Email administrators are expected to be all knowing about email, once it leaves their server. This is an unrealistic expectation of email users. As soon as an email sent from your company server does not reach its intended receiver, people want to know if the email server is down. Now the spotlight is on the email administrator to prove the issue has nothing to do with the local email server. Understandably, the remote server is never considered to be the culprit by email users. Most people don’t know it takes 2 servers to send and receive email.

The Lotus Notes client, used to interface with Domino servers, provides a couple of excellent email trace tools. One of them even allows email users to perform their own troubleshooting. When providing an introduction on using the Lotus Notes client, I always make sure to show the new person about using “delivery options”. This lays the ground work for eliminating the finger pointing game on email delivery.

Going back to the scenario of email not being received, the email user now creates a new email for the same destination. Prior to sending the new email, click the “Delivery options” button above the “To” field. Select “Trace entire path”. Click “OK”. Fill out the rest of the email and send as usual.

This is my favorite part. Within a minute the email user receives a delivery report. Now definitive proof is provided that the receiving server is unavailable. I love the look on the email user’s face when I tell them “you have to call the person you tried to email and inform them their email server is down. The receiver’s administrator has to take a look at their email server”. The look says it all “wow, I always thought any email issues I experience could always be blamed only on our company email server”.

It’s quite a revelation. I rarely get further support requests, regarding email sends; from anyone I show how to use this excellent trace tool.