The Digital Research Initiative
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Part Five: How Does Email Work?

Email works by sending a text message to a file that the intended viewer can then download and read.

Email is different from most Internet services in that it does not result in information being sent back to the client computer for display. While a (typically) non-displayed confirmation is sent to the client's computer, the user who sends Email does not receive a response, except if the recipient sends a response message.

Email is sent when a user utilizes an "Email client" program/computer to compose and send an Email message to another user. This message has to be properly addressed to the Email address of the recipient. And example of a proper Email address is: eric@chernoff.org.

Email addresses have two parts, separated by the @ symbol. These parts are:

  • The "username" that identifies the user on the Email Server. In the above example it is "eric."
  • The Domain Name of the Email Server. In the above example, it is "chernoff.org."
When Email is sent, the client computer has to resolve the IP Address of the Domain for the targeted Email, as explained in Part Three. This time, however, the client computer also has to find the IP Address of the Email Server for the Domain. This information is provided by the Domain's DNS server.

Once the client computer knows the IP Address of the Email Server for the Domain, it will send the Email message to that Email Server, using the procedure explained in Part Two. Like the procedure in Part Three, the sending of Email message must utilize the appropriate protocols for Email. When the Email Server receives the Email message, it will locate the file that has been designated for the recipient's Email, and it will save the message to that file.

When the recipient checks their Email, they will use an Email client program that will download the message file from their Domain's Email Server. The client program will also display the Email message for the recipient to read.

Specifically, if a user sends mail to eric@chernoff.org, their client will determine that the Email Server for chernoff.org is 209.42.230.205. The client will send the message as a request to 209.42.230.205, and that Server will receive the Email message and save it to the 'eric' file. When Eric checks his Email, the message will be displayed.

Return to Part Four | Part Six: Advanced Concepts and Conclusion


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