Mail Import Failure and Stuck Messages in FogBugz

Overview

This article addresses the issue of intermittent connectivity between FogBugz and a mail server, resulting in mail import failures and messages becoming stuck in mailboxes. The errors indicate that the connection to the mail server was closed unexpectedly, which may be due to server configuration, network issues, or problematic emails.

Solution

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. Inspect the Mailboxes:

   • Use Mozilla Thunderbird or another desktop email client to manually inspect the affected mailbox(es).
   • Look for any large or unusual messages that might be causing issues. Try to open or delete these messages directly.

2. Check Mail Server Configuration:

   • Ensure that the mail server is not configured to close connections prematurely. Adjust the server settings to keep connections alive for a longer period if necessary.

3. Review Network Connection:

   • Investigate the network connection between FogBugz and the mail server. Look for any instability or configuration errors that might cause the connection to drop unexpectedly. Your network administrator can help.

4. Further Assistance:

   • If the issue persists after performing the above actions, contact the mail server administrator for a deeper review. They may need to check the server logs and configurations more thoroughly.

Classification of "large or unusual" messages

• Size of Email: The total size of the email, including attachments, issues can be observed with email sizes around 10MB to 25MB.

• Number of Attachments: The email has a high number of attachments, which can cause issues even if the total size is within limits. Commonly, issues arise with more than 10-20 attachments.

• Attachment Size: Individual attachment files are too large. Issues can be observed with sizes around 10MB to 25MB.

• Complexity: The email contains complex formatting, embedded images, or rich text elements that are difficult to process.

• Length of Email: Extremely long emails with a large amount of text or HTML content can cause problems. This is less common but can occur with emails that are several pages long when printed.

• Corrupted Files: Attachments or the email itself is corrupted, making it unreadable by FogBugz.

Following these steps should help resolve the mail import failures and ensure smooth connectivity between FogBugz and the mail server.