hotmail.com & verizon.net problems

[jlasman]

It looks as if we can't hold incoming connections from either hotmail.com or from verizon.net (as well as a few other, smaller,
domains).

My clients are telling me they're not having problems getting email from these domains using other email addresses.

Are you having similar problems?

Do you have any idea what I should look for?

here's an example of what I find (over and over again) in /var/log/exim/mainlog:

2003-12-15 14:24:43 SMTP connection from (hotmail.com) [64.4.19.122] lost while reading message data


Thanks for any ideas you may have.

Jeff

[ProWebUK]

Tried the simple but often effective restart of exim?

Chris

[jlasman]

Yes, and even just restarted the entire server. Doesn't help.

However, I did find out something a few minutes ago...

The server was accidentally unplugged and replugged about the same time this started happening.

Anyone know what I should look at to see if it's been damaged? Or what I can reinstall? or what mail directories may have been screwed up?

Jeff

[ProWebUK]

http://www.directadmin.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=897

Theres your info for re-installing exim, very simple process as im sure you will agree :)

Chris

[jlasman]

While those instructions are for upgrading, I do think they'll work for a 4.x reinstall as well. I'll try them later tonight when no one will be using the server for email.

Thanks.

Jeff

[ProWebUK]

Its removing the exim rpm and putting a newer version ther, if you wish use rpm -e as it states then use your previous rpm.

Either way will work fine, it was just intended for users wanting to upgrade :)

Chris

[jlasman]

Did it.

It didn't fix anything :( .

I have absolutely no idea what to do at this point, except take all my customers off DirectAdmin.

Anyone have any ideas?

Jeff

[jlasman]

Can you please email me (see my sig) with an email address of yours on your DA server, so I can try emailing you with an attachment from hotmail and you can see ifyou get it?

Thanks.

Jeff

[Two_A_T]

you can try emailing me at webmaster@two-a-t.com

[ProWebUK]

It wouldn't be spamassassin holding it back by any chance would it?..... have you tried other attachments? Edit: or tried sending the particular attachment from another email address elsewhere?

Chris

[jlasman]

No, it's got nothing to do with spamassassin.

The same attachment comes in fine when I send it from lots of other mailservers; it doesn't from hotmail, from verizon, and perhaps from others.

It doesn't matter what the attachment is.

It's got me at a loss. I've already lost clients; I'm going to build a new server tomorrow but I'm a bit scared of using DA right now.

Anybody have any ideas?

Jeff

[ProWebUK]

Seems very weird.

Last few suggetions:

- Have you modified your exim config in any way?

- What version were you running before following the upgrade procedure i linked you to? - if you run it as an upgrade i have no idea, if you upgraded previously and just did a removal / installation then you may want to revert to v3 again to check if that makes any difference.

If anything else comes to ming i will be sure to post it, until then thats all i could suggest.

Hope from that we can fix it, even if its temporary until it can be looked an in more detail.

Chris

[jlasman]

Yes, several modifications to exim.conf, made in testing, but none before testing for this problem. The modifications were made in response to suggestions by our own esteemed support staff, and by Philip Hazel (the guy who writes exim).

I had the same version installed before the reinstall I did last night. I guess I can go backwards, but I need a copy of exim.conf from someone still running Exim 3 on DirectAdmin before I try.

Good news is a few email tests from Hotmail (with attachments) sent yesterday evening are beginning to find their way through.

Which leads me to believe it may be a connectivity issue. I've passed information to the people at the Inet Access list (inet-access.net); they're the experts :) on connectivity issues (that list, btw, is the home of the people who realy did invent the Internet, Al Gore notwithstanding).

Jeff

[ProWebUK]

Make a backup of your exim.conf and run the upgrade, it should add a new exim.conf there.

Good to hear that some emails are now coming through from hotmail :)

Chris

[jlasman]

Originally posted by ProWebUK
Make a backup of your exim.conf and run the upgrade, it should add a new exim.conf there.
Been there, done that, didn't earn the T-shirt :( .
Good to hear that some emails are now coming through from hotmail :)
As am I. Thanks, Chris.

Jeff

[jlasman]

I can now get attachments from Hotmail.

The problem was my network card was stuck as 10 mbit fd, while the switch said it was half duplex.

I used mii-tool to have the card renogiate; it's now working at 100 mbit fd, and it is receiving attchments from Hotmail.

I don't know yet about email from Verizon.
Thanks for all the help and advice.

Jeff

[wnydesigners]

I have noticed constent problems with customers calling me wondering why thier email just stoped working. It has been a big problem with Hotmail's email and also Verizon...

I would suggest just getting a email only account with a well known provider..

Thanks,

William

[ProWebUK]

Originally posted by wnydesigners
I have noticed constent problems with customers calling me wondering why thier email just stoped working. It has been a big problem with Hotmail's email and also Verizon...

I would suggest just getting a email only account with a well known provider..

Thanks,

William

Not really an option for many, I know this would not be acceptable for us and im sure many others.

Have you tried some of the suggestions in this thread aswell as checked your mail logs?

Chris

[jlasman]

Certainly not at an option for us... can you imagine one of our webhosting clients telling us he can receive email from his customer at his name@hisisp.com address but not at his name@hisowndomain.com address?

That won't fly. We'd lose the customer.

The good news in our case is I've just checked the logs and we haven't dropped a Verizon connection for 17 hours. Last night I couldn't tell for sure, because we normally only get verizon connections ten to 20 times a day.

Jeff