Re: Undeliverable Mail

It doesn't sound lik you've "fixed" the problem, then, rather you just
implemented a workaround.

Setting DNS servers on the properties of the Exchange Virtual Server is less
efficient than using the DNS servers on the network card properties and can
cause performance problems if you are sending a lot of mail.

If you are having a problem getting all the records for some queries, I'd
focus on troubleshooting that instead of forcing Exchange to use external
DNS servers.

--
Ben Winzenz
Exchange MVP
MessageOne
Read my blog!
http://winzenz.blogspot.com
http://feeds.feedburner.com/winzenz (RSS Feed)


"Vance Shearer" <someone@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OVMso2LDGHA.3856@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Seems like I solved this by going to the virtual smtp server
> >Properties>Delivery and configuring external DNS servers to be used by my
> Exchange box. If I remember there is some issue when the local resolver on
> the server does a lookup it often just returns an A record for one of
> AOL's outbound servers. Using external dns for the smtp engine makes sure
> you get a valid MX record.
>
>
> "Ben Winzenz [Exchange MVP]" <ben_winzenz@nospamdotmessageonedotcom> wrote
> in message news:%23gQGT47CGHA.3876@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> No setting for "No AOL" :-)
>>
>> When you look at the queues, (click on the aol.com queue), it should show
>> you the status of the queue in the bottom status bar. What is that
>> status?
>>
>> Also, do you have Message Tracking enabled (Enable it on the properties
>> of the server)? It doesn't show quite as many details as the SMTP logs,
>> but it can give you a good idea of what happened to the message. Track
>> messages using the Message Tracking Center (Tools, Message Tracking
>> Center).
>>
>> --
>> Ben Winzenz
>> Exchange MVP
>> MessageOne
>> Read my blog!
>> http://winzenz.blogspot.com
>> http://feeds.feedburner.com/winzenz (RSS Feed)
>>
>>
>> "ESI" <ESI@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:BD28A47B-FBEA-4BB2-86D3-D396F6B464A3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Well good because I agree. Some people in this world are busting our
>>> butts
>>> trying to learn all we can, and some just don't care.
>>>
>>> I only worry that disabling the Mailguard will pose a security risk.
>>> What
>>> are your thoughts on increasing the packet size?
>>>
>>> I do have the logging on. I was impressed I got it. Here's what I found.
>>> I
>>> rdp into my work workstation. Send an email to an aol user. Goto server
>>> management and look in the exchange queue. There's a bunch for aol. I
>>> look
>>> for the email and it's in the queue. I try the force connection as it
>>> doesn't
>>> show up in the logfile. I go back to the log file and there is nothing
>>> for
>>> aol or the specified user for that time. I did a refresh and waited till
>>> the
>>> file time included when I sent it.
>>>
>>> It's almost like exchange doesn't even try to send to aol. It just
>>> immediately moves it to the queue, and that's the end of it. Is there a
>>> setting somewhere in Exchange or Outlook 2003 that say no AOL by
>>> default?
>>>
>>> "Ben Winzenz [Exchange MVP]" wrote:
>>>
>>>> I thought about the way I had typed that, but I still stand by it. I
>>>> can't
>>>> stand it when ISP's or hosting providers play dumb because they don't
>>>> want
>>>> to do something (which is probably what the case is here).
>>>>
>>>> As far as the Cisco PIX, I can't speak to the programming, but here's
>>>> the
>>>> overview of what Mailguard does. It's on by default, BTW - you have to
>>>> specifically disable it. Mailguard basically disables all ESMTP
>>>> commands,
>>>> limiting remote servers to only basic smtp commands. For example, HELO
>>>> is a
>>>> basic SMTP greeting, while EHLO is an Enhanced (ESMTP) command. If you
>>>> telnet to your server (from outside) and issue a EHLO command, the PIX
>>>> will
>>>> block the command and you'll get back a 500 5.3.3 Unrecognized command
>>>> response. Technically, it shouldn't cause issues, but prevents using
>>>> some
>>>> of the more useful ESMTP commands. If you want to disable it, follow
>>>> the
>>>> instructions in this KB article.
>>>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320027/
>>>>
>>>> As far as logging, if you enabled SMTP Protocol logging, you will find
>>>> the
>>>> logs in the c:\windows\system32\logfiles\smtpsvc1 directory. It's
>>>> enabled
>>>> on the properties of the Default SMTP Virtual server.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Ben Winzenz
>>>> Exchange MVP
>>>> MessageOne
>>>> Read my blog!
