Email is
asynchronous communication medium
Email uses
TCP, port 25, client-server method
Client side
executes on sender's mail server
Server side
executes on the recipient's mail server
Three major components
user agents, mail server, SMTP protocol
User agent aka
mail reader
User agent function
composing, reading, editing mail messages
User agent function
Outlook, Apple mail
Mailbox function
contains incoming message for user
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) characteristic
- TCP for reliable data transfer
- port 25
- direct transfer
- three phases of transfer
- command/response interaction
- messages in 7-bit ASCII
- uses persistent connection
HTTP and SMTP uses
persistent connection
HTTP pull protocol is
client get information from server
SMTP push protocol is
server send file to receiving mail server
When HTTP send messages
it places all message object in one message
When SMTP send messages
it separate multiple object in multipart message
SMTP header lines
To:
From:
Subject:
SMTP body
the message
Mail access protocol
transfer messages from mail server to local pc
Mail access protocol examples
POP, IMAP, HTTP
POP
Post Office Protocol [RFC 1939]: authorization, download