Increasing concurrent connections

    Client mail applications can use POP3 (or POP, Post Office Protocol) or IMAP (Internet Mail Applications Protocol) to retrieve incoming mail from the Mail Server. Clients use SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) to send outgoing mail to the Mail Server. You can see the maximum number of POP or SMTP connections allowed in the Mail Server Log or Mail Server Activity window.

    Note: Since each IMAP client can have multiple, continuously open connections to the Mail Server, total possible concurrent connections becomes difficult to estimate. The number of concurrent connections that are possible depends on the client software and how often users open and close the connection. For more information, see Single server mail service.

    You can increase the number of concurrent POP and SMTP connections by allocating additional memory to the Mail Server. For each megabyte of additional memory you allocate to the Mail Server, the Mail Server provides 5 additional concurrent POP connections and 3 additional concurrent SMTP connections.

    If your users typically send and receive small messages, each POP or SMTP connection can support 3 to 5 users. If they typically send and receive large messages or connect to the Mail Server frequently, allow 2 to 4 users per POP or SMTP connection.

    Allocating more memory to the Mail Server also improves Mail Server performance by shortening the time required for users to retrieve large mail messages.

  To allocate more memory to the mail server and increase the number of concurrent connections, follow these steps:
1 Locate the AppleShare IP Mail Server extension in the Extensions folder inside the System Folder on your computer's startup disk.
2 Select the AppleShare IP Mail Server extension and choose Get Info from the Finder's File menu.
3 Type a larger number in the Preferred size box.
Allocating more memory to the Mail Server is highly recommended for better Mail Server performance.
Note: Allocating more memory to the Mail Server reduces the amount of memory that is available to other AppleShare IP servers that may be running on your computer. If you have a large number of users who send and receive a large amount of mail, you may want to install more RAM in your server. For instructions on installing RAM, see the instructions that came with your computer.


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