>>>> http://winzenz.blogspot.com
>>>> http://feeds.feedburner.com/winzenz (RSS Feed)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "ESI" <ESI@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>> news:A5C01817-8344-4A56-8C1F-CCC4E3D8EA4E@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> > How do you like Interland now? HEH Well I will push the issue some,
>>>> > we are
>>>> > switching hosts within a month to IKH. Hopefully they will have a
>>>> > better
>>>> > department for handling these issues.
>>>> > Well I did some more testing at work. I can telnet to their server
>>>> > (AOL)and
>>>> > send mail that way. So I did come across something. Now while
>>>> > trolling the
>>>> > aol postmaster site I did find this snippet:
>>>> > Queuing Mail
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> > If the email you are attempting to send to America Online is queuing
>>>> > in
>>>> > your
>>>> > Outgoing Mail Server there are steps you can take to troubleshoot and
>>>> > correct
>>>> > the problem.
>>>> >
>>>> > You have a Cisco pix firewall.
>>>> >
>>>> > Please contact Cisco you may need to increase DNS packet size.
>>>> > DNS Caching.
>>>> >
>>>> > Please contact your system administrator. DNS caching is known to
>>>> > cause
>>>> > mail
>>>> > queuing when sending to the AOL mail server. Specifying IP address of
>>>> > AOL's
>>>> > relay servers is also known to cause this issue.
>>>> >
>>>> > I'll have to contact the company that setup our server and pix as
>>>> > they
>>>> > said
>>>> > the work on the pix is all command line. Personally I think they
>>>> > should do
>>>> > it
>>>> > for free as this is an ongoing problem. But that's my fight. But at
>>>> > the
>>>> > same
>>>> > time I was going to inquire about the mailguard. You said it doesn't
>>>> > need
>>>> > to
>>>> > be run, the admin at dnsstuff said it looks like bad programming on
>>>> > whoever
>>>> > set it up. I can't find any info as to what mailguard does and if we
>>>> > really
>>>> > do/do not need it.
>>>> >
>>>> > I setup logging, I may have done it right, or not. I ddin't see any
>>>> > text
>>>> > as
>>>> > to smtp prtotocols. I also setup alerts for SBS2K3, and I got an
>>>> > email
>>>> > saying
>>>> > there was a lot of email sitting in the queue. Which prompted me to
>>>> > search
>>>> > for queue on aol. I did notice after an hour the log was 5MB. Reading
>>>> > through
>>>> > what I could make out, there is a whole lot of mail in there that
>>>> > isn't
>>>> > from
>>>> > our company although the sender shows an bogusname@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> > And
>>>> > alot of email to postmaster saying stop sending we don't have that
>>>> > address.
>>>> >
>>>> > Well I think I'm getting somewhere. just not sure where. Thanks for
>>>> > all
>>>> > your
>>>> > help.
>>>> >
>>>> > "Ben Winzenz [Exchange MVP]" wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> >> Interland is a bunch of morons then. SPF records are DNS resource
>>>> >> records
>>>> >> of type TXT. If they don't know how to do that, and want to cop out
>>>> >> and
>>>> >> say
>>>> >> their servers don't support it (which I'd submit is a load of crap),
>>>> >> they
>>>> >> don't deserve to be a hosting provider, or at least don't deserve
>>>> >> your
>>>> >> business. RFC 1035 (http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1035.html) defines
>>>> >> DNS
>>>> >> resource record types, which include TXT. Since it was submitted
>>>> >> in, oh,
>>>> >> 1987!, saying their servers doesn't support creating TXT records is
>>>> >> nonsense, unless their server is totally non-RFC compliant, in which
>>>> >> case,
>>>> >> again, they should not be a hosting provider. You might try getting
>>>> >> ahold
>>>> >> of one of their senior network folks. In many cases, the level 1
>>>> >> folks
>>>> >> aren't real bright when it comes to dealing with stuff like that.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> AOL adding your IP to *their* whitelist shouldn't be a big deal.
>>>> >> It's on
>>>> >> their end, not yours. I would have been more than suspicious if
>>>> >> they had
>>>> >> asked you to add their server to your whitelist, though :-)
>>>> >>
>>>> >> You enabled logging means......you enabled SMTP Protocol logging?
>>>> >> If so,
>>>> >> make sure that you enabled all the advanced logging options. If you
>>>> >> can't
>>>> >> interpret what it is saying (which is ok), please post the relevant
>>>> >> section
>>>> >> of the smtp log that shows the conversation between your server and
>>>> >> AOL's
>>>> >> server.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> --
>>>> >> Ben Winzenz
>>>> >> Exchange MVP
>>>> >> MessageOne
>>>> >> Read my blog!
