ETT Direct B1 – SMTP Send succeeds but IMAP fetch fails (james.healthit.gov:143 connection timeout)
Pranav Kulkarni
Hello ONC / ETT Support Team,
We are encountering an issue while executing Direct – Test By Criteria (B1), specifically:
Paragraph (i)(A) – Send using Edge Protocol (SMTP)
SMTP Tests: 8, 14, 18 (Send)
Observed Behavior
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SMTP send from our Direct edge completes successfully
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Message is accepted and delivered to the ETT address
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However, the validator fails during the email fetch step
ETT Test Log Error
Environment Details
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Our Direct server: mail.dev.unityhealth360.com
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Protocol used: SMTP (Edge Protocol)
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Recipient: ETT Direct test address
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Attachment: CCDA XML (valid, non-empty)
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DNS / MX / certificates: Verified and working
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SMTP delivery: Confirmed via server logs
Additional Verification
We attempted to connect directly to the ETT IMAP server from our environment:
This indicates that the IMAP service on james.healthit.gov:143 is currently unreachable from our network.
Understanding
Based on our investigation:
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SMTP delivery from our edge is functioning correctly
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The failure occurs when the ETT validator attempts to retrieve the message via IMAP
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This appears to be an ETT-side IMAP availability or connectivity issue, not a sender or edge configuration issue
Request
Could you please:
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Confirm whether there is a known issue or outage affecting IMAP access on james.healthit.gov:143, or
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Advise if an alternative validation approach (e.g., SMTP-only verification or retry window) should be used for this test
We are ready to re-run the test once IMAP connectivity is confirmed.
Thank you for your assistance.
Best regards,
Pranav Kulkarni,
Thinkitive PVT LTD, Pune
Sai Valluripalli
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rahul.pcvita
Hello Pranav,
Thank you for reaching out and for providing a detailed analysis of the issue you are encountering with Direct – Test By Criteria (B1), specifically for SMTP Tests 8, 14, and 18 (Send).
We appreciate the comprehensive troubleshooting steps you have already completed. Based on the information shared, we understand the following:
The SMTP send from your Direct edge server (mail.dev.unityhealth360.com) is completing successfully.
The message is being accepted and delivered to the ETT Direct test address.
The validation failure is occurring during the email retrieval phase, where the ETT validator attempts to fetch the message via IMAP.
Your direct connectivity test (telnet james.healthit.gov 143) indicates that IMAP access to james.healthit.gov on port 143 is currently unreachable from your environment.
Your assessment is correct that, in this scenario, the failure does not appear to be related to your edge configuration or SMTP delivery, but rather to IMAP availability or connectivity on the ETT side.
We are escalating this to our infrastructure team to verify the current status of IMAP services on james.healthit.gov:143 and to determine whether there is an outage, maintenance activity, or access restriction impacting message retrieval for validation.
At this time, the B1 test requires successful IMAP-based retrieval as part of the validation process, and there is no SMTP-only alternative for completion of these specific test cases. Once IMAP connectivity is confirmed or restored, you should be able to re-run the test without changes to your existing configuration.
We will follow up with you as soon as we have an update on IMAP service availability or further guidance.
Thank you for your patience and for the clear diagnostic information—it is very helpful for our investigation.
Best regards,
ETT Support Team
ONC / Edge Test Tool Support
