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Email configuration tips for using POP2 or POP3 e-mail client packages to read and send e-mail using NetMail/3000 or DeskLink (with its optional POP server) as your mail server.

POP2 or POP3 clients are available from a wide variety of sources. There are several high-quality packages available as free-ware on the Internet, as well as many commercial (supported) implementations. There are POP2 and POP3 clients available for MS-DOS, Windows, OS/2, Unix, Macintosh, and several other computing platforms. POP clients look and feel just like PC-based e-mail packages (taking full advantage of GUI interfaces and such) and require no access to the host (server) other than a mailbox and mailbox password.

POP (the Post Office Protocol) is an Internet standard (defined by the IETF- Internet Engineering Task Force) and defines a means of accessing and downloading electronic mail from a server. (Note: POP clients use the SMTP protocol to SEND messages, POP is only used to retrieve messages.) POP2 is an abbreviation for POP version 2, and POP3 for POP version 3. Both standards are still in wide use, though POP3 added some new functionality and is displacing most POP2 implementations. POP is also a TCP/IP based protocol, meaning you need a network connection between client and host.

NetMail/3000 includes (at no extra cost) both POP2 and POP3 servers, and the DeskLink (HPOpenDesk SMTP gateway) product can integrate the POP servers as well (this is a separate option for DeskLink customers - POP is not bundled in with DeskLink). NetMail/3000 allows the same mailbox to be accessed either through the host-based interface OR via the POP interface; DeskLink maintains unique POP accessible mailboxes (it does not give POP access to HPDesk mailboxes), but POP users and HPOpenDesk users can easily exchange mail messages.

Accessing mailboxes from POP clients is pretty straightforward, though there are a few items to consider:

• It's often useful in NMMGR to ensure that you have both "802.3" and "Ethernet" framing enabled. HP3000s and HP9000s by default use 802.3 framing on local area network (Ethernet) lans, but many other systems, including many PCs use "Ethernet" style packet frames. Allowing both won't hurt anything and avoids odd problems connecting to various systems on your network.
• A nice feature of POP access is that since there is no corresponding session on your HP3000, users accessing e-mail on the 3000 via the POP interface do NOT count against your systems user license; even a small (8-user?) HP3000 system could support hundreds or thousands of concurrent POP users.
• Mailboxes accessible via POP are created and maintained using the NetMaint program. In the MAIL USER screen (under the maintenance menu) you can add, delete, and modify POP accessible mailboxes. To allow a mailbox to be accessed via a POP client, find the "PC Mail server" field and enter the name of the HP3000 (it's fully qualified node name) in that field. For NetMail/3000 users, these mailboxes can still be accessed by designated host-based sessions as well.
• In the POP client's configuration section, be sure to specify that the mail server is the HP3000 (using the node name of your HP3000). Also, if the client has a field to enter the SMTP relay host name, you can use your HP3000's name there as well.
• When picking a POP client, pick one that supports "MIME" if possible; it will make the sending and receiving of binary or data files much easier and less problematic.

Native HP3000 Email Server