>>>> >> http://winzenz.blogspot.com
>>>> >> http://feeds.feedburner.com/winzenz (RSS Feed)
>>>> >>
>>>> >>
>>>> >> "ESI" <ESI@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>> >> news:8CE77EF5-D6CB-4C5D-90E4-55B8C2D308B1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> >> > Well I'm still on a quest to send email to aol and yahoo. Your
>>>> >> > suggestion
>>>> >> > to
>>>> >> > add an SPF record applies to our domain hosted by interland. I
>>>> >> > sent
>>>> >> > them a
>>>> >> > ticket request for that addition. Their servers do not support
>>>> >> > that:
>>>> >> >
>>>> >> > Unfortunately, at this time, we are unable to create an SPF record
>>>> >> > for
>>>> >> > the
>>>> >> > domain. This is not supported by our servers.
>>>> >> >
>>>> >> > I contacted AOL and they wanted me to submit our IP to there
>>>> >> > whitelist.
>>>> >> > I
>>>> >> > didn't see any harm in that, although perplexed as to why I had
>>>> >> > to.
>>>> >> > That
>>>> >> > request was approved. Still no email going through.
>>>> >> >
>>>> >> > I enabled logging of the exchange server. I look at the log, I see
>>>> >> > where
>>>> >> > the
>>>> >> > user sent an email, just not quite sure what else in the maze of
>>>> >> > gobbledygook
>>>> >> > listed shows errors or what not. I get a 4.4.7 error in the
>>>> >> > returned
>>>> >> > email.
>>>> >> > Does that help?
>>>> >> >
>>>> >> > "Ben Winzenz [Exchange MVP]" wrote:
>>>> >> >
>>>> >> >> You can ignore the Warning on the mail server host name in
>>>> >> >> greeting.
>>>> >> >> That
>>>> >> >> only applies to inbound mail. The cause is that you have a Cisco
>>>> >> >> PIX
>>>> >> >> with
>>>> >> >> the Mailguard feature turned on. You don't need it enabled, and
>>>> >> >> it
>>>> >> >> can
>>>> >> >> potentially cause problems with other mail systems trying to send
>>>> >> >> mail
>>>> >> >> to
>>>> >> >> you, but it won't cause the problem of not being able to send
>>>> >> >> mail to
>>>> >> >> yahoo
>>>> >> >> or aol. If you want to get rid of that warning, then disable
>>>> >> >> Mailguard
>>>> >> >> on
>>>> >> >> your PIX.
>>>> >> >>
>>>> >> >> You may want to registry SPF records, as dnsreport suggests.
>>>> >> >> Looks
>>>> >> >> like
>>>> >> >> they have a wizard that walks you through how to set up the SPF
>>>> >> >> record.
>>>> >> >> SPF
>>>> >> >> records are registered as TXT records (versus say A or MX
>>>> >> >> records).
>>>> >> >>
>>>> >> >> --
>>>> >> >> Ben Winzenz
>>>> >> >> Exchange MVP
>>>> >> >> MessageOne
>>>> >> >> Read my blog!
>>>> >> >> http://winzenz.blogspot.com
>>>> >> >> http://feeds.feedburner.com/winzenz (RSS Feed)
>>>> >> >>
>>>> >> >>
>>>> >> >> "ESI" <ESI@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>> >> >> news:0533A4AD-1D3B-4BED-8C78-FE95AFAAB5EF@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> >> >> > The ISP has re-directed the ptr record back to the
>>>> >> >> > mail.esi-extrusion.com.
>>>> >> >> > I
>>>> >> >> > went to the reverse dns on dnsstuff.com and it apparently is
>>>> >> >> > working. I
>>>> >> >> > still
>>>> >> >> > cannot send email to yahoo or aol accounts. When I put in
>>>> >> >> > esi-extrusion.com
>>>> >> >> > in dnsreport.com checker, it still shows the same errors. I
>>>> >> >> > don't
>>>> >> >> > know
>>>> >> >> > what
>>>> >> >> > else to change . Any ideas?
>>>> >> >> >
>>>> >> >> > "Ben Winzenz [Exchange MVP]" wrote:
>>>> >> >> >
>>>> >> >> >> You would be asking your ISP to map the PTR record for the IP
>>>> >> >> >> address
>>>> >> >> >> back
>>>> >> >> >> to mail.esi-extrusion.net. It needs to match the name of the
>>>> >> >> >> sending
>>>> >> >> >> server. Note that your ISP may not be willing to do this. It
>>>> >> >> >> isn't
>>>> >> >> >> an
>>>> >> >> >> unreasonable request, but some ISP's won't do it.
