Start/notes.ini Parameters/RouterCommandTimeout

RouterCommandTimeout

🛠️
Parameter: RouterCommandTimeout
Short description: Timeout (in seconds) for the router's SMTP commands to external hosts – prevents hanging outbound threads.

Profile

Parameter
RouterCommandTimeout
Category
Mail / Router
Component
Server
Available since
9.0.1
Supported versions
9.0.1, 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, 14.0, 14.5, 14.5.1
GUI equivalent
Configuration document
Possible values
Seconds (integer, typically 60–300)

Description

During an SMTP transaction, the router sends commands (MAIL FROM, RCPT TO, DATA, …) and waits for the response from the remote side. If an external mail server does not answer at all or only very slowly (greylisting, anti-spam tarpit, network problem), the worker thread would otherwise block for a long time. RouterCommandTimeout sets a hard upper bound – after it expires, the attempt is aborted and the router can process the next recipient / message. This keeps the entire mail pipeline responsive.

Example configuration

RouterCommandTimeout=120

Notes & pitfalls

  • Values that are too small can collide with “slow” anti-spam peers (typical with tarpitting).
  • Takes effect after a router restart.
  • For systematic timeouts, check network / MX / anti-spam first before raising the value.
  • Can also be set in the Configuration document – in case of conflicts, notes.ini wins.