TCP/IP Protocol Suite 1 Chapter 20 Upon completion you will be able to: Electronic Mail: SMTP, POP, and IMAP Understand four configurations of architecture Understand the functions and formats of a user agent Understand MIME and its capabilities and data types Understand the functions and commands of an MTA Understand the function of POP3 and IMAP4 Objectives
TCP/IP Protocol Suite ARCHITECTURE To explain the architecture of , we give four scenarios. We begin with the simplest situation and add complexity as we proceed. The fourth scenario is the most common in the exchange of . The topics discussed in this section include: First Scenario Second Scenario Third Scenario Fourth Scenario
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 3 Figure 20.1 First scenario
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 4 When the sender and the receiver of an are on the same system, we need only two user agents. Note:
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 5 Figure 20.2 Second scenario
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 6 When the sender and the receiver of an are on different systems, we need two UAs and a pair of MTAs (client and server). Note:
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 7 Figure 20.3 Third scenario
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 8 When the sender is connected to the mail server via a LAN or a WAN, we need two UAs and two pairs of MTAs (client and server). Note:
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 9 Figure 20.4 Fourth scenario
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 10 Figure 20.5 Push vs. pull
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 11 When both sender and receiver are connected to the mail server via a LAN or a WAN, we need two UAs, two pairs of MTAs (client and server), and a pair of MAAs (client and server). This is the most common situation today. Note:
TCP/IP Protocol Suite USER AGENT The user agent (UA) provides service to the user to make the process of sending and receiving a message easier. The topics discussed in this section include: Services Provided by a User Agent User Agent Types Sending Mail Receiving Mail Addresses Mailing List MIME
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 13 Figure 20.6 User agent
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 14 Some examples of GUI-based user agents are Eudora, Outlook, and Netscape. Note:
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 15 Figure 20.7 Format of an
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 16 Figure address
TCP/IP Protocol Suite MESSAGE TRANSFER AGENT: SMTP The actual mail transfer requires message transfer agents (MTAs). The protocol that defines the MTA client and server in the Internet is called Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). The topics discussed in this section include: Commands and Responses Mail Transfer Phases
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 18 Figure SMTP range
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 19 Figure Commands and responses
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 20 Figure Command format
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 21 Table 20.4 Commands
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 22 Table 20.5 Responses
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 23 Table 20.5 Responses (Continued)
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 24 Figure Connection establishment
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 25 Figure Message transfer
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 26 Figure Connection termination
TCP/IP Protocol Suite MESSAGE ACCESS AGENT: POP AND IMAP The third stage of mail delivery uses a message access agent; the client must pull messages from the server. Currently two message access protocols are available: Post Office Protocol, version 3 (POP3) and Internet Mail Access Protocol, version 4. The topics discussed in this section include: POP3IMAP4
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 28 Figure POP3 and IMAP4
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 29 Figure POP3
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 30 Figure 20.9 MIME
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 31 Figure MIME header
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 32 Table 20.1 Data types and subtypes in MIME
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 33 Table 20.1 Data types and subtypes in MIME (Continued)
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 34 Table 20.2 Content-transfer-encoding
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 35 Figure Base64
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 36 Table 20.3 Base64 encoding table
TCP/IP Protocol Suite 37 Figure Quoted-printable
TCP/IP Protocol Suite WEB-BASED MAIL Some websites such as Hotmail and Yahoo provide service to anyone who accesses the site. Mail transfer and retrieval requires the use of HTTP.