People who are technically challenged may wonder what an SMTP server is, how it works. The era is of mobile and the android software. The era is of being in touch while on the go. Therefore, you might need to send and receive emails while on the go. This is where the smtp mail server software comes in. Smtp server is responsible for sending emails to their specified destinations.

Companies that set up the smtp mail server software are changing their settings so as to protect the goodwill of the company. The main reason is, many spammers take advantage of the company's mailing system and send junk mails to people across the world. Therefore, if your email program is set up with the default settings of the smtp server, then you might have problems while connecting to the local network. The only way to solve this problem is to change the smtp server settings.

Now let us discuss here how the smtp protocol works while sending and receiving the emails. People send and receive messages by different methods with the help of mainframe computers. However, not many people know how the mails are sent. SMTP was made popular on the ARPANET in the year 1982 by the mail transfer agent send mail. The smtp protocol is a text protocol and is used by the smtp mail server software. Presently, the smtp is the most popular and the dominant protocol and if you are a network administrator, then you must have good knowledge about the smtp mail server software and the smtp protocol.

Any mail is sent by the SMTP in a process of transaction. The transaction is specified in three stages, like identifying a sender, detecting recipients and then sending the message to the requested destination. However, a more detailed specification in five stages of the transaction can be done:

• When an smtp server connects to the port 25, the sender needs to wait for the connection to get accepted by the recipient. This process is known as the Handshake.


• Once the two smtp servers are connected, you can set an address for replying. If there are any errors occurring while the smtp transaction takes place, then the errors are reported to this address.


• Once the reply address is set, the smtp allows the user to put in the recipient's address.


• When this is ready, you can start sending message via the smtp mail server software. Once the message is accepted, the smtp server usually returns an OK code to confirm the transaction process.


• Everything that is sent to the smtp servers are disposable. Unless you close the transaction properly, your message may not be stored in the server. Therefore, make sure to close the connection once the smtp mail server software is set.

If you are a network administrator and learning the smtp protocol, then read the RFC 2476, 821 and 2554. Remember that the email servers have changed the way they function since 1982 so as to repel the spammers and their abuse.