Re: Question about Qmail relating to MX retry processing

[Marc Perkel <marc@perkel.com>]

Charles Cazabon wrote:

Marc Perkel <marc@perkel.com> wrote:
  

But Qmail won't send the email to the backup MX?
    

Not if it is able to make a tcp connection to a higher-priority/lower-distance
one.

  

There's a spec - everyone else follows the spec - except qmail.
    

Your assertion is incorrect.  Re-read RFC 974:

  If the list of MX RRs is not empty, the mailer should try to deliver the
  message to the MXs in order (lowest preference value tried first).  The
  mailer is required to attempt delivery to the lowest valued MX.
  Implementors are encouraged to write mailers so that they try the MXs in
  order until one of the MXs accepts the message, or all the MXs have been
  tried.

Only trying the lowest-distance MX is permitted.  If you think otherwise,
you're discarding mail, and you've got no noe to blame but yourself.

If you want to make your hare-brained scheme work, don't accept the connection
in the first place, rather than accepting it and not accepting the message.

Charles
  

What that is saying is if your app is so braindead that it can only tru one IP then ise the lowest but if you want to do it right you try them all. Every other MTA other than qmail does it right.

So - why not have a configuration option allowing you to CHOOSE what way you want to do it. That way people who want their qmail to act like all the other MTAs can SELECT that is they want it?