A couple of weeks ago, Campbell Scientific's EmailRelay() service went offline. The email service provider Campbell Scientific uses to send the messages (email) through stopped the service after a high number of bad email bounces passed through the system.
Campbell Scientific quickly restarted the service with a new email provider until a solution could be put in place. A new solution to proactively prevent email bounces was then developed, tested, and placed in service on June 10, 2019 at 1 PM MST.
The EmailRelay() server addresses the bouncing/bad email addresses by placing a bouncing or bad email into a blacklist. Once an email address is listed in the blacklist, the EmailRelay() server will not pass along messages to the email service provider. Only messages with good email addresses (non-blacklisted) will be sent on to email service provider for delivery to the end user.
Email addresses that are blacklisted stay in the blacklist for 14 days. If a new message is sent to the EmailRelay server after 14 days, the server will attempt to send the message on to the server. If a message to the email address bounces again, it is again black listed.
The server has also been updated to return a message via the ServerResponse option of EmailRelay() in the datalogger operating system.
If an EmailRelay() message is sent, and the ToAddr parameter only contains one email addresses and that email address is already blacklisted, EmailRelay() will return a -3 and a JSON message in the ServerReponse parameter that will look very similar to this:
{"messagetype":"error","message":"email-not-sent - [Missing required header 'To'.]","bounces":["bad_email_address@campbellsci.com"]}
If the EmailRealy() message is sent, and the ToAddr parameter contains multiple email addresses of which some are good, and some are blacklisted, EmailRelay() will return a -1 and a JSON message is returned in the ServerResponse parameter that will look similar to this message:
{"messagetype":"acknowledgement","message":"email-sent","bounces":["bad_email_address@campbellsci.com"]}
As you can see, both messages returned show the email address that has been bouncing and that address is now blacklisted.
These changes to the server will help to keep the EmailRelay() service online and reliable.
We appreciate everyone's patience with this issue. On behalf of Campbell Scientific, I would like to express our appreciation for your business and offer an apology for any inconvenience this problem may have caused.
Hi Gary,
I am having this issue where emailrelay is/was sending emails successfully and then does not and provides the 'bounce' message that you describe.
Has this been fixed?
How do we get off the blacklist with these certain email addresses?
thanks!
zach
Yes, the original issue has been resolved. The only way to get off the blacklist is to determine why your email server is bouncing or not receiving emails. We could un-blacklist your email addresses, but the EmailRelay() system would then blacklist them again as the issue with the receiving email server ultimately has not been resolved.
Hi Gary,
If we fixed the issue on our end; perhaps an email quote issue. However, wouldn't we still be blacklisted until we were taken off the list AND also resolved things on our end?
Seems the solution requires both actions?
thanks
z
Zach,
Yes, that is correct. We can manually remove the offending email address from the blacklist after you have resolved the issue with the email server. The system will also auto remove a black listed email address after 14 days without our admin's intervention.