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The comparison of mail servers covers mail transfer agents (MTAs), mail delivery agents, and other
computer software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consist ...
that provide
e-mail Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic (digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...
services.
Unix Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, ...
-based mail servers are built using a number of components because a Unix-style environment is, by default, a
toolbox A toolbox (also called toolkit, tool chest or workbox) is a box to organize, carry, and protect the owner's tools. They could be used for trade, a hobby or DIY, and their contents vary with the craft. Types A toolbox could refer to several typ ...
operating system. A stock Unix-like server already has internal mail; more traditional ones also come with a full MTA already part of the standard installation. To allow the server to send external emails, an MTA such as
Sendmail Sendmail is a general purpose internetwork email routing facility that supports many kinds of mail-transfer and delivery methods, including the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) used for email transport over the Internet. A descendant of the ...
, Postfix, or Exim is required. Mail is read either through direct access (
shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...
login) or mailbox protocols like
POP Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...
and
IMAP In computing, the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is an Internet standard protocol used by email clients to retrieve email messages from a mail server over a TCP/IP connection. IMAP is defined by . IMAP was designed with the goal of per ...
. Unix-based MTA software largely acts to enhance or replace the respective system's native MTA.
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...
servers do not natively implement e-mail, thus Windows-based MTAs have to supply all the necessary aspects of e-mail-related functionality.


Feature comparison


Authentication


Antispam features


See also

*
Comparison of email clients The following tables compare general and technical features of notable email client programs. General Basic general information about the clients: creator/company, O/S, licence, & interface. Clients listed on a light purple background are no long ...
* List of email archive software *
List of mail server software This is a list of mail server software: mail transfer agents, mail delivery agents, and other computer software which provide e-mail. Product statistics All such figures are necessarily estimates because data about mail server share is diffic ...


References

{{Reflist, 30em Message transfer agents
Mail servers Within the Internet email system, a message transfer agent (MTA), or mail transfer agent, or mail relay is software that transfers electronic mail messages from one computer to another using SMTP. The terms mail server, mail exchanger, and MX host ...