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I have a client who wants to use us for SMTP outbound relay,

Is there a way I can report/monitor the usage as it will simply be done using an IP address in the SMTP bypass to allow them to send out not by a domain.

I basically want to make sure they are not sending more than they are allowed.

Anybody Know the answer please?

Does anyone from SM actually reply to posts as we are always told by them to post here!

They do sometimes.

I also have a post that is urgent for me, but without reply.

Sorry but i don't know the answer for your inquiry.

in the end i got fed up and got them on live chat, only to be told what I want to do is currently impossible

which is a REAL pain as I really need ot report on it else I have no way of knowing how much data they are sending through my server!

 Ok. why don't you use a IIS smtp service for the SMTP outbound relay instead.
Use a new IP number when configit and then log the ip number thru your firewall or someting.

cos from memory the iis smtp service is crap.

the client is sending large files and any emails and I need a good solid reliable service hence why I was using SM

 I can agree with you that the IIS smtp service is crap.
But the only thing I think it does good is just SMTP outbound relay.

We have used it for SMTP outbound relay for some years now without any trouble.

eastwood:

Does anyone from SM actually reply to posts as we are always told by them to post here!

No offense but this is completely wrong. SmarterTools staff will almost always suggest that you open a ticket. If you were asked to post here then it is a suggestion to ask other users. This forum, as is clearly stated in the forum Guidelines, is for users to help users. The ST staff will occasionally participate, and IMO do so more in their forums than other companies.

From the Forum Guidelines:

SmarterTools staff may—from time to time—participate in the Forums and will, in fact, make efforts to do so as often as possible.  However, a post on the Community Forums does not guarantee a response from the SmarterTools developers or support team.  Guaranteed assistance from Developers and Support staff requires the use of our Support Ticketing system.

None taken BUT......

So if I have a valid question about their product which I have purchased and I have asked live help/support the question, to be told to open a PAID ticket you think that's fair do you?

I only posted that as its not until I did I actually got some response from ST.

Over all I am VERY happy with the support they give as I have been with them for a while now and switched from other providers and now use them throughout our business as well as recommend them to our customers, But from time to time when I want what I deem an answer to a simple question from the suppliers of the software I don't expect to have to pay for it nor do I expect to have to ask other customers of the software for the answers!

Do you see my point?

As it is, I have actually finally been given an answer from ST

The problem is, the answer I got was...

"Its not possible!"

Not the answer I wanted so I will have to figure out how to do it another way which may mean moving that element away from SM if I cant report on it.

Like instructed I posted the original question on here as like you stated. I thought I would ask other users, but to no end as no one posted until I stuck up the post I did!

So lets get back to topic.......

Does anyone else have any bright ideas how I might report on the SMTP outbound traffic from an IP address. Is it a case I will have to write something to query the log files for that ip and try to rip out the data I need to calculate the amount of bandwidth they are using?

I responded because this was the second thread that I saw your expectations were not met because ST staff had not responded in a timely manner to your post. I was attempting to correct your expectation :).  As for having to pay for a question.....I think it is worth it if you need an answer immediately (as you seemed to do). In that case you are paying for the convenience of a definate quick answer. Otherwise you could have simply waited and, as you can see, a fellow user or staff would eventually respond.

To get back to your issue....you could write, or have someone write, an application to tie in with the SM spool and keep track of mail from the IP.

cheers

are there any app already out there that query the spool or any web services from ST that do it?

I do not know of any that solve this exact problem but SM does provide the functionality for any 3rd party app to process the mail while in the spool and several custom apps have been written to solve other issues.