How To Flush the SMTP Mail Queue in Exchange Server 2003

This article describes how to flush the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) mail queue in Exchange Server 2003. The SMTP Service does not reject connection attempts based on queue size. To flush the queue, you must pause the SMTP virtual server. When you do so, the SMTP virtual server processes and delivers existing (queued) items, but it does not accept new connections.

To Flush the SMTP Mail Queue in Exchange Server 2003

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
2. Expand Servers, expand ServerName, and then expand Protocols.
3. Expand SMTP, right-click the SMTP virtual server (for example Default SMTP Virtual Server), and then click Pause.
4. To resume the SMTP virtual server, right-click the SMTP virtual server (for example Default SMTP Virtual Server), and then click Pause to clear the check mark that appears next to Pause.

For more information about Exchange Server 2003, visit the following Microsoft Web site: