The network that makes email communication possible consists of infrastructure based on modems switches and routers. Based on the topology of the network a modem will be used to connect the Local Area Network (LAN) to the Wide Area Network (WAN) connection to facilitate encoding and decoding of digital to analog signals. A router will be connected to the modem to direct traffic between the LAN and the WAN connection enabling the network to be a part of the internet. Switches are also connected to the router serving as a hub for the connection of the different devices used for email communication.
Sending and receiving email messages is not restricted to a particular location as long as there is internet facility available. The use of mobile devices improves the effectiveness of email in terms of the mobility.
In order to use email the hardware requirements include a device that runs a mail client such as an internet-enabled mobile device or a personal computer (PC), a mail server, network infrastructure containing hubs, switches, routers and modems.
Procedure
Any individual that requires sending email is expected to have an email address and the email address of the recipient(s). A sender uses a mail client to send information which can be text only or include multimedia files as the body of the message after specifying the email addresses of the recipients and the subject of the message. The SMTP protocol (nsrc, n.d.) running on mail servers transfer the message to the recipients of the email while the POP protocol (Ricoh, n.d.) receives it for the recipient. The mail recipient consumes the data in the message also through an email client program. The recipient has the option of either retaining the email in the mailbox or discarding it.
People
The establishment of a network for the purpose of Email communication is done by a competent network administrator. The network administrator also manages the mail servers and the network infrastructure to ensure network availability for email services. Due to the dynamic nature of technologies, there will be need for the constant training of the network administrator to be abreast of the latest technologies.
REFERENCES
nsrc (n.d.). POP3/IMAP Unix Administration Workshop. PDF. Retrieved from https://nsrc.org/workshops/2007/linuxchix-ke/nd/imap-pop/pop3-imap.pdf on 4 April, 2016.
Ricoh (n.d.) Basic Computer Networking Briefing Paper—Part 3 of 5 Email Networking. PDF. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=14&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiHsuC7jPXLAhWBDBoKHexJAaQ4ChAWCDAwAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ricoh.ca%2FApp_UserFiles%2FDocuments%2Fbriefing%2Fbasiccomputernetworking_3of5_0.003.pdf&usg=AFQjCNHqyN-R8EjyL1_yP7Zt58_ugf8Rpw&bvm=bv.118443451,d.d2s on 4 April, 2016.
