[exim] Retries and greylisting

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Author: Renaud Allard
Date:  
To: exim-users
CC: Gillain Benjamin, Mathieu DEMARE
Subject: [exim] Retries and greylisting
Hello,

I just have this kind of logs for one remote domain.

2007-02-14 11:28:22 1HHHN8-0002Yi-Md <= fpouchain@???
H=internalmailer (s-mail.cir.intra) [192.168.100.12] P=esmtp S=11714
id=31B7344C47CF874AB3E8DC4104171F0301579
EAA@??? T="TR: organisation prochain conseil"
2007-02-14 11:28:39 1HHHN8-0002Yi-Md SMTP error from remote mail server
after RCPT TO:<chardon@???>: host
SMTP1.lerelaisinternet.com [194.206.126.201]:
450 <chardon@???>: Recipient address rejected:
Greylisted for 5 minutes
2007-02-14 11:28:39 1HHHN8-0002Yi-Md == chardon@???
R=dnslookup T=remote_smtp defer (-44): SMTP error from remote mail
server after RCPT TO:<chardon@???>: host
SMTP2.lerelaisinternet.com [194.206.126.203]: 450
<chardon@???>: Recipient address rejected: Greylisted for
5 minutes
2007-02-14 11:28:39 1HHHN8-0002Yi-Md ** chardon@???:
retry timeout exceeded
2007-02-14 11:28:39 1HHHNP-0002Yl-DF <= <> R=1HHHN8-0002Yi-Md
U=Debian-exim P=local S=12764 T="Mail delivery failed: returning message
to sender"
2007-02-14 11:28:39 1HHHN8-0002Yi-Md Completed

This is a _new_ mail sent from the internal server (192.168.100.12) from
fpouchain@??? to chardon@??? using exim 4.66 as a mail
relay between the internal server and the internet.

As we can see, a first attempt is made on the primary MX: SMTP1, it gets
a 450 error for greylisting. Quite obviously exim retries to SMTP2 and
also gets a 450 error. But exim never retries and interprets this as a
permanent error.

One problem with SMTPX.lerelaisinternet.com is that they seem to never
whitelist senders, they only let one message pass after the 5 minutes.
So of course exim has never received from SMTP2 anything else than a 450
error code as succeeded deliveries always happen on the primary MX (SMTP1).

There have been former attempts to deliver mails from the same sender to
the same recipient. And even other attempts to deliver mails to the
remote relays SMTPX.lerelaisinternet.com for some other domains.

"delay_after_cutoff = false" is in the config file for remote_smtp so
exim should try to deliver new mails. And indeed, it tries a delivery,
but just once, not following the normal retry sequence. And as my relay
never gets whitelisted, exim always receive two 450 error first on the
two remote relays.

Is there a way to force exim to retry a really new queue sequence and
not just try a single delivery even after cutoff time has been exceeded?