>>>> >> >> >>
>>>> >> >> >> A Smarthost simply means that instead of your server directly
>>>> >> >> >> connecting
>>>> >> >> >> to
>>>> >> >> >> the target server, you will forward all mail to your ISP
>>>> >> >> >> first, and
>>>> >> >> >> your
>>>> >> >> >> ISP
>>>> >> >> >> will do the actual delivery of the mail. ISP's typically will
>>>> >> >> >> allow
>>>> >> >> >> their
>>>> >> >> >> customers to do this.
>>>> >> >> >>
>>>> >> >> >> Did the company that setup your server indicate what the tweak
>>>> >> >> >> was?
>>>> >> >> >> Regardless, if you are able to resolve MX records for yahoo
>>>> >> >> >> and
>>>> >> >> >> aol,
>>>> >> >> >> it
>>>> >> >> >> won't be a problem with your DNS server.
>>>> >> >> >>
>>>> >> >> >> --
>>>> >> >> >> Ben Winzenz
>>>> >> >> >> Exchange MVP
>>>> >> >> >> MessageOne
>>>> >> >> >> Read my blog!
>>>> >> >> >> http://winzenz.blogspot.com
>>>> >> >> >> http://feeds.feedburner.com/winzenz (RSS Feed)
>>>> >> >> >>
>>>> >> >> >>
>>>> >> >> >> "ESI" <ESI@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>> >> >> >> news:3645EA9A-C86D-4FCD-945D-85F36E1E948A@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> >> >> >> > When we switched from Interland hosting our email to hosting
>>>> >> >> >> > our
>>>> >> >> >> > own,
>>>> >> >> >> > it
>>>> >> >> >> > was
>>>> >> >> >> > quite a feat to get them to understand what needed changed,
>>>> >> >> >> > as I
>>>> >> >> >> > remember
>>>> >> >> >> > our
>>>> >> >> >> > server IT person had to walk them thru it. Quite
>>>> >> >> >> > conceiveably
>>>> >> >> >> > they
>>>> >> >> >> > didn't
>>>> >> >> >> > do
>>>> >> >> >> > it correctly.
>>>> >> >> >> >
>>>> >> >> >> > We do have a static ip for our Exchange Server. SBC is our
>>>> >> >> >> > ISP
>>>> >> >> >> > and
>>>> >> >> >> > our
>>>> >> >> >> > website is hosted by Interland currently. I want to be sure,
>>>> >> >> >> > I am
>>>> >> >> >> > asking
>>>> >> >> >> > SBC
>>>> >> >> >> > to re-map our ptr record back to esi-extrusion.com and not
>>>> >> >> >> > interland?
>>>> >> >> >> >
>>>> >> >> >> > I'm do not know what Smarthost is. I'm sorry. I'm going to
>>>> >> >> >> > do a
>>>> >> >> >> > search
>>>> >> >> >> > and
>>>> >> >> >> > read up on it shortly.
>>>> >> >> >> >
>>>> >> >> >> > I know people in general don't like to help newbies or
>>>> >> >> >> > generally
>>>> >> >> >> > stupid
>>>> >> >> >> > people thrust into a position by their company. If I get
>>>> >> >> >> > this all
>>>> >> >> >> > worked
>>>> >> >> >> > out,
>>>> >> >> >> > just know that someone will think your a hero.
>>>> >> >> >> >
>>>> >> >> >> > "Ben Winzenz [Exchange MVP]" wrote:
>>>> >> >> >> >
>>>> >> >> >> >> You have a PTR record, but it does not map to your MX
>>>> >> >> >> >> record.
>>>> >> >> >> >> If a
>>>> >> >> >> >> receiving mail server is doing a reverse-DNS lookup, then
>>>> >> >> >> >> the
>>>> >> >> >> >> PTR
>>>> >> >> >> >> record
>>>> >> >> >> >> will not match the name that the server says it is and
>>>> >> >> >> >> could
>>>> >> >> >> >> cause
>>>> >> >> >> >> the
>>>> >> >> >> >> connection to be rejected.
>>>> >> >> >> >>
>>>> >> >> >> >> Do you have a static IP address, or is this a dynamic IP?
>>>> >> >> >> >> If
>>>> >> >> >> >> it's
>>>> >> >> >> >> a
>>>> >> >> >> >> dynamic
>>>> >> >> >> >> IP, then you won't have any control over this. If static,
>>>> >> >> >> >> you
>>>> >> >> >> >> can
>>>> >> >> >> >> ask
>>>> >> >> >> >> your
>>>> >> >> >> >> ISP to modify the PTR record to map back to
>>>> >> >> >> >> mail.esi-extrusion.com,
>>
>>
>
>


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