Managing IMAP

Managing IMAP

Virtually everything--not just computers, but every kind of device--is coming on board the Internet, and the two principal applications are the World Wide Web and email. The POP3 model for online-only messaging is being taxed to its limit, and users clearly would like mail servers with more "oomph." More specifically, the demand is for email servers that take advantage of centralized resources to manage mail, rather than heap more tasks on end-user computers. This clamor has resulted in the IMAP protocol being incorporated into virtually every major email server on the market. Those who haven't already installed IMAP are probably planning to do so. Managing IMAP is a movable feast of IMAP help. It is a handy guide for everyday tasks common to most IMAP servers as well as a concise reference to help navigate the sometimes sparsely and obtusely documented open source software. Whether the goal is more insight into the IMAP server and client or utility software, or big-picture strategic suggestions to get off a legacy system, Managing IMAP is here to help. This book is both a conceptual and a mechanical IMAP road map. Managers, system integrators, and system administrators on the front lines of Internet messaging will find it a valuable tool for IMAP system provision, maintenance and support. It is also useful if you're considering IMAP for your messaging system. Managing IMAP covers the IMAP protocol, setting up a client, IMAP security, performance monitoring, and tools. Several chapters are devoted specifically to two of the most popular servers: the University of Washington server and Cyrus, and detailed appendixes cover topics such as TCL, procmail, Sieve, and sendmail. Plain old Post Office Protocol (POP) is fine for just logging in and grabbing your e-mail from a dial-up service, but more elaborate mail-management and messaging solutions require a more capable protocol. The Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) fits the bill by allowing you to pull off all sorts of mail-management tricks. With IMAP, a single user can see the same messages and folders on many computers, or multiple users (say, members of a sales team) each can integrate a common folder into individual organizational hierarchies. Managing IMAP shows how to perform these feats and many others, and presents a rigorous comparison of IMAP clients and servers. On the server side, the book focuses on the University of Washington IMAP server--the standard implementation that IMAP inventor Mark Crispin wrote--and the feature-rich Cyrus IMAP server. The features of each are explained, in addition to how each integrates with its operating system. "Common Tasks" for each are covered, including details of precisely what system administrators have to do to establish access privileges on a mailbox, add users, set up shared folders, and so on through their respective feature sets. Most of the how-to material takes the form of "type this, get that" listings, with plenty of annotation that explains what's going on. Later sections are platform-neutral, covering security (perhaps better covered in specialized texts), spam filtering, and performance optimization. Managing IMAP has done a great job of cataloguing and commenting upon the various IMAP administration utilities that exist. --David Wall Topics covered: The Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) and its implementation, especially in the University of Washington's IMAP server and the Cyrus IMAP server. After presenting the case for IMAP and comparing it to Post Office Protocol (POP), the book shows how to set up and administer both major IMAP servers. It also compares IMAP clients. Other topics that are covered include security, user management, and scalability. A directory of IMAP administration interfaces and an IMAP command reference round out the volume. Dianna and Kevin Mullet are a husband and wife team who share their home in Carrollton, Texas, with awk and Lavender, who are cats, and Milo and Goldie, who are beagles. Dianna and Kevin met, married, and conceived this book while working at the University of North Texas. Dianna is a senior Unix system administrator for a leading provider of flight simulation, training, and defense communication systems, where she maintains the Unix infrastructure and plays a leadership role in overall IT system design and integration. In her previous career, Dianna was a widely published physical chemist. She lives and works on the leading edge, but keeps an eye out for technologies whose growth outstrips our ability to manage them. Dianna is a qualified scuba rescue diver and relishes opportunities to go on analog vacations with Kevin, who insists on packing a notebook PC and digital camera to maintain his umbilical cord to the Net. Kevin is a voracious punster who got bitten by the computer bug when he bought a Timex/Sinclair 1000 in 1982 and found himself chomping at the bit to change careers from photographer to computer geek. (Coincidentally, Dian