mail stuck in outbound queue

mail stuck in outbound queue (Full Version)

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netfin -> mail stuck in outbound queue (13.Nov.2006 3:42:46 PM)
Hi, I am trying to work my way through a mail routing issue with very little success and Im hoping someone can help me out. I am running Exchange Server 20003 with SP2. I have recently noticed no outbound email was getting to its destination. I checked the queue in systems manager only to see that all the messages were in a retry state. The addtional information stated the server did not respond to the connection attempt. This is the same with all the outbound messages. I ran smtpdiag on the server, and everything was fine, it found an mx record for the destination server but failed with a 10060 error. This is the case with all the mail servers I tried. I tried to telnet these servers on port 25 and I get "could not open connection to host. Connection failed" I tried telneting my exchange server on port 25 from the internal network - all ok I tried telneting my exchange server on port 25 from the external network - all ok I tried telneting an external web server on port 80 - all ok I checked my firewall - no outbound rules whatsoever Symantec Auto-protect found a virus which it deleted.. I thought this may have done something strange, but a full scan by a number of virus scanners detected nothing out of the ordinary. I had installed GFI mail essential, which I subsequently uninstalled - still no joy I am completely stumped here... up until yeaterday everything was working fine Internal mail is working fine! Any help on this would be great... its really doing my head in. Peter

jchong -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (13.Nov.2006 4:02:44 PM)
Sounds like some local firewall policy. I doubt your telnet's to port 25 are leaving your server. Try confirming in your firewall logs. Double all firewall\av\ipsec related apps, disable all of them.

netfin -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (13.Nov.2006 4:59:46 PM)
I think your right. I can see anything in the firewall log for connections made to any destination on port 25. This would indicate a problem with the server.,.. I have disabled all antivirus services but to no avail.. how else can I diagnose the cause of this? Peter

jchong -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (13.Nov.2006 5:17:41 PM)
Check your event logs, see if you can isolate the time range and see if anything happened, updates, changes etc.

netfin -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (14.Nov.2006 2:35:22 AM)
Hi, I checked the event logs and everything looks clean. All services seem to be functioning as expected. .. Im starting to wonder if I have cuaght something nasty which is causing this.. my experience of old has told me that we nothing makes sense... there musdt me another explanation which has always turned out to be a virus.. ... although Im welcome to any other suggestions. Peter

uemurad -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (14.Nov.2006 9:32:24 AM)
Check your firewall logs again. When you attempt to Telnet outbound from your Exchange server, the traffic should show up whether it succeeds or fails (provided it's getting that far). Are there any other devices between your Exchange server and the outside world? Perform a TraceRT to one of those outside mail servers to confirm.

netfin -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (14.Nov.2006 4:02:32 PM)
Hi, I cant see anything recorded on the firewall... although it doesnt log much. How else can I check the the telnet requests are hitting the firewall.. I still think the problem is server related. I can telnet to other ports on external servers except for 25.. There are no other devices between the server and the firewall Peter

jchong -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (14.Nov.2006 4:12:36 PM)
You might have to stop all processes and services that you possibly can and see if you can telnet out. If it's a virus most of the time a process is running in task manager unless it's some sort of malware.

netfin -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (15.Nov.2006 2:29:57 AM)
This is getting extremely frustrating... I have disabled all the services and tried to telnet wihout success I can without success... I have also looked up all the processes and they belong to legitimate application I have on the Server ... as so the services. I disabled my firewall completely just in case and that hasnt done anything either... It seems I am able to telnet from a client machine which would indicate the problem is server related.... Any more ideas gladly welcomed.... Peter

jchong -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (15.Nov.2006 9:39:25 AM)
You're going to have to go down this route. One install smtp service on another box. Ensure that from inside another host can telnet to port 25 on this new smtp box. Then plug a cross over cable from your ex box to this new smtp box, then try telnet to port 25 on this smtp box. Then we can def isolate whether its some imtermediary switch\firewall issue. If you still cannot telnet then we know it's local to your ex box. Then what you will need to do is run some port scanning software\process auditing software etc.

netfin -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (15.Nov.2006 3:35:44 PM)
Ok ... I have setup an SMTP service on a client workstation and am able to telnet to port 25 from the server... this is traversing a couple of switches so it elimates the the switches and the server as the problem... Problem must be firewall related, but I dont see how. I disabled the firewall complety and had the same problem.... Perhaps my ISP?? Peter

uemurad -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (15.Nov.2006 3:52:10 PM)
Did you perform the TraceRT test? Again, I would look at the route taken to get from your Exchange server to an outside mail server. Do you recognize all of your devices it encounters on it's way out to the Internet? Any surprises? Any of them have any way to filter port 25 traffic? When you disable the firewall, do you see the traffic? Perhaps it isn't reaching that far. Can you take that workstation you set up and connect it on the other side of the firewall to test with telnet? It sounds like your internal network is fine.

netfin -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (15.Nov.2006 4:01:47 PM)
My network isnt overly complex... Server to switch, switch to Firwall, firewall to ISP. I have run a tracert to an outside mailserver from my server, no suprises there... gets out fine. When I try to telnet from a client to an external mail server on port 25 i dont get a connection timeout as I do from my server. I get greeted with a blank black screen. It looks like its working but i cant see anything.. almost like echo has been turned off... This is the same no matter which server I connect to. ... does this mean I am telneting ok from a client or no? How can I make sure? ... am I making sense? Peter

uemurad -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (15.Nov.2006 4:39:47 PM)
Are you sure that the server your are connecting accepts SMTP connections? That's the type of response you get if the port is open but there's nothing there to field the request. Try it from a workstation to another workstation and see if the same thing happens. If there is an SMTP service running, it should reply with an SMTP code and typically the server name.

netfin -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (16.Nov.2006 2:18:59 AM)
Hi, I have tried to telnet from a couple of workstations on the domin and get the same black screen.. Some of the servers I have tried are smtp.btclick.com mail.btinternet.com mail.btopenworld.com post.demon.co.uk If you can try on your end to confirm they work that would be great... If I cant telnet out to any server on port 25 from anywhere within my network, it can only be my ISP right? ....but why im not getting the same error message as my server I dont understand.... Peter

uemurad -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (16.Nov.2006 9:32:18 AM)
The first three work fine. The last one tells me SMTP service not available on x.x.x.x. By all means, check with your ISP. What type of router do you have between you and your ISP (and do you have access to it)?

netfin -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (16.Nov.2006 10:51:10 AM)
Hi, I'll check with my ISP tonight to be on the safe side. The firewall/router I have is the Speedtouch 716 which I have already set back to factory defaults and reconfigured. If its not my ISP causing the problem, do you have any thoughts on what could be causing my issue? Peter

jchong -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (16.Nov.2006 11:19:19 AM)
It could be your isp blocking smtp port. There was a recent thread which is similar when you spoke about when telnetting from a client machine to another domains smtp server you get a blank screen with no greeting. Another user found out that his isp was blocking port 25. Usually when a port is blocked you don't even get that blank screen but connection timeout for example. But given that he was getting the blank screen as you are, possibly the isp is blocking the port.

uemurad -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (16.Nov.2006 1:44:46 PM)
I asked about your router wondering if it logs traffic and if you have access to the logs. I'm curious if you can see port 25 traffic getting through, or if something in the router is blocking (and if so, what).

netfin -> RE: mail stuck in outbound queue (16.Nov.2006 2:29:03 PM)
Hi, Unfortunately the firewall logging capabilities are limited. Only incoming traffic is logged - no outgoing so its impossible to see what is hitting the firewall unless I use some sort of a sniffer.. Peter

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