POP Full Form: Examples, Modes, Working, and Characteristics

POP is known as the Point of Presence, or the Post Office Protocol, which is abbreviated as POP. It is a point where various devices may connect and communicate. It can be thought of as an artificial boundary between objects that communicate.

• It mainly consists of high-speed communication equipment and technology that enable online communications between people all over the world.
• POPs are widely used by internet service providers.

Key Terms: Point of Presence, SMTP, MMRs, IMAP, Post Office Protocol, Transport Layer Security (TLS)

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Point of Presence

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POP, Point of Presence, is a point where numerous devices can connect and communicate with one another. POP has servers, routers, switches, and other network interface hardware which enables it to connect with each other.

• An illustrative example is a local access point that facilitates the connection between the client and the Internet service provider.
• The purpose of POP was to facilitate easy access for client computers to retrieve locally stored email from SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) servers.

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Examples of POP

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A few examples of POP are:

• Carrier hotels: With an average square footage of 54,000, these structures are very secure. These hotels provide a number of services, including updating and installing hardware and software. 
• Colocation: A telecom business leases space in a colocation data center to provide services that are offered in several locations
• Meet-me rooms: In carrier hotels, Meet-Me Rooms (MMRs) are compact rooms with an average size of 5,000 square feet. These cramped spaces host networking interconnects that are controlled by numerous telecommunications firms.

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Modes of POP

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The most used protocol is the Post Office Protocol (POP3), which is supported by the majority of email clients. Users can access mailboxes and retrieve messages using this simple, standardized method. The fact that the mail is delivered to the client's PC and can be read with or without internet connectivity is a significant benefit of this. Two options exist for POP3:

• Delete Mode: In the delete mode, mail is eradicated from the mailbox post retrieval; but in the keep mode, it remains intact within the mailbox. When using a permanent computer and having the ability to save and arrange received mail after reading or responding, the Delete mode is typically employed.
• Keep mode: Users tend to utilize the keep mode when checking emails on devices other than their primary computer, such as laptops. The system retains the message for later access and organization, even though it has been read.

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Working of POP

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POP's functioning is supported by its five key pieces of equipment, which are: 

• Base stations: An access point's core point of reference that manages bandwidth to guarantee that customers' connection speeds are distributed equally.
• Client requirements: Customers use client equipment to connect to base stations.
• Network switches: Use of network switches in proper distribution
• Routers: Routers provide a number of paths for the network's data to be shared.
• Firewalls: The network is protected by a firewall from both internal and external threats.

Example

Here is an example for better understanding of working of POP:

• The email client interacts with the mail server using the POP protocol, seen in applications like Microsoft Outlook or Apple Mail.
• Through the utilization of a username and password, the mail server confirms the email client's authenticity.
• Email messages contained in the user's mailbox are acquired and obtained by the email client from the mail server.
• The mail server furnishes a roster of email messages residing in the inbox, along with their unique identities.
• The mail server is contacted by the email client with a request to retrieve specific messages for downloading.
• The requested email messages are delivered to the email client by the mail server.
• The user sees the messages on the email client, which also stamps them as "read" on the server.
• The mail server connection is cut off by the email client.

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Characteristics and Properties of POP

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The characteristics of POP are listed below:

• It is a client-server protocol. To retrieve emails, the email client software (the client) establishes a POP connection with the mail server (the server).
• Within this context, a store-and-forward protocol is employed, holding emails on the server until the client utilizes POP to access them.
• POP is a straightforward protocol that lacks many of the features of IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), two more recent email systems.
• It is a text-based protocol because POP employs plain text for both its commands and responses, making it simple to comprehend and use.
• With POP, a continuous connection isn't established between the client and the server, leading to the handling of each request independently.
• Through POP, users can retrieve their emails without requiring an Internet connection, as the client can download and locally store messages from the server.
• Using POP, the user has the capability to delete server messages and flag them as read; however, it lacks numerous advanced features seen in email protocols like IMAP.

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Advantages of POP

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The advantages of POP are listed below:

• POP is a straightforward and uncomplicated protocol, making it easy to utilize.
• Accessing email from different devices is easy due to the widespread support of POP by various email clients like Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, and Mozilla Thunderbird.
• POP provides an uncomplicated and effective approach to accessing emails.
• Mailbox size is limited only by the capacity of the disk drive.
• Messages downloaded by POP are consistently stored on the computer's hard drive.
• Since they are already located on the PC, accessing the attachments is straightforward.

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Disadvantages of POP

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POP often has a few disadvantages:

• POP does not offer functions like the capacity to access email while offline or the ability to access email from various devices.
• With POP, there is no facility for server-side storage involved. Due to the lack of server-side email storage, if the user's device is lost or broken, the email will also be lost.
• Security issues are raised due to the disparity in security levels between POP and email protocols like Secure POP (POP3S) or IMAP with Transport Layer Security (TLS).
• POP has the potential to consume substantial server resources as it requires the server to send the entire message to the client whenever the client checks for new emails. This situation might exert pressure on the server, especially with a high volume of users using POP for email access.

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Things to Remember

• Point of Presence, or the Post Office Protocol, is condensed as POP and plays a significant role in digital communication.
• POP acts as a wall between communicators.
• POP is easier as compared to several other security protocols, it is simple and practical to use and always stored the message.
• POP aids client computers in accessing email stored on SMTP servers using protocols like POP3.
• POP provides offline email access, downloading messages to the client's device for reading and organizing.
• IMAP and SMTP, two more recent email systems, have more features than POP
• POP is a text-based protocol.
• POP needs Base stations, Client requirements, Network switches, Routers and Firewalls to function properly.