Problem with some mailboxes

Question

Hello.
Version:
iPlanet Messaging Server 5.2 HotFix 2.10 (built Dec 26 2005)
libimta.so 5.2 HotFix 2.10 (built 12:00:16, Dec 26 2005)
SunOS unimail 5.9 Generic_122300-02 sun4u sparc SUNW,Ultra-80
Today we have a rare situation:
I can send messages to almost all local mailboxes, but some mailboxes I can�t.
If I run in the server the command "imsimta test -rewrite" for a "problem mailbox", everything is ok, but If I try to send a message usign a POP client I obtain an error (connection with smtp server fails). If I send messages to another mailboxes from my POP client everything is ok.
In the server I did a telnet to port 25, and I can send a message to the "problem account". When I try in my machine (the same with the client POP), telnet is ok, helo is ok, mail from: is ok, but rcpt to: I put the address and the server takes like 5 minutes to say +250 2.1.5 aa@domain OK+ and I can send the message.
I tested in another machines with POP clients and the situation is the same.
I stopped the server, delete the /store/mboxlist/*.log, started again, reconstruct the account with the problem, reconstruct -r for all, and nothing.
In the mail.log I can�t find anything.
We have a firewall in the middle, but I can send to some boxes normally, I don�t believe this is the problem.
What can I do?
Thanks in advance and sorry for my poor English. If you need more info please tell me.
Carlos

Answer 1

CarlosMT wrote:
In the server I did a telnet to port 25, and I can send a message to the "problem account". When I try in my machine (the same with the client POP), telnet is ok, helo is ok, mail from: is ok, but rcpt to: I put the address and the server takes like 5 minutes to say +250 2.1.5 aa@domain OK+ and I can send the message. => Do you have any DNS blacklist checks or dns lookups or some other fancy access control callouts in your mappings table?
=> Check your directory server access logs and see what the etime is for searches for "aa@domain". Are there any "notes=U" entries?
=> Consider when this problem first started happening -- did anything change in your environment, or break (networking/DNS/SAN ....), is anything else running slow (user logins etc.)?
=> What is different about the users that 'work' vs the users that don't work? Are they in different domains, do they have forwarding enabled, vacation message... so on?
I tested in another machines with POP clients and the situation is the same.
I stopped the server, delete the /store/mboxlist/*.log, started again, reconstruct the account with the problem, reconstruct -r for all, and nothing.If you are having problems sending email, then the problem is unlikely to have anything to do with store database. This will be MTA related.
We have a firewall in the middle, but I can send to some boxes normally, I don�t believe this is the problem. => I have an innate distrust of firewalls as they have caused so many problems in the past for other customers. Are you able to configure an email client to send directly to messaging server and bypass the firewall -- just to remove this as a potential cause?
Regards,
Shane.