ERROR pdm_mail_nxd - SMTP RCPT command failed Error (401) Bad address syntax

Products

• CA Service Management - Asset Portfolio Management
• CA Service Management - Service Desk Manager

Issue/Introduction

An error related to the pdm_mail_nxd process starts to be logged into the SDM standard logs frequently, affecting sslump_nxd.exe which sometimes consumes 100% memory. Recycling pdm_mail_nxd.exe solves the issue temporarily, but the behavior reoccurs.

Example of SDM log message:

pdm_mail_nxd        ##### ERROR        hunny_mail_intf.c     #### ThrdLogger Sess:######:# SMTP RCPT command failed Error (401) Bad address syntax

Environment

CA Service Desk Manager 14.1
CA Service Desk Manager 17.x

Cause

This could be caused by a bad sender email address, which is reported by SMTP mail server as recipient failure - bad address syntax.

Resolution

Review the SDM Email options located under Administration >> Options manager >> Email.
Check if there is any email address in the email options containing spaces, then remove the spaces and save the value again.

Ex.
At "mail_from_address" value, change from:
Service Desk<[email protected]>
to:
ServiceDesk<[email protected]>

Note: it is also possible that if you modify the value back by including the space in email address alias name, the error messages did not occur again.