Demo
Demo

Knowledge base

PMTA knowledge base›Command§ 6.3.23

trace

Delivery attempt with the session logged
The second investigation circle

Opens a connection to a domain and tries to deliver one message from the queue, with conversation logging turned on for one connection. By default SMTP commands and replies are written; –log-data adds the data, –log-resolution adds name resolution.

This is a real delivery: if the receiver accepts the message, it goes out. –retry-recipients also releases the queue’s deferred recipients, and –source-ip picks the outbound address if the sending address has several.

The result is written to the log — so says the manual, although its example prints the conversation to the screen too.

The main trap is treating a trace as a safe check. The message really goes to the receiver: tracing a queue that holds something that must not be sent means sending it.
What the Hub does. It does not call it: the Hub does not turn on conversation logging with receivers and takes bounce reasons from accounting.
Recommended values

When to call it:

Question This command or not
what the receiver replies to our message yes
does the mail route resolve no — resolve
long observation of a domain no — conversation logging in a <domain> block
The action, options and writing to the log come from the manual (§ 6.3.23, § 4.2.2). The trap analysis is ours.
Example configuration
# one attempt with the conversation and data logged
pmta trace --log-data yahoo.com/vmta1tail -50 /var/log/pmta/log
The second line pulls the logged conversation out of the log.
yellow — — directive names, blue — blocks. They are highlighted the same way in the text of the card.
Compatibility
PowerMTA 6.0
described in the manual of this version · platform: any
The vendor does not state the first version for every directive — there is no note here. The name also appears in the 5.0 edition of the manual.
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Related entries

3 relations

Affects

The node's own logThe file the command works with. § 6.3.23Recipients deferred after a temporary refusalThe mechanism the command works with. § 6.3.23

Where you can see it

Figure out why a queue to one receiver is growingA fallback source of information when the usual one yields nothing. § 4.2.2

Referenced from

Attempt delivery ahead of scheduleA neighboring command: the same subject from another side. § 6.3.23

How to check on the node
Read the logged session:
tail -50 /var/log/pmta/log
<<< lines are our commands, >>> are the receiver’s replies; the last reply before QUIT explains the outcome.
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What else to read

3 articles

◇What the node tells about itself and through which channelsSeven observation surfaces: the web monitor, the console in four formats, the log, accounting, accounting search, metrics and export to external analytics.◇The watchdog that restarts the engineKeeps an eye on the engine and brings it back up after a crash by itself, sending a crash report to the postmaster address.◇What makes a virtual machine riskyRunning on a virtual machine is possible, but the manual does not recommend it without sufficient hardware and properly tuned hypervisor settings: under load the node may stop responding.

In the Hub
Cost of a mistake
reversible: harms only while it is set
Scenarios
Troubleshoot deliverability · Untangle a stuck queue