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Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service

The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service, which transfers e-mail, is installed as part of E-mail Services, along with the POP3 service.

SMTP controls how e-mail is transported and then delivered across the Internet to the destination server. The SMTP service sends and receives e-mail between servers, whereas the POP3 service retrieves e-mail from the mail server to the user's computer. For more information, see the SMTP documentation Microsoft SMTP Service.

For more information about configuring the SMTP service for use with the POP3 service, see Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and Configure the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Service.

Managing the SMTP service

You can manage the SMTP service from the Internet Information Services (IIS) Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in. To open the IIS snap-in, click Start, and then click Run. In Open, type inetmgr, and then click OK. If the IIS snap-in does not appear, verify that you have installed IIS.