Re: [EXIM] remote_smtp defer (-34): retry time no reached fo…

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Author: Ben Smithurst
Date:  
To: Clay Porter
CC: exim-users
Subject: Re: [EXIM] remote_smtp defer (-34): retry time no reached for any host
Clay Porter wrote:

> I have exim running on our main server. Due to historical reasons there are
> some internal mailing lists hosted on another server in-house. I switched
> to exim sometime ago. Yesterday, the MTA on the mailing list server died.
> Ever since then I get the error in the subject line, even after I restarted
> the MTA.
>
> Could someone explain to me what the message means?


It means what it says. Exim will only retry to deliver a message by
SMTP after a certain time.

Look at the retry section near the end of your config file (I think
that's what controls it anyway):

*    *    F,2h,15m; G,16h,2h,1.5; F,7d,8h


If I understand right, this means try every 15 mins for up to 2 hours,
then intervals starting at 2h, but being multiplied by 1.5 for each retry,
until 16 hours have passed. Then retry every 8 hours for seven days,
then bounce it. So you're getting this, because if the server has been
down for a day, the retry intervals after that long are quite a long time.

You can make exim ignore retry times by using `f' with the -q parameter,
eg `exim -qf'.

Chapter 31 of the spec may also help...

--
Ben Smithurst
ben@???

send a blank message to ben+pgp@??? for PGP key

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