Lesson 4
Introduction to SMTP and POP mail Servers
In ServiceNow, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3) are used for sending and receiving emails, respectively. SMTP is used to send emails from the ServiceNow instance to external recipients, while POP3 is used to retrieve emails sent to the ServiceNow instance.
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Purpose:
SMTP is the standard protocol for sending emails over the internet.
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ServiceNow Usage:
ServiceNow uses its own SMTP server to send emails. When an email is sent from the instance, it connects to the ServiceNow SMTP server, which then routes the email to the recipient’s mail server.
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Configuration:
To enable email sending in ServiceNow, you need to configure an SMTP account, specifying the SMTP server address, port, and authentication details.
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Example:
When a user creates an incident and chooses to notify the assigned user, ServiceNow uses SMTP to send an email to the assigned user’s email address.
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Purpose:
POP3 is used to retrieve emails from a mail server.
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ServiceNow Usage:
ServiceNow uses POP3 (or IMAP) to retrieve emails sent to the instance. For example, if a user sends an email to the instance’s email address, POP3 is used to fetch that email into the instance.
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Configuration:
To enable email retrieval in ServiceNow, you need to configure a POP3 account, specifying the POP3 server address, port, and authentication details.
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Example:
ServiceNow might use a POP3 account to fetch emails sent to a dedicated support mailbox, which are then processed as inbound emails within the instance.
ServiceNow leverages SMTP for sending emails and POP3 (or IMAP) for receiving them. Proper configuration of both SMTP and POP3 accounts is essential for enabling email functionality within your ServiceNow instance.
