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Verify inbound SMTP email is always arriving
Verify inbound SMTP email is always arriving
- I'm looking for a monitoring product for Exchange 2003/2007. I need this to verify that we are always receiving inbound SMTP email. We have multiple SMTP servers in front of our Exchange server (3rd party spam filter is one of them). One of our main reoccuring issues is that for various reasons our Exchange server will stop receiving inbound SMTP email. It could be a network issue (between our data center and corporate office) or one of the proceeding non-Exchange SMTP servers stops forwarding it. There are no problems with Exchange so monitoring Exchange services, queues, etc has not helped. The only way we typically find out about this problem is when users report that we aren't receiving email from the outside. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm thinking a monitoring product might help, but it may be a service or some other solution. Basically how do you know when you stop receiving SMTP email without sending tests or relying on users telling you?
Answers
- Well I guess it is out of control from your Exchange environment unless mail hits Exchange SMTP stack and record the communication in SMTP log...In your case you need to put monitoring for your SMTP servers which are sitting in front of Exchange since problem arise there, if those are Windows server then you can look for SCOM with IIS management pack but if those are not Windows servers or running any other third-party products then you may need to consult their respective support to find out the monitoring way for it...
Amit Tank | MVP – Exchange Server | MCITP: EMA | MCSA: M | http://ExchangeShare.WordPress.com
- Marked As Answer byMike ShenMSFT, ModeratorMonday, September 21, 2009 2:11 AM
- Proposed As Answer byMike ShenMSFT, ModeratorWednesday, September 02, 2009 4:06 AM
- DISCLAIMER: My company owns this product.
Check out www.mailboxtools.com. There is a subscription service called Email Down ALERT. Basically, it sends an email from the outside world into your Exchange system (it will travel through all the servers you mention). Then, a mailbox on your system auto-replies. If the "roundtrip" email doesn't complete in a certain amount of time (which you set, say 5 minutes) you are alerted.
Best,
Isaac- Marked As Answer byMontana_Mike Friday, October 02, 2009 1:03 PM
All Replies
- Well I guess it is out of control from your Exchange environment unless mail hits Exchange SMTP stack and record the communication in SMTP log...In your case you need to put monitoring for your SMTP servers which are sitting in front of Exchange since problem arise there, if those are Windows server then you can look for SCOM with IIS management pack but if those are not Windows servers or running any other third-party products then you may need to consult their respective support to find out the monitoring way for it...
Amit Tank | MVP – Exchange Server | MCITP: EMA | MCSA: M | http://ExchangeShare.WordPress.com
- Marked As Answer byMike ShenMSFT, ModeratorMonday, September 21, 2009 2:11 AM
- Proposed As Answer byMike ShenMSFT, ModeratorWednesday, September 02, 2009 4:06 AM
Thanks but it's still kind of tough since I'm only responsible for the Exchange server. Whenever any problem occurs for whatever reason, I get asked, "can't you tell when your server stops receiving email from the outside?" It may be network related (change in firewall rules, incorrect MX record update) or it could be one of the servers ahead of it. It seems like a simple task and request to be able to determine whether my Exchange server is receiving email, but I've never found a way to tell without someone reporting it and then verifying via a test and then troubleshooting what is causing it...
- DISCLAIMER: My company owns this product.
Check out www.mailboxtools.com. There is a subscription service called Email Down ALERT. Basically, it sends an email from the outside world into your Exchange system (it will travel through all the servers you mention). Then, a mailbox on your system auto-replies. If the "roundtrip" email doesn't complete in a certain amount of time (which you set, say 5 minutes) you are alerted.
Best,
Isaac- Marked As Answer byMontana_Mike Friday, October 02, 2009 1:03 PM
- Hi,
I do not think that Exchange has function to know whether the Exchange Server is able to receiving email. It is because the Exchange has no idea when the other SMTP servers will send message to it.
Thanks,
Mike - It sounds like Exchange cannot tell if it hasn't received an SMTP message for X period of time...even days. Due to our inbound email volume, it would be very rare that an SMTP message isn't received at least every 5 minutes unless there is a problem.
Your company's product looks like a very possible alternative for verifying inbound mail flow. Thanks for the info.
