Email Notification via Auto-Forwarding and Negative Completion Code
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing email notification systems, particularly those using polling methods, suffer from time delays in notifying users of new emails and are resource-intensive, especially when managing multiple mailboxes, and alternative solutions requiring significant resources may not be feasible for ISPs.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that employs auto-forwarding of new emails to a mail notification sender system, which transmits a portion of the email to a mail notification receiver with a negative completion code, allowing the mail retrieval system to be triggered for retrieval, and includes a bounced-mail filter to intercept and capture notification emails before they reach the user's mailbox, thereby reducing resource usage and improving notification efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If polling approach is used for mail retrieval, then mail notification can be provided, but time delay occurs and resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by auto-forwarding incoming mail to the notification sender before the user needs to check mail. The notification sender then transmits notification data to the receiver, triggering the mail retrieval system to fetch mail proactively rather than waiting for periodic polling requests.
Solution Approach 2:
The notification sender acts as an intermediary component between the mail storage system and the mail retrieval system. It receives auto-forwarded mail, extracts notification data, and triggers the retrieval system, eliminating the need for direct polling between the retrieval system and mail storage system.
2Speed
If polling frequency is increased to reduce delay, then notification speed improves, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The notification sender intermediary triggers the mail retrieval system only when new mail arrives, eliminating the need for continuous or frequent polling. This event-driven approach achieves instant notification speed while minimizing resource consumption by activating the retrieval system only when necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the incoming mail itself as the trigger signal. When mail is delivered to the mailbox, it automatically generates a notification through the notification sender, which then activates the retrieval system. This self-service mechanism eliminates external polling overhead.
3Productivity
If dedicated notification server is implemented, then notification efficiency improves, but infrastructure cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The notification sender is designed as a multi-functional component that can be integrated into existing mail systems without requiring a separate dedicated notification server. It performs both mail forwarding and notification triggering functions, reducing infrastructure complexity while maintaining high notification efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The existing mail storage system with auto-forwarding capability serves dual purposes: storing user mail and triggering notifications. This self-service approach eliminates the need for additional dedicated notification servers, reducing infrastructure costs while maintaining efficient notification delivery.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple mailboxes are managed, then comprehensive coverage is achieved, but polling time and resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the notification process by mailbox, with each mailbox having its own notification sender instance that processes incoming mail independently. This allows parallel processing of multiple mailboxes without sequential polling overhead, achieving comprehensive coverage while minimizing total notification time.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
There is provided a method and system for notifying of new email received at a user's mailbox on a mail storage system. Said method includes: receiving the new email at a user's mailbox stored by the mail storage system; auto-forwarding the new email to a mail notification sender system; transmitting at least a portion of the new email to a mail notification receiver system; interrupting the transmission of the new email to the mail notification system with a pre-determined negative completion code; transmitting a bounced-mail email with said negative completion code from the mail notification sender system to the mail storage system.