Re: [exim] Special routing for incoming non-SMTP mail: helpn…

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Author: Philip Hazel
Date:  
To: Mike Brudenell
CC: exim-users
Subject: Re: [exim] Special routing for incoming non-SMTP mail: helpneeded urgently
On Wed, 8 Aug 2007, Mike Brudenell wrote:

> 1.  Send "Message 1" to an address on the test server.
>      Delivery is attempted.  Message gets deferred.

>
>      Queue runs within the 5 minute maximum retry period attempt  
> delivery
>      and defer the message again.

>
>      A queue run after the 5 minute period attempts delivery then  
> constructs
>      a delivery failure notification which is returned to the sender,  
> and the
>      incoming message removed from the queue.

...
> 2.  Now send "Message 2" to the same recipient on the test server.
>      Delivery is attempted.  Exim then constructs a delivery failure  
> notification
>      which is returned to the sender, and the incoming message  
> removed from the
>      queue.


That is correct behaviour. Exim does not operate a "per message" retry
scheme. It operates a "per problem" retry scheme. (At least for this and
many other temporary errors.) Your 5 minutes starts from the time the
error is first discovered; after 5 minutes, there was be no retrying
until a delivery succeeds (which resets the clock).

More typically, one might set a retry rule for quota errors to a day.
After a day of full mailbox, Exim doesn't bother trying more than once
for each message before bouncing it.

-- 
Philip Hazel            University of Cambridge Computing Service
Get the Exim 4 book:    http://www.uit.co.uk/exim-book