Overview of POP3 and IMAP4

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Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

 

Applies to: Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3

This topic describes the Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3) and Internet Message Access Protocol Version 4rev1 (IMAP4) functionality for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.

By default, POP3 and IMAP4 are disabled in Exchange 2007. To use these protocols, you must first start the POP3 and IMAP4 services on the computer that is running Exchange 2007 that has the Client Access server role installed.

POP3 and IMAP4 Protocols

Messaging systems that are based on POP3 and IMAP4 are best suited for home and personal use where requirements for data recoverability and security are low. POP3 was designed to support offline mail processing. With POP3, e-mail messages are removed from the server and put on the local POP3 client. This puts the data management and security responsibility in the hands of the user. IMAP4 offers offline and online access, but like POP3, IMAP4 does not offer advanced collaboration features such as scheduling and group scheduling and task and contact management.

Managing POP3/IMAP4 Features

If you have to administer POP3 and IMAP4 in the original release (RTM) version of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, you will perform all your administrative tasks in the Exchange Management Shell. In Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1), you can manage POP3 and IMAP4 settings by using the Exchange Management Console.

For more information about how to manage POP3 and IMAP4, see Managing POP3 and IMAP4.

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