It would be desirable for users to be able to access their stored and new electronic mail from any workstation in the department. This is convenient for users who use multiple workstations, and for users and the lab staff in the event that a workstation fails, in that electronic mail will still be available to the user. All current mail delivery functionality should be retained. If that is not possible, as much functionality should be retained, and alternate methods for other functions should be supported by the lab. It may be difficult to identify all the current uses that the mail delivery system is put to.
All mail is delivered on the server, and held until requested by the clients.
Mail that has been read is stored by the client in the user's account. The POP standard specifies a clear-text password authentication method as well as a Kerberos IV authentication option. POP clients exist for most mail user agents. POP is specified in RFC 1081 . Since the distinction between personal computers and workstations is blurring over time, it is desirable to have a single solution that addresses the need in a general fashion.