Confused with mail() failures

[tarlejh]

I have a script that I use to generate and send out invoices for a customer database.  It is a simple script: for an array of email addresses in a $_POST array, $sentok=mail() and then,

 

if ($sentok) { 
echo 'Mail sent OK.'; 
} else { 
echo 'Mail not sent.'; 
}

 

As you can see, a FOR loop outputs an HTML log of which emails were successful.  The script works great for a few at a time, but when I kick it up to oh, say 700 iterations, it starts back bringing back mixed results, with email being sent about every other iteration.

 

I know it's not an issue with the email address being invalid, so what could cause mail() to be failing?  Could there be a limitation with my host (godaddy) that only allows the server to send a certain number of emails per second?

 

One idea I thought of is to try telling PHP to sleep() during the loop...but thats just a wild guess.

 

Any ideas on what the problem is, or how I should rewrite the script?

[corbin]

Everytime you call mail() a new socket is opened, so you're better off using something else for large iterations.

 

That may or may not be the problem, but I suspect it could be part of it.

 

If you take one of the failed emails and do it seperately, does it work?

[tarlejh]

If you take one of the failed emails and do it seperately, does it work?

 

Yes, the failed emails go through when I do them one at a time, it only starts hiccuping when I try and send hundreds at once.

[CMC]

The problem is most likely the number of emails trying to be sent. As corbin said, it will open a new socket everytime thus increasing server load and affecting performance. Your best to find/write an alternative script, perhaps one that communicates directly with an SMTP server.

 

Below is a link for a free PHP mailer. I haven't tried it out but I've seen a few people talk about it.

http://www.swiftmailer.org/

[PFMaBiSmAd]

Could there be a limitation with my host (godaddy) that only allows the server to send a certain number of emails per second?

 

Yes there is. If you are sending through a mail box on one of their email servers, I believe the limit is 250 emails per day (unless you purchase more in blocks of 50.)

 

In any case you should contact godaddy's support to find out for sure.

 

Edit: The limit is also a function of the type of server - shared, VPS, dedicated...