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Mail

The Windows equivalent of a mail server is Microsoft Exchange Server. See Microsoft Exchange for more information.

IMAP vs POP3

POP3

  • Post Office Protocol 3
  • Downloads messages to the client

  • Deletes messages from the server

  • No synchronization between devices

    • If you read a message on one device, it will still be marked as unread on another device

  • No folders

  • No server-side search

IMAP

  • Internet Message Access Protocol
  • Synchronizes messages between the server and the client
  • Messages are stored on the server
  • Folders
  • Newer than POP3
  • Server-side search

SMTP

  • Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
  • Used to send emails
  • Uses port 25 (unencrypted) or 587 (encrypted)
  • Requires authentication
  • Can be used to send emails from a client to a server, or from a server to another server

Variants

  • Mailcow: All-in-one mail server
  • Microsoft Exchange: Mail server for Windows
  • Postfix: Mail server for Linux
  • Dovecot: IMAP and POP3 server for Linux
  • Roundcube: Webmail client