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Obsolete Releases => SME Server 7.x => Topic started by: p-jones on March 22, 2009, 12:04:28 AM

Title: Strange Email Issue
Post by: p-jones on March 22, 2009, 12:04:28 AM
I have a strange email issue happening which I cannot get my head around.

Have a small server only system serving one application for about 5 users. Everything is working fine, including a backup yo the main W2K server.

The email report bounces back then proceeds to send me details of the bounced email report. If it sends me the bounce report, why will it not send me the main report ? The admin account is set to send admin emails to my off-site email address.

I have tried passing the mail to the ISP and direct delivery. Result is same.

I am sure this is not a bug. It is a misconfiguration and something I am missing.


Quote
Hi. This is the qmail-send program at realty.local.
I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following addresses.
This is a permanent error; I've given up. Sorry it didn't work out.

<me@mydomain.co.nz>:
124.198.191.30 does not like recipient.
Remote host said: 550-Verification failed for <root@realty.local>
550-The mail server could not deliver mail to root@realty.local.  The account or domain may not exist, they may be blacklisted, or missing the proper dns entries.
550 Sender verify failed
Giving up on 124.198.191.30.

--- Below this line is a copy of the message.

Return-Path: <root@realty.local>
Received: (qmail 17613 invoked by uid 101); 21 Mar 2009 22:27:24 -0000
Delivered-To: admin@realserver.realty.local
Received: (qmail 17607 invoked by alias); 21 Mar 2009 22:27:24 -0000
Delivered-To: alias-localdelivery-admin@realty.local
Received: (qmail 17603 invoked by uid 0); 21 Mar 2009 22:27:24 -0000
Date: 21 Mar 2009 22:27:24 -0000
Message-ID: <20090321222724.17602.qmail@realty.local>
Cc: recipient list not shown: ;
From: admin-backup@realty.local
Subject: Daily Backup Report
 
Anyone with some suggestions please
Title: Re: Strange Email Issue
Post by: janet on March 22, 2009, 03:23:14 AM
p-jones
 
Quote
Anyone with some suggestions please

Google for
Remote host said: 550-Verification failed

Title: Re: Strange Email Issue
Post by: p-jones on March 22, 2009, 09:32:55 AM
Mary, thanks for that. I have done a lot of googling and forum searching in the last fews days. Whilst I have found a lot of information, I cannot find anything that I can specifically attribute to what is happening here, in this enviroment.

It does not make sense to me why I should get an NDR email for the backup report without getting an email containing the backup report. The endpoint for each, is the same, I thought and should therefore be handled the same.

Quote
124.198.191.30 does not like recipient.
Also unclear to me is the relevance of this IP. This is not a significant IP for my own ISP nor is it a significant IP for the ISP which the server is off-loading to. I am 110% certain the systems at each end are "clean".
Title: Re: Strange Email Issue
Post by: janet on March 22, 2009, 10:26:37 AM
p-jones

Who is Maxnet ?
http://private.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=124.198.191.30
Title: Re: Strange Email Issue
Post by: p-jones on March 22, 2009, 10:39:27 AM
They are a hosting service but I am unclear where they fit into the chain.

They are not the ISP at either end of this line but they could be an intermediary.

I will need to talk to the ISP on the next working day to find out how they fit into this, if at all.

Oh and BTW, the a well known locally for having a flakey DNS service
Title: Re: Strange Email Issue
Post by: p-jones on March 22, 2009, 10:52:29 AM
Mary
Quote
Who is Maxnet ?
http://private.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=124.198.191.30

In asking this question, you have triggered a few sleeping neurons. I think I can now see what is happening and what I need to do.

I had previously done a whois and dismissed the answer as being irrelevant.

Thanks - I believe you have helped me enormously.
Title: Re: Strange Email Issue
Post by: janet on March 22, 2009, 11:25:05 AM
p-jones

Quote
Thanks - I believe you have helped me enormously.

Good, just trying to steer the grey matter in the right direction !
Title: Re: Strange Email Issue
Post by: janet on March 22, 2009, 11:36:31 AM
p-jones

Your mail server tried sending a message to/via a mail server at 124.198.191.30
and it rejects your message for a reason ie
124.198.191.30 does not like recipient.

Your mail server then replies directly to you (locally) saying undeliverable.

You need to find out why 124.198.191.30 "does not like recipient".
Title: Re: Strange Email Issue
Post by: p-jones on March 22, 2009, 11:50:39 AM
Mary

You are right. I couldnt see the wood from the trees because I overlooked the significance of 124.198.191.30

I think 124.198.191.30 may be a bureau hoster for my service provider. It is trying to do a reverse DNS lookup on @realty.local domain and is corrct in not getting a response and therefore rejecting the message as part of it anti-spam, anti-relay policy. Incidentally, I am sending the message via 124.198.191.30

Once I address this the issue will be resolved. I have several options. Just need to sleep on the best option.

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction
Peter
Title: Re: Strange Email Issue
Post by: janet on March 22, 2009, 12:20:50 PM
p-jones

Due to the ever increasing popularity and usage of spam prevention measures by mail servers, such as RevDNS, SPF etc, if you are running your own mail server (and not sending mail via your ISP's smtp server), then you really have no choice but to configure RDNS & SPF for your domains/server.

see
http://wiki.contribs.org/SME_Server:Documentation:Administration_Manual:Appendix
Title: Re: Strange Email Issue
Post by: p-jones on March 22, 2009, 12:36:31 PM
This mail is being handed to an ISP and using authentication, is being accepted and handed on. It is when it gets to this 124.x.x.x IP that it becomes a problem. If it traversed any other route, it would not be an issue.

Another reason I was stumped. Done this many times before but not had this server in the route.

Thanks for the quick reference to that link. If this server does end up being a permanent fixture, I am going to need that.

Peter