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- Path: rahul.net!a2i!wolf359!eric
- From: eric@wolf359exile.org (Eric Edwards)
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.networking,demon.ip.support
- Subject: Re: Advantages of POP3 over SMTP Mail
- Message-ID: <6w+py*jA2@wolf359exile.org>
- Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 07:02:30 GMT
- References: <364.6677T1342T1366@kncowans.demon.co.uk> <andrew-1404960245100001@patsy.demon.co.uk>
- <19960414.747A1D0.1341C@contessa.phone.net>
- Distribution: world
- Organization: Engineers in Exile
- X-Newsreader: Arn V1.03a
-
- In article <19960414.747A1D0.1341C@contessa.phone.net>, Mike Meyer writes:
-
- > POP is a Post Office Protocol. A host in the SMTP peer network acts
- > like a post office - it collects mail from other SMTP hosts on the
- > internet and holds it until the POP client comes to collect it.
- > Likewise, it will accept mail from POP clients for delivery elsewhere
- > on the internet. Since POP was designed for use in hostile
- > environments (your local university network, for instance) it includes
- > user identification and authorization features. POP (2; I haven't
- > checked 3) always depend on talking to an intermediate host that is
- > filling the role of the Post Office to deliver mail. From the above,
- > it appears that POP3 can deal with multiple mail servers and use any
- > of them as the gateway if required.
-
- Most POP clients send mail via SMTP. So, when comparing SMTP to POP it
- really only makes sense to compare the methods of receiving mail.
-
- In a perfect world, SMTP always wins. Mail comes and goes as quickly as
- it possibly can. Packets are only transmitted or received when mail is
- transmited and received.
-
- In our less perfect world, the environment neccessary to support SMTP
- reception (DNS entries, fixed IP, sendmail or equiv, 24 hour uptime) are a
- bit excessive when done on a per user basis. POP goes a long way toward
- doing away with these problems. On the minus side, mail delivery is only
- as fast as your polling interval. And the more you poll, the more network
- bandwidth and host resources you use.
-
- If you don't have a full time connection, SMTP is not an option. POP
- still works, albeit not as well as with a full time connection. The cost
- of polling goes way up since it means bringing the link up. Most people
- just poll manually or only when the link is already up.
-
- UUCP is an alternative for dial up connections. It makes the most
- effecient use of the link. Further, it supposed to be possible to set up
- "demand" connections. This would get you just-in-time mail delivery
- almost as good as SMTP. Unfortunately, UUCP configuration is even worse
- than SMTP and it is getting harder and harder to find ISP's with the
- expertese to set up *their* end.
-
- An intruiging future prospect is SMTP with bi-directional dial up ISDN.
- Bring up the link only when there is data to transmit. Drop the link when
- it goes quiet. Configuration complexity is worse than SMTP and perhaps
- worse than UUCP. However, it would allow very fast just-in-time delivery
- without the need for a leased line.
-
- ----
- "You get more with a kind word and a 2x4 then with a kind word alone"
- Remember the home hobbyist computer: Born 1975, died April 29, 1994
-
-