Re: Undeliverable Mail

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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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