IMAP and POP servers

  • Email can be retrieved from a server either through a shared file system or IMAP or POP3 servers.

  • POP servers allow to retrieve e-mail with its headers, delete it on the server or leave a copy in the original Inbox or directory. It listents on port tcp/110.

  • Besides the POP functionalities, IMAP allows to read only e-mail headers, create new folders and move e-mail to the folders. IMAP listens on port tcp/143.

  • Use POP if you don't need to store e-mail on the server and use IMAP otherwise.

  • Both IMAP and POP require user authentication to access email.

    Popular IMAP and POP servers

  • UW IMAP and POP. Uses Inbox (mbox) format.

  • Cyrus IMAP and POP. Uses Inbox format for incoming mail and its own mailbox format for folders.

  • Courier IMAP and POP3. Use Maildir format.

  • Dovecot IMAP and POP3. Uses both Inbox and Maildir formats.
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