SMTP Interface: Scan failure action?

[KBOYLE]

Refer to the documentation for details...

Micro Focus Secure Messaging Gateway Administrator's Guide SMTP Interface: Scan failure action.

Although it can be changed, the 451 response is the default action. The 451 response indicates a temporary failure. The implication is that if the sender retries (a sufficient number of times?) the message will be accepted.

This setting specifies the Scan failure action.

• What could possibly change that might prevent a scan failure the next time the message is scanned?
• If the scan result won't change, how is a 451 an appropriate response?

[suziew]

If there were a problem that was causing the scan to fail, but it was resolved for whatever reason (such as the modules or server were restarted, etc) then the message would get through on one of the retries.

[KBOYLE]

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@suziew wrote:

If there were a problem that was causing the scan to fail, but it was resolved for whatever reason (such as the modules or server were restarted, etc) then the message would get through on one of the retries.

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That's a big if...

Under normal conditions, when the SMG appliance is working correctly, the 451 response would encourage the sender to keep trying and each time the message would fail. I can't think of a valid reason why anyone would want that to happen.

In my opinion, a 451 response is just wrong and should never be the default response.

Do I need to open an SR to get it changed?

[suziew]

@KBOYLE

Scan failure means something went wrong with the scanning of a message, such as a module crashed, or something else happened which is preventing SMG to scan the message.

Under normal conditions, when the SMG appliance is working correctly this 451 response would not be given, since the scan wouldn't have failed.

[KBOYLE]

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@suziew wrote:

Scan failure means something went wrong with the scanning of a message, such as a module crashed, or something else happened which is preventing SMG to scan the message.

That is an interpretation I didn't consider: SMG was unable to scan the message. Still, in a situation like this, I don't consider that to be a temporary failure especially if it involves an intervention from the admin or worse that the admin has to open an SR.

Since the documentation is unclear as to just what a Scan Failure is, I interpreted it to mean that while the message was being scanned one or more of the filters were triggered and, when this happened, these were the options we had.

Under normal conditions, when the SMG appliance is working correctly this 451 response would not be given, since the scan wouldn't have failed.

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What error code is normally returned when a scan filter is triggered and the message is rejected? Do we have any control over that response?