Continuity - Troubleshooting

This article contains information on troubleshooting Mimecast Continuity issues for administrators, including steps to address email server outages, Microsoft 365 disruptions, and Mimecast service interruptions.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Troubleshooting Steps
Microsoft Exchange Server is unavailable. Your users cannot connect to the email server to send/receive messages. You have been sent an SMS Alert by Service Monitor/Continuity Monitor (because the inbound queue threshold has been breached). You can see inbound email messages queuing via the Mimecast Administration Console.	Ensure a Continuity event has been enabled via the Mimecast Administration Console or has been activated via the link inside the SMS message or Continuity Event Management message you received. Ensure your users have the correct permissions to use end-user applications (Mimecast for Outlook, Mimecast Personal Portal, Mimecast for Mac, and Mimecast for Mobile) and that you have set up everything required for SMS Continuity Services. Your inbound email messages are automatically queued for a maximum of four days, by default. This can be extended if needed. If the outage is expected to last more than four days, your inbound deliveries can be paused to prevent senders from receiving bounced message notifications. Mimecast will continue to queue the emails indefinitely and deliver them gradually to the server once they become available.
Microsoft 365 Email Services are offline. Your users cannot connect to Microsoft 365 to send/receive messages. You have been sent an SMS Alert by Service Monitor/Continuity Monitor (because the inbound queue threshold has been breached). You can see inbound email messages queuing via the Mimecast Administration Console.	Check the Microsoft 365 status page. Ensure a Continuity event has been enabled via the Mimecast Administration Console or has been activated via the link inside the SMS message or Continuity Event Management message you received. Ensure your users have the correct permissions to use end-user applications (Mimecast for Outlook, Mimecast Personal Portal, Mimecast for Mac, and Mimecast for Mobile) and that you have set up everything required for SMS Continuity Services. Your inbound email messages are automatically queued for a maximum of four days, by default. This can be extended if needed. If the outage is expected to last more than four days, your inbound deliveries can be paused to prevent senders from receiving bounced message notifications. Mimecast will continue to queue the emails indefinitely and deliver them gradually to the server once they become available.
Mimecast services become severely disrupted. Outbound email messages are queuing, and inbound email messages are not being received. Your users are connected to our mail server and can still send and receive internal email messages. You may have issues logging into the Mimecast Administration Console.	Check the Mimecast Service status page. Check for SMS messages from Mimecast; you will be notified if there is a major Priority 1 (P1) outage. If required, set your outbound mail server connectors to send directly to the internet or your secondary gateway. Consider invoking your backup MX configuration. This may require you to set your MX records so that email will be delivered via your planned backup route(s), provided your method gives the required level of security. You'll be able to receive inbound traffic once DNS replication has taken place. This is determined by your provider's TTLs. Communicate with your users, executives, and external stakeholders, as required.