SMTP is a protocol for sending emails, used since the 1980s. Find out how it works, main gateways and commands . You, a developer, when you are going to serve your customers and configure e-mail boxes for them, most likely you have already heard the question: what is the SMTP protocol? Since this is a very common question, even for those who are starting their career journey, we have prepared this article with some answers to clarify the following points once and for all: What is SMTP? What is it for? Is SMTP secure? How to set an extended SMTP? Next, check out the meaning of the acronym and its functionality. Keep reading! What is the SMTP protocol and what is it used for? Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) or simply Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. As the name suggests, it is a rule used when sending messages via email boxes. Basically, it is a digital postman, which mediates the sending of messages between servers . Its origin is attributed to computer scientist Jonathan Bruce Postel , better known as Jon Postel who, in 1980, launched the measure. Postel's pioneering spirit, however, comes from other innovations, such as his involvement with other professionals in the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (Arpanet). It served for military purposes from 1969 onwards and constituted one of the first computer networks before the internet as we know it today . Returning to SMTP , the protocol is used to transfer an email from a sender to one or more recipients . Due to this limitation, it acts in conjunction with other standards, such as the Post Office Protocol (POP) and the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP).
Both POP and IMAP have the functionality to list, download and save messages from a server, making them available for consultation. extended smtp Extended SMTP or ESMTP is like an updated version of the original SMTP . Launched in the 1990s, ESMTP includes, among Phone Number List other new features, the sending of attachments and the optimized version of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) , which is Transport Layer Security (TLS). SMTP operates like a digital postman that gets people to send their emails SMTP operates like a digital postman that gets people to send their emails. (Source: Getty Images/Reproduction) SMTP functionality The function of SMTP is, in general, to bridge the gap between the server of the sender and the receiver of the e-mail , connecting them so that it is possible to transmit the message. To this end, there is the SMTP client , which acts as a user agent, and the SMTP server , which operates to transfer and redirect the email. To exemplify and simplify understanding, it is as if SMTP were a carrier pigeon, which carries the message, connecting the sender to the recipient, all digitally. The process begins when the person opens the email box and starts writing the message. At this moment, SMTP comes into action , communicating with the server from which the person will receive the message to have a type of authorization to send the text . When it doesn't work for some reason, whether it's a lack of response from the server or a wrong entry in the email address, it's common to receive an error message in return. Generally, it comes from the famous “Mail delivery subsystem” sender, reporting the delivery failure.
Of course, all of this occurs without the user even noticing , unless they receive an alert that something didn't go well. However, this process requires a series of technical rules, and we highlight some of them in the next topic. SMTP commands In technical terms, SMTP operates by following a few commands. Among them, stand out: HELO — when the source SMTP introduces itself to the destination. EHLO — the reversal of the acronym acts to request extended SMTP. RCPT TO — would be a simplified form of “recipient to”, which is who will receive the message. MAIL FROM — where the email comes from, that is, the recipient. DATA — is any and all information present in the body of the message. Furthermore, for the SMTP protocol to work, it also operates from some ports that are identified by numbers. Understand what they are below. SMTP ports: discover the most common These entries are divided into two types: submission ports (sending the message) or relay ports (connection between servers). Are they: 25 — one of the oldest, created in 1982 and used in many systems, especially internally on networks, but many ISPs block port 25 to prevent spam. 465 — serves to establish a connection between SMTP servers and is used to send emails with SSL/TLS. 587 — this is the most used today because it provides greater security. 2525 — similar to 587, but only for some servers. Today it has become unnecessary to manually configure the mentioned protocols , including SMTP. This happens because a large part of the applications used on smartphones or via websites already have this native configuration. |