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routed messages are stuck in queue folder

I am sending mass email to my opt-in members of my business, around 30000 recipients. I am routing all mails to a smart host (an exchange 2003 server in the same network) from a virtual smtp on Win 2003 server, IIS 6). All mails go to the exchange server and be in the queue in a reasonable time (c:\program files\exchsrvr\mailroot\queue).

Once messages are in the queue, the exchange server starts sending mails immediately, but slow. it takes a day to send about 20000 messages. somehow, about 10000 emails are stuck in the queue and don't go out, still staying there for a few days.

Can someone help me to solve this problem? Thanks.

If you click on one of the stuck queues in Exchange System Manager, at the bottom of the window there is additional queue information. What does it say?

How big are your emails (in kb) and how fast is your outbound internet connection?

ASKER

type: internet email message date modified: 12/22/2009 3:52 pm size: 3.49 kb

my outbound speed it 1.5 m.

Thanks.

ASKER

alanhardisty - are you referring to windows explorer view? i don't see any list in: "stuck queues in Exchange System Manager"

thanks.

Okay in terms is size, quantity and Internet speed.

If the first part of your post is the queue info, that's not the right info I am afraid, can you please have another look.

I am referring to the queues section under Exchange System Manager. There should be a list of domains not being sent out. If you click on one of the domains, down the bottom is additional info about why the queue is having problems.

ASKER

sorry for the delay

I see... i found messages in the queue. they have different reasons being in the queue.
1. the connection was dropped by the remote host
2. the remote server did not respond to a connection attempt
3. an smtp protocol error occurred
4. unable to bind to the destination server in DNS

thanks.

That's better - thanks.
Most of these suggest that your domain is not setup properly or does not have SPF / Reverse DNS etc.
The last one is a bad email address / domain, so nothing can be done there.
Please have a read of my FAQ on problems sending mail to particular domains:
http://www.it-eye.co.uk/faqs/readQuestion.php?qid=2

ASKER

ok. i reviewed the website and followed some suggestions from the site. it says:

Check your domain on http://www.dnsstuff.com / http://www.mxtoolbox.com/diagnostic.aspx and see if you have a Reverse DNS pointer setup. If you do not have one setup - call your ISP and ask them to set one up to match the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) that your mail server responds as e.g., mail.yourcompany.com.

so, i went mxtoolbox.com and did smtp diagnostic. it reported that everything is "OK" with one warning.

Warning - Reverse DNS does not match SMTP Banner

Do you know how to check reverse dns pointer setup?

thanks. I can tell i am getting closer to the solution. :-)

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ASKER

these are what i found
value: rrcs-70-62-159-244.central.biz.rr.com
host: 244.159.62.70.in-addr.arpa
type: ptr

what do i do with this information? should i put them somewhere on my server?

sorry. i dont understand exactly what you mean here. "you need to ask for one to be setup to match the greeting name of your mail server e.g., mail.yourdomain.com"

can rephrase this one more time?

thanks bunch.

ASKER

as matter of fact, you can see this link about the reverse dns

http://www.zoneedit.com/lookup.html?ipaddress=70.62.159.244&server=&reverse=Look+it+up

ASKER

i guess... i have to change the reverse dns value to

70-62-159-244.hydra.openteetime.com from 70-62-159-244.central.biz.rr.com.

am i right?

do you think this change will solve the problem in general?

thanks.

Okay - Thanks for the info. You need to call your Internet Service Provider and ask them to add Reverse DNS to your fixed IP Address and the detail they need to add is hydra.openteetime.com.
This should solve most if not all of your problems - unless there is something else adrift with your configuration.

ASKER

alanhardisty: Thanks. I asked to my ISP changing the dns entry. i will wait for 3 days and see if this solve my issue here. if so, i will comeback and accept your answer the solution.

i appreciate your help so far.

You are welcome - adding Reverse DNS should resolve quite a lot of email problems, but only time will tell.
In the mean-time - have a great Xmas & catch you in a few days.
Alan

ASKER

Merry x-mas to you too!

yea, we will see what happen in a few days.

what's your main specialty in terms of technical skills? just curious.

Thanks.

Looking at my stats on EE - it is Exchange by far, then SBS.
My experience is heavily in Exchange 2003 with SBS 2003, but recently upgraded to Exchane 2010 and learning fast.
I have very good knowledege of Activesync with 2003 and iPhones / Windows Mobile Phones etc.

ASKER

alanhardisty: I hope you can see my comment.

My IP's reverse DNS is now changed to hydra.openteetime.com. the result of reverse dns check is:

70.62.159.244 resolves to
"hydra.openteetime.com"
Top Level Domain: "openteetime.com"
Country IP Address: UNITED STATES

looks right. however, the exchange server still holds the messages in the queue. can you help? thanks.

exchange.JPG

Hmm. Very odd.
What Service Pack is the Exchange Server currently on?
Right-click on the server name in Exchange System Manager and choose properties. You should see the following screen:

Exchange-Server-Version.jpg

ASKER

My exchange server version is exactly the same as what i see in your picture.

Have you got forwarders setup on your DNS server so that DNS can resolve your outgoing email domain names?
Open up DNS (Administrative Tools) and then expand down until you see your DNS server. CLick onto your server and then right-click it and choose properties. Click on the forwarders tab and see if you have your ISP's DNS servers addresses added. If you do - are these current?
Please then click on the monitoring tab, select both check boxes and click on test now. You should see PASS PASS below if all is working.

ASKER

Well. DNS servers were now setup right. I just changed to the current ones and tested. it passed for both. Should I expect the queue to be clear sometime soon? Thanks.

Ideally if you have made a DNS change and there were problems before, then yes, but if no major changes to DNS have been made and the queues are not going down, then something else is not right.
Please look down the queues and check the additional queue info at the bottom. What do most of them say? Are they different errors?

ASKER

I see... the queue still have that stack.

so far, i see message

1. the connection was dropped by the remote host
2. the remote server did not respond to a connection attempt
3. an smtp protocol error occurred
4. unable to bind to the destination server in DNS

same as before.

Okay - thanks for that. Can you please drop me an email to alan @ it-eye.co.uk form your domain account - my server has anti-spam software that will advise the reason for rejecting if you are not setup properly. This might throw up something I have missed.
Thanks - Alan

ASKER

I just sent you an email. Please let me know if you don't get one. Thanks.

Nothing has hit my server yet - which suggests there is a problem with that queue too. Please check and advise.

Can you use telnet to test port 25 outbound.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/153119
Please wrap email addresses in square brackets < >.
You can test my mail server if you like. (mail.it-eye.co.uk)

ASKER

hmmm... I am using outlook 2007. the email server is hydra.openteetime.com, the exchange server. I see this email is still in my outbox and stuck. my send command is not working either... any idea?

ASKER

Here is the screenshot
outbox.JPG

That does not sound good.
Please can you download and run the Exchange 2003 Best Practices Analyzer and see what that throws up (on the Exchange Server:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=DBAB201F-4BEE-4943-AC22-E2DDBD258DF3&displaylang=en

ASKER

after rebooting the server, my outlook started sending emails again. I just sent you another one. and, i am working on the analyzer. i may have to comeback in awhile. thanks.

I got your test message and have replied. Will await the analyzer results.

ASKER

alanhardisty's help was very in-depth and I have total understanding of the issue. Finally, we found that the emails messages in the queue were non-delivable due to invalid email address or domain. Great Experience with Expert Exchange!

Thanks.