Supporting Messaging Clients

IMAP4 Support

Internet Message Access Protocol version 4 (IMAP4) allows a client to access messages in private and public folders on a server. Users with an IMAP4 client can access mail in their Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server mailbox without downloading the entire mailbox to a specific computer.

A single client can access multiple mailboxes to retrieve specific messages or portions of a message, such as an attachment. IMAP4 clients can also search a mailbox and store flags to identify messages that have been read. IMAP4 does not send mail. This functionality is handled by Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).


Answers to frequently asked questions

How can I administer IMAP for clients with different needs?

You can create multiple virtual servers on a single computer to handle multiple local mail domains and provide administration for a number of different messaging scenarios. More...

Can I restrict access to IMAP4 virtual servers?

You can configure your IMAP4 server to grant or deny access to specific computers, groups of computers, or domains. You can grant or deny access to a single computer based on an IP address or by overriding IMAP access on a per-user basis. A group of computers can be either denied or granted access based upon their subnet address and subnet mask. You can also control access to an entire domain at once by specifying a domain name.  More...

How does IMAP differ from POP?

Both IMAP and Post Office Protocol (POP) are internet messaging protocols that allow clients to access their mail. The difference between these protocols is where the client manipulates their messages. IMAP allows a client to access and manage mail on a server. POP allows a client to download mail from their Inbox on a server to the client computer where messages are managed. More...

How are MAPI messages converted when read by an IMAP4 client?

Messages sent by a MAPI client are converted from Microsoft rich-text format to MIME when read by an IMAP4 client.  More...

Can I get a list of currently connected users?

You can determine if a specific user is logged on or monitor the server load by viewing a list of currently connected clients. More...

How will using a front-end/back-end configuration help me administer IMAP4?

You can manage the Internet access protocols on a separate server from the one on which the store runs by deploying a front-end/back-end configuration. Essentially, a bank of protocol servers can handle the incoming client connections while the store servers are dedicated to running the databases. The main benefits of a front-end/back-end configuration are a unified namespace and a reduction of overhead for SSL encryption.  More...