Troubleshooting smtp(?)

[Curtis Sandoval]

I agree, ignorance and letting it work by coincidence wasn't the best way to
go, but it was on my eventual to-do list, honest.  The thing that gets me is
that Roadrunner/Time Warner insist that they don't block anything and didn't
change anything and yet a system that was left alone for years suddenly has
a problem that generates no runtime errors, only message undeliverable
errors in the queue.  They also tried to blame my Linksys router, which has
also been secured and unchanged for years, because it wasn't theirs.  Nice.

2009/4/15 <VirginSnow at vfemail.net>

> > Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:43:57 -0400
> > From: Curtis Sandoval <curtis.sandoval at gmail.com>
> > Cc: gnhlug-discuss at gnhlug.org
>
> > I've run into an odd problem.  I've been running python (2.5) scripts on
> a
> > Linux box (Suse 10.2) for probably two years through cron.  These scripts
> > email me using python's smtplib and the sample code from the Python
> > documentation, and nothing has been changed on the o/s or the python or
> the
> > Linksys wireless router that is hooked into my Roadrunner cable modem.
> (The
> > machine itself runs with no monitor, I only shell into it and manage the
> > scripts) On Monday I didn't get all of my expected messages, and I have
> > ruled out nearly everything.  Roadrunner says it's my problem, but I
> > suspected it was some sort of Conficker countermeasure.
>
> If nothing changed on your side (no new packages, updates, out of disk
> space, etc.), then it's probably due to a change in the SMTP or DNS of
> your ISP.  Certain cable ISPs (to remain nameless) are notorious for
> making configuration changes with no concern for their subscribers...
> or, rather, under the assumption that their subscribers won't care...
> or that they'll even notice.
>
> If the DNS for your hostname (provided by your ISP's name server) has
> been broken, for exmaple, your MTA (depending on its settings) may
> fail to deliver messages and/or retry sending them for several days
> before the message finally ends up bouncing... if the message bounces
> at all.  Ant that's just ONE example of how your ISP can break your
> mail overnight...
>
> > My problem is that I didn't do anything explicit to set up the smtp
> > functionality of my o/s
>
> Well, there's you're problem!  If you don't know how your mail has
> been routed, you have no way to know whether you mail has been working
> only by coincidence, or by design.  I include in my definition of
> "coincidence" any dependence upon unseen settings or configuration
> under somebody else's control.
>
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