On Tue, 17 Dec 1996, Nick Waterman wrote:
> --------8<----------8<-------- Cut here --------8<----------8<--------
> A message that you sent could not be delivered to all of its recipients. The
> following address(es) failed:
>
> prutins@???:
> SMTP error from remote mailer after MAIL FROM:
> <SOMEONE@???>:
> host uk-it.CV.COM [130.21.223.39]:
> 554 Connection idle timeout
> --------8<----------8<-------- Cut here --------8<----------8<--------
>
> What's that then, and is it exim's fault?
The error came from uk-it.CV.COM [130.21.223.39], which is not running
Exim, since the text "idle" does not appear in the Exim source. I have
no idea what that error means. One might guess that the remote host got
bored with waiting for input from your host. Meanwhile, Exim has sent
MAIL FROM and is awaiting a reply. Hypothesis: there's a delay/shambles
in the network somewhere and their mail server has rather short timeouts
set. A traceroute to that host from here isn't exactly blindingly fast.
traceroute to 130.21.223.39 (130.21.223.39), 30 hops max, 40 byte packets
1 route-cent-1.cam.ac.uk (131.111.8.62) 16 ms 38 ms 7 ms
2 smds-gw.cam.ja.net (131.111.1.2) 12 ms 6 ms 13 ms
3 smds-gw.ulcc.ja.net (193.63.203.33) 12 ms 13 ms 12 ms
4 gw5.ulcc.ja.net (193.63.94.80) 148 ms 92 ms 98 ms
5 icm-london-1.icp.net (193.63.175.53) 41 ms 141 ms 23 ms
6 198.67.131.193 (198.67.131.193) 94 ms 216 ms 94 ms
7 * * *
8 * icm-pen-10-P4/0-OC3C.icp.net (198.67.142.69) 1125 ms 83 ms
9 sl-pen-2-F4/0.sprintlink.net (192.157.69.9) 89 ms 97 ms 99 ms
10 sl-pen-8-F0/0.sprintlink.net (144.228.60.8) 101 ms 244 ms 332 ms
11 * * sl-compvisi-1-S0-T1.sprintlink.net (144.228.68.14) 189 ms
12 rtr-frintl.CV.COM (130.21.253.251) 183 ms 192 ms *
13 rtr-hayes.CV.COM (130.21.190.141) 1075 ms * 1311 ms
14 * * uk-it.CV.COM (130.21.223.39) 878 ms
--
Philip Hazel University Computing Service,
ph10@??? New Museums Site, Cambridge CB2 3QG,
P.Hazel@??? England. Phone: +44 1223 334714