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XNS Mail
Xerox Network Systems (XNS) Mail is a legacy protocol designed by Xerox to facilitate electronic messaging within its proprietary network architecture. Developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, XNS Mail was foundational for early email communication in Xerox's internetworking environment prior to widespread TCP/IP adoption..
XNS Mail functions as part of the Xerox Network Systems protocol suite, which was one of the earliest comprehensive network architectures. Utilizing various XNS protocols like IDP (Internet Datagram Protocol) and SPP (Sequenced Packet Protocol), XNS Mail enabled reliable delivery of email data between machines on an XNS network.
It operates over both TCP and UDP on port 58, facilitating message transport and control signaling. Unlike modern, application-layer email protocols built atop TCP/IP (e.g., SMTP), XNS Mail is tightly coupled to the XNS stack's unique routing, addressing, and transport mechanisms. Its architecture was designed to work seamlessly within corporate Xerox environments.
Due to its deep integration with the XNS suite and non-standard design, interoperability with TCP/IP networks is limited. As Xerox ceased support, the protocol has become obsolete, replaced by Internet-standard email protocols.