Simple Mail Transfer Protocol: How its Evolution Change in Response to Community's Needs

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
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Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
SMTP constitutes part of the TCP/IP application layer protocol. It is an internet standard protocol communication layer that uses the “store and forward” process to transfer electronic mails across networks. Since the internet began, SMTP has been used while evolving to adapt to changing users’ needs as necessitated by security on the internet. SMTP comprises two versions, the “end-to-end” version and the “store-and-forward” version.
In the “end-to-end” SMTP model, the client-SMTP initiates the communication session, while the receiver`s side SMTP responds to the request by the client. Hence, this SMTP protocol version assists in sending electronic mails to other organizations’ servers. It is a communication medium between different organizations. On the other hand, the “store-and-forward” SMTP version operates by directly contacting the email’s destination host and then retaining the mail in its servers until the receiver’s SMTP successfully receives its copy. This SMTP version is used in communicating within an organization (Mailmodo, 2021).
With the changing needs of users and organizations, SMTP has evolved to address the fickle community’s needs in transferring electronic mails. The protocol initially written by Jonathan Postel with an RCF 821 definition in 1982 was built as an easy-to-implement lightweight means of sending plain-text emails between devices. The original SMTP only differentiated Mail Transport Agent (MTA) from Mail Users Agents (MUA), currently called “server” and “clients,” respectively. SMTP’s init...