Troubleshooting outgoing issues with Email Engine

Email Engine processes various outgoing email messages and notification emails, such as:

Initial email notifications
Response emails to reply with results or verification for approvals
Ticket creation
Other email integrations

When the Email Engine does not process outgoing emails, you might not get the expected response emails to confirm the results of ticket creation, updates to tickets, or know the approval status.

To resolve issues with outgoing emails, follow the guidelines described in this topic. Alternatively, create a BMC Support case.

You can also use the Email Engine Test Utility to collect diagnostics and troubleshoot outgoing issues with the Email Engine. For more information, see Helix Support: Solving AR System Email Notification Issues - Illustrated Example on BMC Communities.

Best practice

We recommend that you refer to Best FAQs on AR System Email Engine issues for resolutions to the most common questions on Email Engine.

Issue symptoms

A large number of outgoing email messages are waiting to be sent.
End users do not receive email notifications.

See also Resolutions for common issues on this page.

Issue scope

One or more users experience the symptoms.
One or more outgoing mailboxes do not process emails.

Diagnosing and reporting an issue

Perform the following steps to troubleshoot outgoing issues with Email Engine:

Task	Action	Steps	Reference
1.	Use the Email Engine Test utility to validate the mail server connection parameters that are set in the AR System Email Mailbox Configuration form for the outgoing mailbox.	The Email Engine Test utility helps you to validate the connection between your Email Engine and the mail server, independent of the AR SystemEmail Engine. If the test utility fails, note the reason for the failure from the output provided by the Email Engine Test utility. Check and update the configuration as required and then retest connection between the Email Engine and the mail server. Work with your Email Administrator or Network Administrator to make sure that the connection between your Email Engine and the mail server is proper.	To check the connection to the mail server, validate the user credentials, and send a simple email, see Email Engine Test utility. Note: We have introduced a new Email Test button. When you click the Email Test button, it calls the Email Engine Test utility from within the AR System Email Mailbox Configuration form. We recommend that you install and use this utility to easily test your mailboxes after you complete your change process. For more information, see the article about Email Engine Mailbox Configuration Test Button on BMC Communities.
2.	Review the additional parameters in the AR System Email Mailbox Configuration form, server group or failover related configurations, and Email Engine specific configurations.	Review the configuration for the outgoing mailbox in the AR System Email Mailbox Configuration form.	Configuring-outgoing-mailboxes
		Make sure that the outgoing mailbox is enabled.
		To designate the outgoing mailbox as the default outgoing mailbox, select Yes in the Default Outgoing Mailbox list.
		Make sure that the polling interval is set appropriately.
		Check the AR System Server Group Operation Ranking form to make sure that server rankings for service failover are valid.	Setting-failover-rankings-for-servers-and-operations
		Check the AR System Service Failover Ranking form to make sure that service failovers are ranked correctly.	Monitoring-and-managing-service-failover Configuring Email Engine in a Server Group Webinar
		Check the AR System Service Failover Whiteboard form to make sure that the appropriate mailboxes are in active state. Refresh the form frequently to make sure that the value of the Last Heartbeat field is getting updated as expected.
		Check the settings in the AR System Email Mailbox Configuration form and EmailDaemon.properties file. Use the AR System Configuration Generic UI form (not the EmailDaemon.properties file) to modify the settings in the Centralized Configuration.
		Check if the following component parameter settings are correct in the EmailDaemon.properties file: These settings determine certain behaviors for outgoing emails. MailboxPollingUnitIsMinutes NumberOfSenderThreads OutgoingMessagesQueueSize SendEmailSetSize RPC	To review all the properties or settings in the EmailDaemon.properties file, see Updating-the-Email-Engine-settings-by-using-the-Centralized-Configuration.
3.	Enable logs.	Enable the Email Engine log by setting com.bmc.arsys.emaildaemon.level to FINEST.	See Remedy Email Engine - How to enable Email Engine Logs in 9.x and above versions If you are using the MAPI protocol, see How to Enable Debug Email Engine Logging for the MAPI Protocol..
4.	Reproduce the problem or wait for it to occur.	Perform the required actions to trigger a notification email. Either restart the Email Engine process or wait for two polling intervals.
5.	Disable logs.	Disable the Email Engine logs by setting com.bmc.arsys.emaildaemon.level to SEVERE.	See Remedy Email Engine - How to enable Email Engine Logs in 9.x and above versions.
6.	Collect the logs.	Collect the Email log including the .bak file, if it exists. The Email Engine logs are located at: (Windows) <ARSystem Install Dir>\AREmail\Logs\email.log (UNIX) <ARSystem Install Dir>/AREmail/Logs/email.log
7.	Analyze the logs.	See Resolutions for common issues to identify possible symptoms and solutions. If you cannot resolve the problem, create a BMC Support Case.
8.	Create a BMC Support case	Collect and send logs with detailed information when you create a case with BMC Support. Collect and send screenshots of the Basic and Advanced tabs in the AR System Email Mailbox Configuration form for the outgoing mailbox.	See Configuring-outgoing-mailboxes. See Steps to send logs, files, screenshots, etc to BMC Support for a Remedy Product related case. Include the output results from the Email Engine Test utility.

Resolutions for common issues

After you determine a specific symptom or an error message, use the following table to identify the solution:

Symptom	Action	Reference
You get the following message in the Email Engine log: com.sun.mail.smtp.SMTPSendFailedException: OutOfMemory	Increase the heap size of Email Engine.	Defining a heap size
You get the following message in the Email Engine log: Could not connect to Email server Name/IP	Check the connection to the mail server with the Email Engine Test utility and engage the Exchange Server team.	How can I test my Mailbox Configuration outside of the Email Engine?
You get the following message in the Email Engine log: ERROR (623): Authentication failed	Reset the password of the Application Service.	How to change/reset the Remedy Application Service Password for the E-mail Engine
You get the following message in the Email Engine log: nested exception:class .SendFailedException: 550 5.7.1 Unable to relay	Check if the mail server allows relaying of messages.	Enable-relaying-to-prevent-unsolicited-messages
You get the following message in the Email Engine log or on the related forms: Service Failover not working	See the Webinar for Email Engine.	Configuring Email Engine in a Server Group Webinar
After you configure the CCS parameter MaxEmailFetchSizeInMB, you might observe that some emails with a lot of content in the body are still stuck in the outbox.	Update the EmailSizeInKB field in the AR System Email Messages form. For example, run the following query on the AR System database to update the EmailSizeInKB field: Update T259 set C18308 = 20000 Where: T259 - Represents the table associated with the AR System Email Messages form. C18308 - Represents the EmailSizeInKB field in the AR System Email Messages form. 20000 - Represents the maximum memory in KB that can be allocated to the email outbox. In this example, the value is set to 20000. Important: Use the update query on old emails that are stuck in the outbox.

Troubleshooting outgoing issues with Email Engine

Issue symptoms

Issue scope

Diagnosing and reporting an issue

Resolutions for common issues

On this page