This article contains frequently asked questions (FAQ) regarding AppleShare IP 6 Mail Service, with answers to those questions. For the second part of this article, see article 88008: " AppleShare IP 6: Mail Service FAQ Part 2"

1. What are the differences between SMTP, POP, and IMAP?
2. Why are there so many different options for user mail inboxes?
3. How do I increase the number of concurrent connections for POP & IMAP?
4. What is the purpose of the Internet Alias for a user?
5. Why would I want to make a Finger request to the AppleShare IP 6 Mail Server?
6. Is there an easy way to send mail to a list of users on the mail server?
7. How do I setup and use the NotifyMail(TM) feature?
8. What is the IMAP Admin port?
9. Can mail clients have accounts on the Mail Server if the available network only supports AppleTalk?
10. Can the Mail Server support TCP/IP and AppleTalk clients simultaneously?
11. How can I adjust the number of hours the Mail Server will attempt to deliver mail before returning it to the sender?

Question 1: What are the differences between SMTP, POP, and IMAP?

Answer : SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is used to transfer mail from client applications to a mail server, or to transfer messages from one mail server to another. It is used only for email message uploads. POP (Post Office Protocol) is used to download email from a mail server to a client. Once the mail message has been received by the email client the message is then deleted off of the server. The mail is then stored only on the client machine. IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is a new mail protocol used in AppleShare IP 6. IMAP (the latest version is IMAP4) is a standard client-server protocol in which email is received and held for you by your mail server. Since all the mail is stored on the server it is accessible from anywhere you have an IMAP client, you can be at home or work and still view all your email. Another advantage is the ability to view only the parts of an email that interest you, you don't have to download the entire message in order to read it. For instance you can read the sender, subject, and text body of a message before you download the 40MB attachment that is included with the message. You can also create and manipulate mailboxes on the server as well as delete messages, or search for certain parts of a message.

Question 2 : Why are there so many different options for user mail inboxes?

Answer : The typical email user will log in via POP or IMAP exclusively. For these users it is best to enable POP only or IMAP only since these settings only need one inbox as a location for new mail. With a user setting of "Both POP and IMAP", there are lots of choices for how the users inbox will be handled. There can be a shared inbox, which means that (1) all new mail goes into one inbox, and (2) when the user logs in via either protocol they view the same inbox. This setup can result in issues if the user has a POP client that routinely checks mail. When the POP client downloads and deletes the mail from the shared inbox it will become unavailable to the IMAP client and will seem to disappear from the IMAP clients' inbox. This issue can be solved by using separate inboxes for POP and IMAP. Separate inboxes mean that all new mail is placed in two mailboxes "INBOX" for IMAP & "POP3 INBOX" for POP. This way the different email clients do not conflict with each other when accessing the same users mail. An additional option for this type of setup is to make the "POP3 INBOX" visible to the IMAP client in the IMAP folder list. This can be useful for clearing out email that builds up in the "POP3 INBOX" if the POP client does not check the account regularly.

Question 3 : How do I increase the number of concurrent connections for POP & IMAP?

Answer : Increase the amount of memory allocated to the AppleShare IP Mail Server application located in the System Folder's Extensions folder. Do a "Get Info" on the file and change the "Preferred Memory Size" to a larger value. Giving the server more memory allows for more users to be connected to the server at one time. It also increases the overall performance of the server. The default memory size allows only 18 users. A memory allocation of 15 MB for the mail server will allow 94 simultaneous users and 35 MB will allow for 250. Give the mail server as much memory as possible for the best performance.

Question 4 : What is the purpose of the Internet Alias for a user?

Answer : The Internet Alias is only needed when the user name contains spaces or other characters that are not valid on the internet. For example, the user name "Robert Smith" would need an internet alias of "rsmith" in order to receive email or log into the file server via FTP. If the user name is valid for the internet there is no need for an Internet Alias, such as "alice.jones".

Question 5 : Why would I want to make a Finger request to the AppleShare IP 6 Mail Server?

Answer : Finger is an internet protocol for making user account information requests. You may wish to do this in order to see user account status such as number of unread messages, last login time, or simply to verify that the user account exists. You can also get host information such as last connect time or number of queued messages.

Question 6 : Is there an easy way to send mail to a list of users on the mail server?

Answer : Yes. Create a group that has an internet savvy name and assign users to this group. When you send email to the group, all members of the group will receive a copy of the message. You can also add users to the group that have autoforwarding setup to send the message to users that are not in the local Users & Groups file.

Question 7 : How do I setup and use the NotifyMail(TM) feature?

Answer : The ASIP 6 Mail Server now supports mail notification in conjunction with the NotifyMail(TM) software (available at http://www.notifymail.com ). This feature is usually only used with POP clients to notify them when new mail has arrived. First you need to install and configure the NotifyMail(TM) software on all your client computers. Then go into the mail settings panel for each user and turn on "Enable NotifyMail(TM)" using either of the IP notification settings. Lastly turn on the NotifyMail(TM) protocol in the Advanced Mail Settings, Network panel of the Mail Admin.

Question 8 : What is the IMAP Admin port?

Answer : It is a special port number (626) that can be used with any IMAP client that supports changing of the IMAP port and supports nested folders. Admin port users must have the "enable user to administer server" checkbox set in order to log in. This port allows the administrator to view all the mail on the server, including user accounts, disabled user accounts, and outgoing mail for hosts. Administrators can view, move, delete, search, or perform any IMAP command to any message on the server.

Question 9 : Can mail clients have accounts on the Mail Server if the available network only supports AppleTalk?

Answer : Yes, using Claris Emailer's Officemail account will allow users to log into the server via AppleTalk to check their mail via POP only.

Question 10 : Can the Mail Server support TCP/IP and AppleTalk clients simultaneously?

Answer : Yes. However, TCP/IP is the preferred method because it is faster and there are more clients to choose from that support it.

Question 11: How can I adjust the number of hours the Mail Server will attempt to deliver mail before returning it to the sender?

Answer: Open the Mail Admin program. Choose the Mail Server Settings, Mail Out panel and type a new number in the Message Expiration field. Click Save. By default this value is set to 72 hours.