IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is a standard protocol for accessing email messages. An IMAP Monitoring check is a service that automatically monitors the availability and responsiveness of an IMAP server. It ensures that the mail server accepts connections and operates correctly.
The IMAP Monitoring check sends requests to the specified IMAP server over the chosen port and connection security (commonly 143 for unencrypted connections or 993 for SSL/TLS connections). These are the two most important configuration steps for this monitoring check.
The other fields are already well-known, such as IP/Host, Timeout, Region, Period and etc.
An IMAP Monitoring Check is important because email is one of the most critical services for any business. If the IMAP service is down or slow, users cannot read or sync their emails, which can lead to serious communication problems.
Each Monitoring check provides a debugging option, which you can use to find out where the problem comes from using Traceroute information. The traceroute command is used to determine the path between two connections. Often, a connection to another device will have to go through multiple routers. The option can be found in the Monitoring check settings page on the right side of the "Uptime changes section".
Question: What is the purpose of IMAP Monitoring check?
Answer: IMAP Monitoring is used to test the availability and performance of an IMAP mail server. It ensures that the server is reachable, responds correctly, and delivers the expected protocol response.
Question: How frequently should I run an IMAP check?
Answer: The frequency depends on how critical email is for your organization. For most setups, a check every 5–10 minutes is sufficient. For critical business systems, we recommend running checks every 1–2 minutes. ClouDNS provides intervals of 30 seconds, 1m, 5m, 10m, 15m, 20m, 30m, 1h, 3h, 6h, 12h, and 24h
Question: What types of issues can IMAP Monitoring detect?
Answer: Server not reachable, Connection timeouts, Incorrect or missing protocol responses, SSL/TLS errors, Slow response times.
Question: Can I monitor more than one IMAP server with ClouDNS?
Answer: Yes, in our Monitoring service plans S, M, and L, you can benefit from more than 1 monitoring check, allowing you to monitor multiple streams simultaneously.