Email Service Overview

The email system is divided into three different parts: MUA, MDA, and MTA. The mail user agent (MUA) deals specifically with end users. It is what they use to type and read emails they receive. The MUA is a mail client of some sort, such as Thunderbird or Evolution. The mail delivery agent (MDA) handles the delivery of mail from the receiving mail server to the spool where the mail sits until an MUA picks it up for the user. Finally, the mail transfer agent (MTA) is responsible for moving mail from one server to another until it arrives at its destination. In the next few sections, we cover the setup of Postfix and Dovecot to provide mail functionality needed for the network.