email server

Overview

An email server is server software which accepts email for one or more recipients and stores it until deleted by an email client (usually as part of the delivery process). The term "email server" may refer to the software, the hardware on which the software runs, or the combination of the two.

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Terminology

• MTA: Mail Transfer Agent or Mail Transport Agent - sends and receives email to and from other servers on the Internet (usually via SMTP)
• MDA: Mail Delivery Agent - hold emails for delivery to users (usually via POP3 or IMAP)
• POP3: the current version of the Post Office Protocol which allows an email client to retrieve mail from a server
• IMAP: Internet Mail Access Protocol
• SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

Software

stacks

These packages include both the MTA and MDA.

• Dovecot: fully supported by Ubuntu; uses Postfix (MTA), supports POP3 and IMAP

Setup

For now, a collection of links:

• 2009-06-11 How to set up a (Postfix) mail server on a GNU / Linux system "Based on an Ubuntu distribution platform, but instructions are distro generic."
• 2004-12-15 Email Server Setup: a 5-page article