IMAP – Internet Message Access Protocol is a means of getting the right of entry to an e-mail. This code of behavior is also suitable for accessing the bulletin board posts which are held in reserve on a mail server and that is perhaps communal. Additionally, that commonly well known mailing IMAP protocol is an Application layer protocol which is used to grant permission to an e-mail client to get reach to the e-mail that resides over a far flung e-mail server.
IMAP 4 revision 1 is described clearly in RFC 3501. IMAP server is listened over143 port number but the port 993 number is allocated to IMAP over SSL (secure sockets layer). The key advantage of IMAP protocol is its support to both on line as well as off line functional techniques.
Internet Message Access Protocol’s capability of accessing messages, either new message or saved, from multiple computers has turned out to be tremendously imperative for the reliability of electronic messaging. E-mail users with the help of IMAP can leave messages over the e-mail server which can be deleted plainly by them too. This feature of IMAP is allowed more than one client to deal with the single mailbox.
Some other goals, which are connected with this protocol, are as:
- Completely well-suited protocol with certain internet messaging standards such as Multipurpose
Internet Mail Extensions (MIME). - Message contacts and their management, both tasks are possible from multiple computers with its help.
- Provide the right of entry exclusive of dependence on less well organized file’s access protocol.
- Allowed disconnected access mode too.
Here is the detail of IMAP protocol times past. Originally IMAP was meant akin to the “Interactive Mail Access Protocol” as defined in RFC 1064. But later this name was altered as “Internet Message Access Protocol” when IMAP4 version was introduced. Moreover, IMAP4rev1 is intended to be upwards friendly as of the IMAP2 and it is for the most part well suited IMAP4 protocol version.
Unique distant mailbox protocol IMAP was designed in the year 1986 by Mark Crispin on the contrary to POP protocol. But original version that was known as Interim Mail Access Protocol put into practice the same as Xerox Lisp user machine and a TOPS 20 server. But when another version came into existence, IMAP was known as Interactive Mail Access Protocol or IMAP2 (RFC 1064). In 1990, it was again revised and you can get its updated description in RFC 1176.
IMAP3 was published later in the year 1991 as RFC 1203. IMAP2bis is supported to MIME organizational structures. The IMAP WG (IMAP Working Group), after taking the responsibility for the IMAP2bis structure was decided to rename it as IMAP4.
IMAP commonly used commands with their references:
Command: APPEND (RFC 3501, 3502, 4466 and 4469), Command: AUTHENTICATE (RFC 3501), Command: CHECK (RFC 3501), Command: COMPARATOR (RFC 5255), Command: COPY (RFC3501), Command: CREATE (RFC 3501, 4466), Command: DELETE (RFC 3501), Command: FETCH (RFC 3501, 4466), and Command: GETMETADATA (RFC 5464)
Actually, this protocol is included definite operations of creating mailbox, removing mailbox, and renaming the mailboxes. Besides this, checking the new messages, setting flags, clearing flags and searching etc all tasks are performed efficiently. Concurrent way in support to shared the mailboxes and client software is required no information about the server’s file store set-up.