Patent ID: 8402100

Claim:
An e-mail system comprising: a non-persistent or random memory comprising a plurality of data nodes, each respective data node in the plurality of data nodes uniquely representing a corresponding e-mail in a plurality of e-mails that are to be sent over a network by the e-mail system to one or more destinations; an input handler, wherein the input handler comprises instructions for: (i) storing a portion of an incoming e-mail in a first location in persistent storage that is accessible by the e-mail system, (ii) digesting the incoming e-mail into a data node representing the incoming e-mail, wherein the data node includes a pointer to the first location and metadata that represents a state of processing of the incoming e-mail, and (iii) adding the data node to the plurality of data nodes in said non-persistent or random memory; and an e-mail processing element, wherein the e-mail processing element comprises instructions for: (i) reading a first data node, in said plurality of data nodes, (ii) determining a next action for delivery of the corresponding e-mail based at least partly on said metadata in the first data node, (iii) reconstructing the corresponding e-mail from the first data node and the portion of the e-mail at a first location in persistent storage identified by the pointer to the corresponding e-mail that is in the first data node, and (iv) sending the corresponding e-mail over a network to the destination domain specified by the first data node.