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Subject: Client-server mail protocols FAQ
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Date: 4 Jul 1995 04:59:51 GMT
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Archive-name: mail/mailclient-faq


Mini FAQ on client-server mail protocols
----------------------------------------

$Id: mailclientfaq.1,v 1.16 1995/05/27 17:24:55 pauls Exp $

This is a mini FAQ covering client-server mail protocols, available
software packages, and pointers to sources and FAQs.  To get something
included in it, email it to me.

--
Paul Southworth
CICNet Systems Support
[e-mail]


A. Servers
   1. Where can I get a POP server?
   2. Where can I get a IMAP server?
   3. What's the difference between POP and IMAP?
   4. What are the relevant RFCs for POP and IMAP?

B. Clients
   1. Where can I get a POP client?
   2. Where can I get a IMAP client?


A  Servers
1. Where can I get a POP server?

   For Unix:

   The "qpop" distribution is a direct descendent of the UCB "popper"
   and should be used instead of the UCB popper package since popper hasn't
   been maintained in 2+ years.  qpop supports many platforms and
   also supports Kerberos IV.  It is maintained by Qualcomm, makers of
   the popular Eudora POP client.

   ftp.qualcomm.com:/quest/unix/servers/popper

   The IMAP distribution contains the ipop2d and ipop3d servers (in
   addition to imapd) which are POP2 and POP3 respectively.  The IMAP
   distribution has also been ported to many platforms.

   ftp.cac.washington.edu:/imap/imap.tar.Z

   BlitzMail is Dartmouth College's freeware client-server Internet
   e-mail system (supports POP3 and POP password changing protocol).
   More information about BlitzMail can be found at:
   <http://www.dartmouth.edu/pages/softdev/blitz.html>.

   ftp.dartmouth.edu:/pub/mac/BlitzMail/Export

   Pop3d is a POP server produced by Katie Stevens at the University of
   California, Davis.  It has apparently not been maintained in some
   time, and has not been widely ported.  Notes indicate that it was
   coded based on RFC1225, which has been obsoleted by RFCs 1460 and
   1725 since pop3d was released.

   ftp.ucdavis.edu:/unix-public/pop3d.tar

   For OpenVMS:

   There is a free OpenVMS POP3 server available in
   ftp://ftp.indiana.edu/pub/vms/iupop3.
   [Thanks to "Mark H. Wood" <[e-mail]>]

   For Macintosh:

   MailShare runs on the Macintosh, and supports SMTP and POP services.
   For information: http://www.winternet.com/~carl/mailshare/mailshare.html
   To download: ftp://ftp.winternet.com/users/carl

   For Windows:

   WinSMTP is an SMTP/POP3 server for Microsoft Windows (and NT).
   For information: [e-mail]
   To download: ftp://ftp.metrics.com/smtp

   For Windows NT:

   Net Shopper offers NTMAIL which supports SMTP and POP.  For information:
   http://www.net-shopper.co.uk/software/mail.htm

   For Netware:

   Mercury Mail supports SMTP and POP3 running on a Novell Netware server.
   oak.oakland.edu:/pub/msdos/novell/mercXXX.zip (XXX = version, current = 113)

2. Where can I get a IMAP server?

   For Unix:

   The Washington IMAP distribution is the most widely used IMAP
   server.  Widely ported and easy to install.  Includes POP2 and POP3
   servers as well.

   ftp.cac.washington.edu:/imap/imap.tar.Z

   The Cyrus IMAP server differs from other IMAP server implementations
   in that it is generally intended to be run on "sealed" servers, where
   normal users are not permitted to log in. The mailbox database is
   stored in parts of the filesystem that are private to the Cyrus IMAP
   system. All user access to mail is through the IMAP, POP3, or KPOP
   protocols.  For information, http://andrew2.andrew.cmu.edu/cyrus/cyrus

   ftp.andrew.cmu.edu:/pub/cyrus-mail

   For OpenVMS:

   Innosoft International, Inc. includes POP2, POP3, and IMAP2 servers
   in their PMDF email package, which runs on OpenVMS.
   [Thanks to: "Mark H. Wood" <[e-mail]>]

3. What's the difference between POP and IMAP?

   Terry Gray's "imap.vs.pop" document in the IMAP distribution describes
   this in detail.  Stealing from that document:

    With POP (Post Office Protocol), mail is delivered to a shared
    server, and a personal computer user periodically connects to
    the server and downloads all of the pending mail to the
    "client" machine.  Thereafter, all mail processing is local to
    the client machine.  Think of POP as providing a
    store-and-forward service, intended to move mail (on demand)
    from an intermediate server (drop point) to a single
    destination machine, usually a PC or Mac. Once delivered to the
    PC or Mac, the messages are typically deleted from the POP
    server.

    IMAP is a client-server mail protocol designed to permit
    manipulation of remote mailboxes as if they were local.  With
    IMAP, mail is again delivered to a shared server, but the mail
    client machine does not normally copy it all at once and then
    delete it from the server.  It's more of a client-server model,
    where the IMAP client can ask the server for headers, or the
    bodies of specified messages, or to search for messages meeting
    certain criteria. Messages in the mail repository can be marked
    as deleted and subsequently expunged, but they stay on the
    repository until the user takes such action.

