July 22, 2008

POP3 Protocol Missing in Windows 2008 / IIS7

Where’s POP3?

A few people have asked where to find the POP3 service in Windows 2008 for a simple mail server. The answer: nowhere.

While SMTP is alive and well in the Features section of the Windows 2008 Server Manager, POP3 has been removed from Windows 2008 altogether.

POP3 has been depreciated and will no longer be supplied as part of the Windows OS. Although POP3 was introduced with Windows Server 2003, Microsoft removed it after including it in just one generation of the OS. Organizations that use the email protocol will need to use an alternative such as Microsoft Exchange Server or Small Business Server (SBS).

POP3 isn’t a very “good” method to retrieving mail and I know very few organizations that still utilize it. IMAP and Exchange connectors are far more feature-rich and useful especially in today’s multiple-device world. I do run a POP3 mail server for World’s Cutest Animals because it is quick, has minimal resource usage and is perfect for a mail server that only has a few mailboxes.

Before we all scream foul and ask Microsoft to add POP3 back into Windows 2008 SPx, I suggest you check out Hannes Preishuber’s POP3 connector for Windows 2008 x86 and x64.

http://weblogs.asp.net/hpreishuber/archive/2008/04/30/visendo-smtp-pop3-extender-for-windows-2008-server.aspx



Posted By Chris in Internet Information Server, Windows
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