The following topics help you monitor and control the MTA from the MTA agent console:
The MTA agent console provides information, status, and message statistics about the MTA to help you assess its current functioning.
Windows Note: You can suppress the Windows MTA agent console by running the Windows MTA as a service. See Starting the Windows MTA.
The MTA agent console consists of several components:
Do not exit the MTA agent console unless you want to stop the MTA.
NetWare Note: At a NetWare® server console, you can use Alt+Esc to change screens. In a remote console window, you can use Alt+F1 to select a screen to view. Use these keystrokes to change screens without stopping the MTA. You can use these keystrokes to display the MTA agent console if it is not immediately visible on the NetWare console.
Windows Note: On a Windows machine, you can minimize the MTA agent console window, but do not close it unless you want to stop the MTA.
The MTA Information box identifies the MTA whose MTA agent console you are viewing, which is especially helpful when multiple MTAs are running on the same machine.
Domain: Displays the name of the domain serviced by this MTA.
Description: Displays the description provided in the Description field in the MTA Information page in ConsoleOne®. If multiple administrators work at the machine where the MTA runs, the description could include a note about who to contact before stopping the MTA.
Up Time: Displays the length of time the MTA has been running.
You can also view this information on the Status page at the MTA Web console.
The MTA Status box displays the current status of the MTA and its backlog.
Processing: Displays a rotating bar when the MTA is running. If the bar is not rotating, the MTA has stopped. For assistance, see Message Transfer Agent Problems in Troubleshooting 2: Solutions to Common Problems.
Domains: Displays the total number of domains the MTA links to and the number that are currently closed.
Post Offices: Displays the total number of post offices in the domain and the number that are currently closed.
Gateways: Displays the total number of gateways in the domain and the number that are currently closed.
If you have closed domains, post offices, or gateways, see MTA Status Box Shows a Closed Location in Message Transfer Agent Problems in Troubleshooting 2: Solutions to Common Problems for assistance.
You can also determine POA status on the Status page at the MTA Web console.
The MTA Statistics box displays the total statistics for the current up time, and 10-minute statistics for all messages the MTA has routed.
Routed: Displays the number of messages successfully routed to the domains, post offices, and gateways serviced by the MTA.
Undeliverable: Displays the number of messages that could not be delivered to a domain, post office, or gateway. For assistance, see MTA Statistics Box Shows Undeliverable Messages in Message Transfer Agent Problems in Troubleshooting 2: Solutions to Common Problems.
Errors: Displays the number of errors the MTA encounters while processing messages in its input queues. For assistance, see MTA Statistics Box Shows Errors n Message Transfer Agent Problems in Troubleshooting 2: Solutions to Common Problems.
You can also gather MTA statistics on the Status page at the MTA Web console.
The MTA Alert box displays important messages that could require an administrator's attention.
When you first start the MTA, you typically see a message informing you the MTA configuration has been loaded.
If the MTA encounters a problem that disrupts the flow of GroupWise messages, it displays an error message in the alert box. For assistance, see Message Transfer Agent Error Messages in Troubleshooting 1: Error Messages.
The MTA admin thread updates the domain database (WPDOMAIN.DB) when domains, post offices, users, and other types of object information are added, modified, or removed, and repairs it when damage is detected.
To display the MTA Admin Thread Status box from the MTA agent console, click Configuration > Admin Status.
The following tasks pertain specifically to the MTA admin thread:
You can perform the following tasks to monitor and control the MTA from the MTA agent console at the machine where the MTA is running:
You might need to stop and restart the MTA for the following reasons:
To stop the MTA:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click File > Exit, then click Yes to stop the MTA.
NetWare Note: Use Exit (F7). If the MTA does not respond to Exit, you can use the UNLOAD command to stop the MTA. However, this might not allow the MTA to shut down gracefully. In addition, UNLOAD would stop all MTAs running on the machine.
Windows Note: If the Windows MTA does not respond to Exit, you can close the MTA agent console to stop the MTA or use the Task Manager to terminate the MTA task.
Restart the MTA. See Starting the MTA.
Restarting the MTA from the MTA agent console causes it to reread the configuration information provided in ConsoleOne. However, the MTA does not reread its startup file when you restart it from the MTA agent console.
To restart the MTA:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click File > Restart, then click Yes to restart the MTA.
NetWare Note: Use Restart (F6).
If you want the MTA to reread its startup file, you must stop it, then restart it.
You can cause the MTA to stop processing messages for a location without stopping the MTA completely. For example, you could suspend message processing for a post office while backing up the post office.
To suspend the MTA for a location:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Configuration > Status.
Click the location (or multiple locations) to suspend, then click Suspend.
NetWare Note: Use Options (F10) > Configuration Status, select the location, then click Suspend.
Routing of all messages to and from the location will remain suspended until you resume processing.
To resume the MTA for a location:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Configuration > Status.
Click the location (or multiple locations) to resume, then click Resume.
NetWare Note: Use Options (F10) > Configuration Status, select the location, then click Resume.
You can cause the MTA to stop updating the domain database (wpdomain.db) without stopping the MTA completely. For example, you could suspend the MTA admin thread while backing up the domain database.
To suspend the MTA admin thread:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Configuration > Admin Status > Suspend.
NetWare Note: Use Options > Admin Status > Suspend.
The MTA admin thread will no longer access the domain database until you resume processing.
To resume the MTA admin thread:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Configuration > Admin Status > Resume.
NetWare Note: Use Options (F10) > Admin Status > Resume.
It is important to keep the MTA software up to date. You can display the date of the MTA software from the MTA agent console.
To display the MTA date:
NetWare Note: To check the date of the MTA NLMTM, you can list the gwmta.nlm file in the agent installation directory (typically, the sys:\system directory) or use the modules gwmta.nlm command at the server console prompt.
You can also check the MTA software date on the Environment page at the MTA Web console.
You can list the current configuration settings of the MTA at the MTA agent console.
To display the current MTA settings:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Configuration > Agent Settings.
NetWare Note: Use View Log File (F9) to check the MTA settings recorded at the top of the log file.
For information about the MTA settings, see Using MTA Startup Switches.
You can check the current MTA settings on the Configuration page at the MTA Web console.
The MTA agent console displays essential information about the functioning of the MTA. More detailed information is also available.
To display detailed MTA configuration information:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Configuration > Status to display a list of the locations to which the MTA is connected.
NetWare Note: Use Options (F10) > Configuration Status.
The following information is provided:
Location Name: Displays the name of the location serviced by the MTA.
Location Type: Indicates whether the location is a domain, post office, or gateway.
Connection Status: Indicates whether the MTA has been successful in locating and opening the database in the location.
Open: The MTA can access the database or communicate with the agent at the location.
Closed: The MTA cannot access the database or communicate with the agent at the location. For assistance, see MTA Configuration Status Isn't Open in n Message Transfer Agent Problems in Troubleshooting 2: Solutions to Common Problems.
Suspended: The MTA is not processing messages for the location because it has been suspended. See Suspending/Resuming MTA Processing for a Location.
Open Pending: Post offices in the domain are in the process of opening and the MTA is clearing its holding queues. After this is accomplished, the MTA begins processing current messages and the status changes to Open.
Home: Displays the full path to the database that the MTA services in the listed location. For a TCP/IP connection, it displays the IP address of the server that the MTA connects to in order to service the database.
Select a location, then click Details to display the above information plus the following additional details:
Hold: Displays the full path to the location of the mslocal directory structure used by the MTA to hold messages for closed locations.
Pull: Displays the transfer pull directory, if any. See Using a Transfer Pull Configuration.
Version: Provides the version (6.x/5.x/4.x) of the database at the location.
Last Closed/Opened: Provides the date and time when the location was last closed and opened.
Last Closure Reason: Indicates why a closed location is closed. To look up last closure reasons, see Message Transfer Agent Error Messages in Troubleshooting 1: Error Messages.
Messages Written/Read: Provides statistics about throughput since the MTA was last started.
Applications: Displays the programs the MTA can deliver messages to. Depending on the configuration of your GroupWise system, you might see GroupWise agents or GroupWise 4.1 servers listed.
You can check the current MTA status on the Links page at the MTA Web console.
You can monitor the live remote connections the MTA is servicing for Remote client users. For information about live remote processing, see Enabling Live Remote.
To display live remote status:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Configuration > Live Remote Status.
NetWare Note: Use Options (F10) > Live Remote Status.
The status information lists the GroupWise Remote client users who are connected to the MTA, along with the post offices and domains the MTA communicates with.
Status information for the MTA admin thread is displayed in a separate dialog box, rather than on the main MTA agent console.
To display MTA admin thread status information:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Configuration > Admin Status.
NetWare Note: Use Options (F10) > Admin Status.
The following status information is displayed:
Admin Message Box
The Admin Message box provides the following information about the workload of the MTA admin thread:
Completed: Number of administrative message successfully processed.
Errors: Number of administrative messages not processed due to errors.
In Queue: Number of administrative messages waiting in the queue to be processed.
Send Admin Mail: Select this option to send a message to the administrator whenever a critical error occurs. See Notifying the GroupWise Administrator about MTA Problems.
Admin Database Box
The Admin Database box provides the following information about the domain database:
Status: Displays one of the following statuses:
Normal: The MTA admin thread is able to access the domain database normally.
Recovering: The MTA admin thread is recovering the domain database.
DB Error: The MTA admin thread has detected a critical database error. The domain database (wpdomain.db) cannot be recovered. Rebuild the domain database in ConsoleOne. See Rebuilding Domain or Post Office Databases.
The MTA admin thread will not process any more administrative messages until the database status has returned to Normal.
Unknown: The MTA admin thread cannot determine the status of the domain database. Exit the MTA, then restart it, checking for errors on startup.
DB Sort Language: Displays the language code for the language that determines the sort order of lists displayed in ConsoleOne and the GroupWise system Address Book.
Recovery Count: Displays the number of recoveries performed on the domain database for the current MTA session.
Admin Thread Box
The Admin Thread box provides the following information about the MTA admin thread:
The MTA admin thread can recover the domain database (wpdomain.db) when it detects a problem.
To enable/disable automatic domain database recovery:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Configuration > Admin Status > Automatic Recovery to toggle this feature on or off for the current MTA session.
NetWare Note: Use Options (F10) > Admin Status > Automatic Recovery.
To recover the domain database immediately:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Configuration > Admin Status > Perform DB Recovery.
NetWare Note: Use Options (F10) > Admin Status > Perform DB Recovery.
For additional database repair procedures, see Maintaining Domain and Post Office Databases.
You can configure the MTA to perform Novell® eDirectoryTM user synchronization at regular intervals. See Using eDirectory User Synchronization. You can also start eDirectory user synchronization manually from the NetWare MTA agent console.
To start eDirectory user synchronization immediately:
The MTA displays only the most urgent messages in the alert box. Additional information is written to the MTA log file. The amount of information depends on the current log settings for the MTA. See Using MTA Log Files.
The information automatically scrolls up the screen as additional information is written. You can stop the automatic scrolling so you can manually scroll back through earlier information.
To browse the current MTA log file and control scrolling:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Log > Active Log.
NetWare Note: Use View Log File (F9).
Deselect Automatic Scrolling to manually scroll back through parts of the log that have already scrolled out of the box.
Click Freeze to stop the MTA from logging information to the active log box.
Click Thaw when you want the MTA to resume logging information to the active log box.
For explanations of messages in the MTA log file, see Message Transfer Agent Error Messages in Troubleshooting 1: Error Messages.
Reviewing log files is an important way to monitor the functioning of the MTA.
To select a MTA log file to view:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Log > View Log Files, select a log file, then click View.
NetWare Note: Use Options (F10) > View Log Files.
For explanations of messages in the MTA log file, see Message Transfer Agent Error Messages in Troubleshooting 1: Error Messages.
You can also view a selected MTA log file at the MTA Web console. On the Log Files page, select a log file, then click View Events.
You can have the MTA start a new log file as needed.
To cycle the MTA log file:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Log > Cycle Log.
NetWare Note: Use Options (F10) > Cycle Log File.
Default log settings are established when you start the MTA. However, they can be adjusted for the current MTA session from the MTA agent console.
To adjust the MTA log settings:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Log > Log Settings.
NetWare Note: Use Options (F10) > Log Settings.
Adjust the values as needed for the current MTA session.
See Using MTA Log Files.
You can change the configuration of the MTA by editing the MTA startup file from the MTA agent console.
To edit the MTA startup file:
At the machine where the MTA is running, display the MTA agent console.
Click Configuration > Edit Startup File.
NetWare Note: Use Options > Actions > Edit Startup File.
Make the necessary changes, then save and exit the startup file.
Stop and restart the MTA.
Click the Help button for information in any dialog box. Click Help on the menu bar for information about the MTA agent console.
NetWare Note: Press F1 for information in any dialog box or menu.