Gerry,
HOSTS file (\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts) is always present and in use
by TCPIP! However, its contents are subject to being inspected for
correctness . As I have said many times before in this forum, it should
contain exactly this:
120.0.0.1 localhost
And should (must, if you want the machine to resolve its own name without
needing a DNS query!) also have:
w.x.y.z host.domain.name
where w..x.y.z is the IP used in TCPIP settings for first NIC and
host.domain.name is that assigned by DNS and used in the TCPIP/DNS (NT4)
setting. Personally, I recommend this line be in the HOSTS file.
If the above IP, in IMail, is using a different name (like 'domain.name'
rather than 'host.domain.name'), then one more line is _required_ by IMail
and that is:
w.x.y.z domain.name.
-------------
As to the SMTP service on the Web Server and my understanding thereof:
If it is only for outbound, then it should not accept the remotes inbound
connection and delivery attempt. If it did not answer, then IMail (or any
other mail server, for that matter!) could not connect and would just
re-queue the message when the MX host is down.
So, again I say that Web Server and its SMTP is mis-configured (accepting a
connection when it should not or not being configured as the 'backup'
server, when it is in that position, by default). That is one of the reasons
for my belief that a web server IP should not be the IP for the domain.
Reverting to this IP for email, when MX host is not responding, is a common
and recommended (by RFC) practice.
---------
If you can prove what you are saying (IMail does not use MX records) with
log files, I'm sure someone at Ipswitch would gladly take a look. Best, if
you can show several complete transactions with as much info (Debug enabled
in SMTP, stop/start service). If you have one that always fails, that would
be the one I'd want to see!
PS - here is a conversation I had with what I believe is your IMail server.
If it is, and this IP is the Primary of the computer, then I think you may
also have IMail misconfigured. If it is as I suspect, the note about the
HOSTS file and IMails requirement above, and you add that line, it could
have positive effects on the system.
220 X1 WTS Dallas---UCE Not Tolerated
mail from: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
250 ok
rcpt to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
550 not local host ipswitch.com, not a gateway (won't relay to myself,
good!)
rcpt to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
550 not local host mail.wts.net, not a gateway (I would have expected an
'unknown user here, if mail. is OHN or in Alias)
rcpt to: root
250 ok its for <root> (as expected, OK)
rcpt to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
550 not local host mail.wts.net, not a gateway (hmmm, not accepting the
host.domain.name form.... that domain or alias, mail.wts.net, does not exist
in IMail)
rcpt to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
250 ok its for <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (Alias or OHN of the domain)
rcpt to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
250 ok deliver to alternate (this is not too good! IMail accepting for a
user that does not exist in the wts.net domain. I expected an 'unknown user'
error msg here! So now IMail would have a message to deliver, but may not be
able to, if I had continued.)
You DO have a nobody alias! Here is the response from the server:
rcpt to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
250 ok its for <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>)
This will cause IMail to accept email it normally would not (and would
normally bounce with 'unknown user'). BTW, I put a message in your queue for
[EMAIL PROTECTED] and I'm expecting a bounce (that won't happen as your
postmaster or whomever is responsible for handling 'nobody', will get it,
instead and have to process it, before I ever see a response!).
Daniel Donnelly
________________________________________________________
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gerry Dalton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2000 1:19 PM
Subject: [IMail Forum] Re:Unknow Users Reject High ??
>
>
>
>
> At 10:44 AM 11/20/2000 -0500, Daniel Donnelly wrote:
>
>
> >Also, NT (like other O/Ss) checks the local HOSTS file prior to querying
> >DNS, so entries there can cause DNS to be bypassed.
>
> No HOSTS file is present.
>
> >If the DNS you use is having problems, that will cause trouble for IMail.
> >I'd suggest you try another DNS (your providers?) as the DNS entry in the
> >IMail SMTP settings. If that show improved delivery, then I think you are
> >having DNS problems.
>
> Using UU.Net's DNS servers for the IMAIL server changed to local, no
> difference.
>
>
> >Not much can be done if the destination domain has only one MX host and
on
> >the Web Server there is a misconfigured (won't accept that domains mail!)
> >SMTP. That would have to be fixed at their end.
>
> Maybe you are mis-undertanding, many times the www server has an smtp
> service running for outbound mail, and was never meant to accept inbond
> mail for that domain. If Imail went to the MX records first, each time
> this would not happen, but it appears that it is not happening since 6.04
> or so. It is trying the default domain name first and not trying the MX
> records. I'd like to see if any more people have noticed an increase in
> Unknown User rejects coming back to their customers.
>
> I have my IMGate box now handling all outbound mail from IMail, and the
> problems have gone away. As soon as I put IMail doing the delivery the
> unknown user rejects increase. I believe their is a correlation which
> needs to looked into.
>
> Gerry
>
>
>
> Please visit http://www.ipswitch.com/support/mailing-lists.html
> to be removed from this list.
>
> An Archive of this list is available at:
> http://www.mail-archive.com/imail_forum%40list.ipswitch.com/
>
Please visit http://www.ipswitch.com/support/mailing-lists.html
to be removed from this list.
An Archive of this list is available at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/imail_forum%40list.ipswitch.com/
