Applies to: Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server
2007
Topic Last Modified: 2007-05-30
This topic provides information about how to troubleshoot situations when the IP address of your organization's sending server is blocked by another Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 organization.
This problem can occur when the one or both of the following conditions are true:
- The IP address of your Internet-facing sending server has
been added to an IP Block List provider service.
IP Block List provider services compile lists of
IP addresses from which spam has originated in the past.
Additionally, some IP Block List providers provide lists of
IP addresses for which Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is
configured for open relay. There are also IP Block List
provider services that provide lists of IP addresses that
support dial-up access.
- Your IP address has been added to an organization's
IP Block list because the organization has enabled sender
reputation processing. Sender reputation is anti-spam functionality
that is enabled on computers that have the Edge Transport server
role installed to block messages according to many characteristics
of the sender. Sender reputation relies on persisted data about the
sender to determine what action, if any, to take on an inbound
message. If your e-mail traffic patterns and content appear
spam-like, sender reputation processing may frequently add your
IP address to the organization's temporary IP Block
list.
If you cannot send mail to another Exchange 2007 organization because your IP address is on an IP Block list, do one of the following:
- Contact the IP Block List provider service and ask
that your IP address be removed from their list.
- Contact the receiving Exchange 2007 organization and
request that the IP address of your sending server be added to
that organization's IP Allow list. This action will ensure that
anti-spam filters are bypassed for e-mail messages that originate
from your servers. However, this action also requires the receiving
administrator to trust that e-mail from your organization will not
include spam, malware, or inappropriate content.
- Make sure that your outbound SMTP commands are compliant,
specifically with regard to the HELO/EHLO commands.
- Verify that the SMTP server that you send from is not
configured incorrectly as an open proxy.
For More Information
For more information, see the following topics: