Pickup Directory Test

By default, the pickup directory exists on every Microsoft Exchange server 2007/2010 computer that has the Hub transport server role or the Edge Transport server role installed. Correctly formatted e-mail message files that you copy to the Pickup directory are submitted for delivery. The Pickup directory is used by administrators for mail flow testing or by applications that must create and submit their own messages. This test monitors the performance of the Pickup directory and reveals whether or not it has been able to submit all messages it contains for delivery.

Target of the test : A server configured with the Hub Transport role

Agent deploying the test : An internal agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the Hub Transport server being monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameters	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	Indicates the IP address of the Hub Transport server.
Port	The port number of the Hub Transport server. By default, this is 691.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Messages submitted to the pickup directory	Indicates the number of messages that were successfully submitted for delivery by the Pickup directory during the last measurement period.	Number
Messages to the pickup directory that caused NDR creations	Indicates the number of messages processed by the Pickup directory that caused NDRs to be created during the last measurement period.	Number	A correctly-formatted message file together with a valid sender that can't be successfully submitted for delivery by the Pickup directory generates a non-delivery report (NDR). Malformed content or Pickup directory message restriction violations could also cause the Pickup directory to generate an NDR. When an NDR is generated during Pickup directory message processing, the original message file is attached to the NDR message, and the message file is deleted from the Pickup directory. A correctly formatted message that is submitted by the Pickup directory may later experience a delivery failure and be returned to the sender with an NDR. This kind of failure may be caused by transmission issues that are unrelated to the Pickup directory, such as messaging server failures or routing failures along the delivery path of the message.
Badmailed messages to the pickup directory	Indicates the number of messages that were submitted to the Pickup directory but were classified as badmail and not delivered, during the last measurement period.	Number	A message that is classified as badmail has serious problems that prevent the Pickup directory from submitting the message for delivery. The other condition that causes badmail is when the message is formatted correctly, but the recipients are not valid, and an NDR message can't be sent to the sender because the sender is not valid. Message files that are determined to be badmail are left in the Pickup directory and are renamed from <filename>.eml to <filename>.bad. If the <filename>.bad file already exists, the file is renamed to <filename><datetime>.bad. If badmail exists in the Pickup directory, an event log error is generated, but the same badmail messages do not generate repeated event log errors.