IF01082
IMAP
E-mail messages are generally sent to an e-mail server that stores received
messages in the recipient's e-mail mailbox. The user later retrieves these
messages with either a web browser or an e-mail client that uses one of a number
of e-mail retrieval protocols. While some clients and servers preferentially use
vendor specific, typically proprietary protocols, most support the Internet
standard protocols SMTP for sending e-mail and POP3 and IMAP4 for retrieving
e-mail, allowing interoperability with other servers and clients. For example,
Microsoft's Outlook client typically uses a proprietary protocol to communicate
with an Exchange server as does IBM's Notes client when communicating with a
Domino server, but all of these products also support SMTP, POP3, and IMAP4.
Support for the Internet standard protocols allows many other e-mail clients
such as Qualcomm's Eudora or Mozilla Thunderbird (see comparison of e-mail
clients) to access these servers and similarly allows the clients to be used
with other servers (see list of mail servers).
E-mail clients can generally be configured to use either POP3 or IMAP4 to
retrieve e-mail and in both cases use SMTP for sending. Most e-mail programs can
also use Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for directory services.
Nearly all subscribers to individual Internet service provider e-mail accounts
access their e-mail with client software that uses POP3
IMAP is often used in large networks; for example, a college campus mail system.
IMAP allows users to access new messages instantly on their computers, since the
mail is stored on the network. With POP3, users either download the e-mail to
their computer or access it via the web. Both methods take longer than IMAP, and
the user must either download any new mail or "refresh" the page to see the new
messages.
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