BACKENDS FOR VADMIN
-------------------

As of Vadmin version 3.0, different backends can be used to make Vadmin
compatible with a variety of mail server architectures.  Because of the
nearly infinite combination of configuration and build options available
when putting together a mail system, setting up the right backend for
your system may not be a trivial task.  If you are not familiar with the
architecture of your mail system or are not prepared to invest the time
and energy needed to configure Vadmin, you may want to refer to the
SUPPORT section in the README file.



CHOOSING AND CONFIGURING VADMIN BACKENDS
----------------------------------------

Choosing the right backend should be based on what kind of mail user
accounts your mail system uses.  For example, VMailMgr provides a
specific kind of virtual user account system, for which there is a
dedicated backend in this plugin.  There is a generic SQL-based
backend that is suitable for most virtual user account systems stored
in a database.  If your system uses standard local user accounts, a
proprietary local user account backend is available from the authors
of this plugin (see the README file).

Note that some backends may require the use of Vadmin's system manager
proxy functionality that allows you to configure system calls that
should be made when user account actions are undertaken in the interface.
This feature can be useful if your mail system includes an account
management API, wherein Vadmin can be configured to call out to that API.
Note that the functionality is IN ADDITION to whatever backend you have
selected (although the backend must support it).  The combination of
backend and system callouts may be required, for example, when a user
account is added to the database through the SQL/database backend but
additional system actions need to be undertaken to set up the user's
mail store, etc.

For more information about configuring the backend of your choice,
please refer to the configuration file for that backend.

To configure any system manager proxy callouts you may need, please refer
to the "system_manager_proxy" section in the main Vadmin configuration
file.



BACKEND REQUIREMENTS
--------------------

The VMailMgr backend requires VMailMgr (http://untroubled.org/vmailmgr/)

The SQL/database backend requires Pear DB
(in *nix, try this command: "pear install DB")

TODO: Expand this section



DEVELOPING NEW BACKENDS
-----------------------

If you intend to create a backend for a type of mail system not
currently supported, please first announce your intentions to the
authors of Vadmin.

Briefly, these actions are needed:

   * Add the name of the new backend to the vadmin_get_valid_backends()
     function in config_parser.php

   * Create an aptly-named configuration file in the conf/ directory and
     create a similarly-named backend directory under includes/ with a
     file named vmail.inc, which is used for all Vadmin's internal
     callouts to the backend

A good starting point would be to copy/immitate the SQL/database backend
code.


TODO: Provide more information about how to create Vadmin backends



