.1 Manuals

All of L-Soft's formal documentation for LISTSERV, including its manuals, installation guides, and online help systems, is available at http://www.lsoft.com/manuals .

7.1.2 White Papers

L-Soft frequently publishes white papers on specific topics for our products. These white papers are available at http://www.lsoft.com/resources/whitepaper.asp .

Specifically related to the configuration and setup of LISTSERV, the following white papers may be useful depending on your situation:

· Configuring the LISTSERV Web Interface for IIS 7.x

· Configuring the LISTSERV Web Interface for IIS 8.x

· Moving LISTSERV to a New Server

· Using the Microsoft IIS SMTP Service for LISTSERV Deliveries

7.1.3 Tech Tips

Every quarter, L-Soft’s newsletter, LISTSERV at Work, is released and contains Tech Tips that are written by L-Soft specialists with the goal of giving our customers some advice and expert guidance with specific topics regarding our products. For a complete list of these Tech Tips, go to http://www.lsoft.com/resources/techtip.asp .

7.2 Mailing Lists

There are several mailing lists dedicated to the support of LISTSERV.

LSTSRV-L@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM	for LISTSERV maintainers and interested list owners

LSTOWN-L@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM	for LISTSERV list owners

LISTSERV-LITE@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM	for LISTSERV Lite users

To subscribe to any of these lists, send mail to LISTSERV@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM with the following command in the body of the message:

SUBSCRIBE listname Your Name

7.3 Getting Support

To keep costs to a minimum, we have adopted the following "light weight" maintenance and support structure for the LISTSERV Lite Free Edition:

· Fixes (usually in the form of level-set releases) will be made available from time to time and can be downloaded at no charge.

· Technical assistance for the Free Edition will be provided through a special mailing list, LISTSERV-LITE@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM. LISTSERV Lite administrators will be invited to subscribe to the list and share problems and solutions. L-Soft support staff will monitor the list and answer the tougher questions as time permits.

· L-Soft will accept bug reports from LISTSERV Lite customers – including those using the Free Edition. However, L-Soft may not be able to provide individual answers. Furthermore, L-Soft does not guarantee that all problems will be solved, or that they will be solved in any particular time frame.

· The L-Soft support helpdesk will not accept calls from LISTSERV Lite Free Edition customers, or from paid LISTSERV Lite customers who did not purchase support. All support inquiries must be directed to the LISTSERV-LITE list, which is monitored by the support staff. Sometimes it may take a while for the support staff to answer these questions, because requests from LISTSERV Classic customers, who pay a yearly support fee, have a higher priority.

· New full versions, when released, will be made available under the Free Edition license. Technical assistance for older versions will continue to be available for a reasonable period of time on the LISTSERV-LITE mailing list. Fixes will be provided only for the current version.

This approach strikes a balance between making sure that customers are not left out in the cold when a serious problem occurs, and keeping support costs to a reasonable level.

It is possible to purchase maintenance (including full support and upgrades) for LISTSERV Lite. Please contact your sales representative for details and pricing.

Preface – About this Manual

Section 1 Things to Consider Before Installation

1.1 Technical Requirements

1.1.1 Hardware Requirements

1.1.2 Software Requirements

1.1.3 Networking requirements

1.1.4 Older Versions of Windows Server No Longer Supported

1.1.5 Older Versions of Windows Workstation No Longer Supported

Section 2 Installing LISTSERV

2.1 Starting the installation

2.2 Basic configuration

2.2.1 NODE

2.2.2 MYDOMAIN

2.2.3 SMTP_FORWARD

2.2.4 POSTMASTER

2.2.5 CREATEPW

2.2.6 MYORG (optional)

2.3 Advanced configuration

2.4 Installing the License Activation Key (LAK)

Section 3 Starting LISTSERV to Verify a Successful Installation

3.1 Windows Firewall Considerations

Section 4 Installing the LISTSERV Web Interface

4.1 Setting Up the Interface During Installation

4.2 Setting Up the Interface Manually

Section 5 Upgrading your LISTSERV installation

Section 6 Creating Your First List

Section 7 Additional Resources

7.1 Documentation

7.1.1 Manuals

7.1.2 White Papers

7.1.3 Tech Tips

7.2 Mailing Lists

7.3 Getting Support