Incoming mail server outgoing mail server

The incoming and outgoing mail servers are crucial components of an email system. Here's a breakdown of what they do:

Incoming Mail Server (IMAP/POP3):

The incoming mail server, also known as the mail retrieval server, is responsible for receiving and storing incoming emails from the internet. It's the server that your email client (e.g., Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo Mail) connects to in order to download new emails.

There are two common protocols used for incoming mail servers:

  1. IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol): IMAP allows your email client to access and manage emails on the server, including deleting, moving, and searching emails. IMAP is a popular choice for users who need to access their emails from multiple devices.
  2. POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3): POP3 downloads emails from the server to your local device and then deletes them from the server. This means that you can only access your emails on the device where you downloaded them.

Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP):

The outgoing mail server, also known as the mail submission server, is responsible for sending emails from your email account to the recipient's email account. It's the server that your email client connects to in order to send emails.

The most common protocol used for outgoing mail servers is SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). SMTP is a protocol that allows email clients to send emails to a mail server, which then forwards the emails to the recipient's mail server.

Example of Incoming and Outgoing Mail Servers:

Here are some examples of incoming and outgoing mail servers for popular email providers:

Remember to configure your email client with the correct incoming and outgoing mail servers to ensure that you can send and receive emails successfully.