Socket Programming Question:

Server Applications:

A system offers a service by having an application running that is listening at the service port and willing to accept a connection from a client. If there is no application listening at the service port then the machine doesn't offer that service.

The SMTP service is provided by an application listening on port 25. On Unix systems this is usually the sendmail(1M) application which is started at boot time.

[2:20pm julian] ps -agx | grep sendmail
419 ? SW 0:03 /usr/lib/sendmail -bd -q15m
18438 ? IW 0:01 /usr/lib/sendmail -bd -q15m

[2:28pm julian] netstat -a | grep smtp
tcp 0 0 julian.3155 acad3.alask.smtp SYN_SENT
tcp 0 0 *.smtp *.* LISTEN

In the example we have a process listening to the smtp port (for inbound mail) and another process talking to the smtp port on acad3.alaska.edu (ie. sending mail to that system).