    Need more?  Go read the document yourself.  It's stored on
    ftp.cac.washington.edu:/mail/imap.vs.pop

4.  What are the relevant RFCs for POP and IMAP?

    On ftp.uu.net:/inet/rfc

    For POP3:

    1734  Myers, J.  POP3 AUTHentication command.  1994 December; 5
    p. (Format:  TXT=8499 bytes)

    1725  Myers, J.; Rose, M.  Post Office Protocol - Version 3.
    1994 November; 18 p. (Format: TXT=35058 bytes)  (Obsoletes RFC
    1460)

    1082  Rose, M.  Post Office Protocol: Version 3: Extended
    service offerings.  1988 November; 11 p. (Format: TXT=25423
    bytes)

    For IMAP:

    1733  Crispin, M.  DISTRIBUTED ELECTRONIC MAIL MODELS IN
    IMAP4.  1994 December; 3 p. (Format: TXT=6205 bytes)

    1732  Crispin, M.  IMAP4 COMPATIBILITY WITH IMAP2 AND
    IMAP2BIS.  1994 December; 5 p. (Format: TXT=9276 bytes)

    1731  Myers, J.  IMAP4 Authentication Mechanisms.  1994
    December; 6 p.  (Format: TXT=11433 bytes)

    1730  Crispin, M.  INTERNET MESSAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL - VERSION
    4.  1994 December; 73 p. (Format: TXT=156660 bytes)

    1203  Rice, J.  Interactive Mail Access Protocol: Version 3.
    1991 February; 49 p. (Format: TXT=123325 bytes)  (Obsoletes RFC
    1064)

    1176  Crispin, M.  Interactive Mail Access Protocol: Version
    2.  1990 August; 30 p. (Format: TXT=67330 bytes)  (Obsoletes
    RFC 1064)

5.  Where can I find more about available IMAP software?

    ftp.cac.washington.edu:/mail/imap.software


B.  Clients
1.  Where can I get a POP client?

    For Unix:

    The Rand Mail Handler supports POP.
    ftp.ics.uci.edu:/pub/mh

    POP3 support has been added to mailx.
    ftp.cic.net:/pub/Software/unix/mail/popmail.shar.gz

    For Emacs:

    The "vm" elisp package supports POP for emacs (versions 18 and 19 are
    supported).
    ftp.uu.net:/networking/mail/vm

    For MSDOS:

    Pegasus Mail supports POP.
    oak.oakland.edu:/pub/msdos/novell/pmail322.zip

    Minuet is the successor of UMinn "popmail".  It supports POP (as well
    as gopher, NNTP, and ftp protocols).
    boombox.micro.umn.edu:/pub/pc/minuet

    For Windows:

    Eudora works under Windows and Windows NT.
    ftp.qualcomm.com:/quest/eudora/windows

    For Macintosh:

    Eudora works on the Mac (PPC versions too).
    ftp.qualcomm.com:/quest/eudora/mac

    POPMail II is another.
    archive.umich.edu:/mac/util/comm/popmailiiX.XX.sit.hqx (X.XX = version)

    I hear that Pegasus for the Mac will do it too, but I can't test
    that for you (sorry).
    archive.umich.edu:/mac/util/network/pegasusmailX.XX.cpt.hqx (X.XX = version)


2.  Where can I get an IMAP client?

    For Unix:

    The popular "pine" mail package is probably the most widely used.
    ftp.cac.washington.edu:/pine/pine.tar.Z

    For X/Motif:

    ML is an IMAP mail client for the X Window system using the
    Motif toolkit. It provides advanced mail processing features as well
    as being easy to use for "the masses".

    camis.stanford.edu:/pub/ml/ml.tar.Z

    For X/Athena:

    XLView is an IMAP based mail program for the X window system.
    The name is derived from one of the fundamental features of the
    program, "Logical Views". A logical view is in essence a filter which
    is applied to a mailbox, and looks just like a mailbox, but only
    contains messages which match the defined filter rules. XLView is
    designed for heavy-duty mail processing and interaction, but is also
    easy enough for the un-trained to use effectively.

    XLView takes full advantage of the X window system to do
    things you just can't do from a TTY based mail interface. You can do a
    whole lot of things at once. You can simultaneously work with
    different mailboxes (on different servers), access different logical
    views of any of these mailboxes, and each message read and compose
    action is done in its own self contained window, allowing you to (for
    instance), start a letter to a friend, deal with a work emergency
    involving several messages, and resume it at a more convenient time,
    or even work on it in during the other correspondence.

    camis.stanford.edu:/pub/xlview

    For MSDOS:

    Pine works on MSDOS too.

    ftp.cac.washington.edu:/pine/pcpine

    The PCPINE versions go like this (from the README)

    There are five versions of PC-Pine:

    o DOS: FTP Inc's PC-TCP                       file name: pcpine_f.zip
    o DOS: Novell's LAN Workplace for DOS         file name: pcpine_n.zip
    o DOS: Sun's PC-NFS                           file name: pcpine_s.zip
    o DOS: WATTCP/Packet Driver                   file name: pcpine_p.zip

    For Windows:

    Pine works on Windows too.  It works, but it ain't purty.  Uses WINSOCK.
    ftp.cac.washington.edu:/pine/pcpine/pcpine_w.zip

    ECS Mail is a Windows-based IMAP client.  2.5 is the most recent
    full release.  3.0 is in beta testing and will support more platforms.
    This is commercial "for-pay" software only.
    Contact:  ECS Sales <[e-mail]>
    Phone:    [phone]

    For Macintosh:

    POPMail II supports IMAP2.  See above under Mac POP clients.

    Mailstrom is a Mac IMAP client.  Seems to like to crash a lot on
    some systems.  I hear it's on Info-Mac but I've never actually been
    able to get on that mythical archive site, so we'll try at Washington:
    ftp.cac.washington.edu:/imap/mac

    Mail Drop is a Macintosh IMAP client written by Carl Bell of Baylor
    University, available at:
    ftp://ackmo.baylor.edu/pub/bell/Mail_Drop/Mail_Drop.hqx.
    [Thanks to Brian Forney <[e-mail]>]