Managing undeliverable mail in MAIL.BOX

MAIL.BOX databases on the server may contain two types of undeliverable messages: dead messages, designated by a stop sign icon; and held messages, designated by a red exclamation point.

About this task

By default, when Domino® cannot transfer or deliver a message -- for example, when the address is typed incorrectly -- the Router returns a delivery failure report to the sender. If the Router can neither deliver the message to its intended recipient (To, CC, or BCC) nor deliver the failure report to the sender -- for example, when the recipient's address is typed incorrectly and the sender's mail server is unavailable -- the Router changes the routing state of a message to Dead.

A message that is marked Dead lists the originator of the message in the Recipients field and the address to whom the originator first sent the message in the Intended Recipient field. You can correct addressing errors in these fields to resend a delivery failure report to the originator or the original message to its intended destination.

Undeliverable messages result when a server receives mail addressed to nonexistent local recipients. Some undeliverable messages might be legitimate, as in the case where a recipient's name is misspelled or the intended recipient has resigned from the organization. But a high volume of undeliverable messages may represent what is known as a "dictionary attack" in which a spam mailer attempts to harvest email addresses in a domain by guessing every possible user name in the domain. The attacker directs a bogus mass-mailing to the target domain, using a list of names automatically generated by a script. The attacker then uses delivery failure reports returned from the target domain to determine which names are valid.

Held messages

About this task

In some cases, rather than letting Domino® generate delivery failure reports automatically, you may want to examine messages before returning them. To trap undeliverable messages, you can configure the Router to mark them as Held. For example, if you suspect that spam sites are using delivery failure responses to test addresses in your organization, you can hold undeliverable mail to eliminate this source of feedback.

When you configure the Router to hold undeliverable messages, each held message remains in MAIL.BOX indefinitely and is processed only if an administrator releases the message.

Note: If you configure MAIL.BOX to hold undeliverable messages, examine the database frequently to check for accumulated messages.

You can prevent servers from accepting mail addressed to nonexistent users by requiring Domino® to check whether a recipient has a Person document in the Domino® Directory before it can accept a message.

The Router also changes the routing state of a message to Held when directed to do so by a mail rule.

By default, when you configure the Router to hold undeliverable mail, it does not mark messages as Dead. Only if the Router cannot deliver a held message or its delivery failure report after you release it for a final delivery attempt does the Router mark any message Dead.

For each held or dead message, the views in MAIL.BOX display information about when the server received the message, as well as the sender and recipient, message size, and the reason why the message failed. In addition, Dead messages display a Dead failure reason explaining why the message could not be returned to the sender.

You can use the following methods to manage undeliverable mail in MAIL.BOX:

  • Check MAIL.BOX for undelivered mail
  • Edit the recipient and subject items of held or dead messages
  • Release held and dead messages from MAIL.BOX
  • Delete messages from MAIL.BOX

Checking MAIL.BOX for undelivered mail

About this task

Periodically examine MAIL.BOX for messages, especially if you configure MAIL.BOX to hold undeliverable messages.

Procedure

  1. From the Domino® Administrator, select the server on which you want to resolve undelivered mail.
  2. Click the Messaging > Mail tab.
  3. Select the MAIL.BOX database you want to examine by clicking Servername Mailbox (mail.box). On servers with multiple mailboxes, a separate view is available for each mailbox.
  4. Check Held and Dead messages. You can do one of three things with undeliverable messages:
    • Correct the addresses of the message recipients
    • Release the messages to their intended recipients
    • Delete the messages

Editing and releasing held or dead messages

About this task

Edit messages in MAIL.BOX to specify the destination address for resending the original message or resulting delivery failure report. You can also edit the Subject line to insert additional information about the message, such as the reason it was held or the name of the original recipient.

Procedure

  1. In the MAIL.BOX database, select the Held or Dead message for which you want to correct addresses and click CTRL-E to edit the message.
  2. Edit the address in the Recipients field or Intended Recipient field to perform one of these tasks:
    • Edit the address of a held message – To correct the destination address to which the Router resends an original message, edit the Recipients field. You can specify a Notes® address or an Internet address.

