RFC 3656

Network Working Group                                      R. Siemborski
Request for Comments: 3656                    Carnegie Mellon University
Category: Experimental                                     December 2003


                     The Mailbox Update (MUPDATE)
                 Distributed Mailbox Database Protocol

Status of this Memo

   This memo defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet
   community.  It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.
   Discussion and suggestions for improvement are requested.
   Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   As the demand for high-performance mail delivery agents increases, it
   becomes apparent that single-machine solutions are inadequate to the
   task, both because of capacity limits and that the failure of the
   single machine means a loss of mail delivery for all users.  It is
   preferable to allow many machines to share the responsibility of mail
   delivery.

   The Mailbox Update (MUPDATE) protocol allows a group of Internet
   Message Access Protocol (IMAP) or Post Office Protocol - Version 3
   (POP3) servers to function with a unified mailbox namespace.  This
   document is intended to serve as a reference guide to that protocol.