Understanding
E-Mail
 
email address

E-Mail Addresses: UserID@[hostname.][subdomain.]domain

webmail - http://webmail.edinboro.edu
    sign-on using username and password

Email Client E-mail client (MS Outlook, Eudora...)
  • Displays a list of received messages
  • Provides options to select and read messages
  • Provides options to create and send messages
  • Provides way to add attachments
email server

E-mail server

  • Runs all the time listening for a specific port (25)
  • Maintains a list of all e-mail accounts
  • Appends new messages onto end of e-mail account file

   two parts:

       SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (listens for port 25)
                does most of the work

        POP3 - Post Office Protocol (listens for port 110)
                maintains the text file and communicates
                with e-mail client

 

Communicate with
email server
Try This:

 Communicate with the email server on cslab103:

     Windows from the command prompt
          or Linux from the dollar prompt -
                                 telnet cslab103.cs.edinboro.edu 25 
                                    (connects to SMTP)
                                  helo test
                                  mail from:test@aol.com
                                  rcpt to:yourusername@edinboro.edu
                                  data
                                  this is a test of email
                                  .   
                                     (period on a line ends data & sends msg)
                                 quit

        --> check webmail screen & read test message
              look at the headers of the email

 

email
attachments

E-Mail Attachments

  • file contents appended on the end of the message
  • E-mail client determines how this will be processed   
Try This:
  • Create a small file in notepad ("this is my attachment")
  • Create a small image file (save an image from the web locally)
  • Use webmail and send yourself two messages
    • one with the notepad file attached
    • one with the image attached
  • Telnet to VMS and sign-on
  • Run the VMS mail client and list the new mail
  • Read the mail and notice the attachments
    • the notepad attachment is readable
    • the image attachment is not readable
  • Read the mail in webmail and notice the attachments
    • both are readable/viewable

Not ALL email clients handle attachments!

 
More on email How Email Works