      When you release held messages, the Router ignores the entry in the Intended Recipient field.

    • Edit the address of a dead message – To correct the destination address to which the Router resends the original message, edit the address in the Intended Recipient field, and click Release > Resend dead message to originally intended recipient. You can specify a Notes® address or an Internet address. The Router ignores the entry in the Recipients field. The received message displays the original recipient address.

      To correct the destination address to which the Router resends the delivery failure report for a dead message, change the address in the Recipients field, and click Release > Return Non Delivery Report to sender. You can specify a Notes® address or an Internet address.

Releasing held and dead messages from MAIL.BOX

About this task

Depending on what caused a message to be retained in MAIL.BOX, you may be able to successfully resend it to its originally intended recipients or return a delivery failure report to the sender. For example, if messages were marked held or dead as a result of a temporary network failure, you may be able to release messages to their destinations after restoring network connections. Or, if a message failed to reach its destination because of a misspelled address, you can resend it by correcting the address and releasing the message.

When deciding what to do with dead messages, always examine them carefully before taking action. Check the message origin and the list of intended recipients, and determine the failure reason. If the From or Recipients fields of a dead message are blank or contain invalid addresses, or if the failure reason indicates a null SMTP reverse path, consider deleting the message, rather than releasing it.

Procedure

  1. From the Domino® Administrator, select the server on which you want to resolve undelivered mail.
  2. Click the Messaging > Mail tab.
  3. Click Servername Mailbox (mail.box) to select the MAIL.BOX database to examine. On servers with multiple mailboxes, the view displays each of the available mailboxes (mail1.box, mail2.box, and so forth).
  4. Select the held or dead messages to release and click the Release button. Choose one of the following:
    Table 1. Options for releasing held or dead messages

    Release option

    Description

    Resend all dead messages to originally intended recipients

    The Router attempts to resend each dead message in the current MAIL.BOX database to the originally intended recipient (To, CC, or BCC), listed in the Intended Recipient field. If the Router cannot deliver or transfer the message, it generates a delivery failure report to the sender. If the NDR is also undeliverable, the Router again marks the message Dead.

    Note: This action applies to all messages in the current MAIL.BOX database only. On servers with multiple MAIL.BOX databases, dead messages in other MAIL.BOX databases are not released.

    Resend selected dead messages to originally intended recipients

    The Router attempts to resend the selected dead message to the originally intended recipient (To, CC, or BCC) listed in the Intended Recipient field. If the Router cannot deliver or transfer the message, it generates a delivery failure report to the sender. If the NDR is also undeliverable, the Router again marks the message Dead.

    Return Non Delivery Report to sender of all selected dead messages

    The Router attempts to resend the delivery failure report for the selected dead messages to the message originator specified in the Recipients field. If the failure report is undeliverable, the Router again marks the message Dead.

    Resend selected held messages

    The Router attempts to resend the selected held messages to the originally intended recipient (To, CC, or BCC) listed in the Recipients field. The Router ignores the entry in the Intended Recipient field.

    If the Router cannot transfer or deliver a released message, it again marks the message Held.

    Resend selected held messages for a final time

    The Router attempts to resend the selected held messages to the originally intended recipient.

    If the Router cannot deliver the messages to the recipients, it sends a nondelivery failure report to the message originator and removes the message from MAIL.BOX. If the delivery failure report cannot be sent, the Router marks the message Dead.
  5. When you finish processing undeliverable messages, close the MAIL.BOX database.

Deleting messages from MAIL.BOX

About this task

The Router automatically deletes sent messages from MAIL.BOX. If you cannot resend a message or delivery failure report, or choose not to resend it, delete the message.

Procedure

  1. Select the Held or Dead message to delete.
  2. Click Delete Message. The messages are marked for deletion.
  3. Press F9, and click Yes when prompted to delete the document.