System for managing e-mail traffic

Abstract

According to a first embodiment of the invention, if an e-mail sender attempts to make too many connections within a predetermined period of time, the excess connections are automatically rejected. According to a second embodiment of the invention, an agreement is established between an e-mail sender and an e-mail recipient that states when the sender may send e-mail messages to the recipient. According to a third embodiment of the invention, trend data reflecting an amount of e-mail sent by a sender is collected. The trend data can be used to establish a rate limit for the sender. According to a fourth embodiment of the invention, separate rate limits are established for authenticated and unauthenticated mail from addresses. According to a fifth embodiment of the invention, a sender may have a rate at which their e-mail is transmitted reduced if they exceed predetermined rate limits.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer implemented method for managing network traffic, the method comprising, at a sender mail transfer agent:
 receiving one or more outgoing messages from a sender;   determining a threshold for the sender, wherein the threshold relates to outgoing messages that are allowed to be sent within a predetermined period of time;   determining an outgoing rate for the sender, wherein the outgoing rate is the rate at which outgoing messages will be sent;   determining a message count for the sender, wherein the message count relates to messages sent within the predetermined period of time;   sending the one or more outgoing messages in accordance with the outgoing rate for the sender,   incrementing the message count for the sender according to the one or more outgoing messages sent; and   responsive to the message count for the sender exceeding the threshold for the sender, reducing the outgoing rate for the sender.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sending comprises forwarding the one or more outgoing messages to the internet for delivery to at least one recipient. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the threshold for the sender and the message count for the sender relate to the number of outgoing messages. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the threshold for the sender and the message count for the sender relate to the size of outgoing messages. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, in the reducing the outgoing rate for the sender, the outgoing rate for the sender is reduced by at least 50%. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, at the sender mail transfer agent:
 receiving one or more further outgoing messages from the sender after the sending one or more outgoing messages;   sending the one or more further outgoing messages in accordance with the outgoing rate for the sender,   incrementing the message count for the sender according to the one or more further outgoing messages sent; and   responsive to the message count for sender exceeding the threshold for the sender, reducing or further reducing the outgoing rate for the sender.   
     
     
         7 . A system for managing network traffic comprising:
 a server having a sender mail transfer agent (MTA) and non-transitory storage, wherein the non-transitory storage comprises instructions that, when executed by the sender MTA, configure the sender MTA to:   receive one or more outgoing messages from a sender;   determine a threshold for the sender, wherein the threshold for the sender relates to outgoing messages that are allowed to be sent within a predetermined period of time;   determine an outgoing rate for the sender, wherein the outgoing rate for the sender is the rate at which outgoing messages will be sent;   determine a message count for the sender, wherein the message count for the sender relates to messages sent within the predetermined period of time;   send the one or more outgoing messages in accordance with the outgoing rate for the sender,   increment the message count for the sender according to the one or more outgoing messages sent; and   responsive to the message count for the sender exceeding the threshold for the sender, reduce the outgoing rate for the sender.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the instructions configure the MTA to send the one or more outgoing messages by forwarding the one or more outgoing messages to the internet for delivery to at least one recipient. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the threshold for the sender and the message count for the sender relate to the number of outgoing messages. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the threshold for the sender and the message count for the sender relate to the size of outgoing messages. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the instructions configure the MTA to reduce the outgoing rate for the sender by at least 50% responsive to the message count for the sender exceeding the threshold for the sender. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the instructions configure the MTA to:
 receive one or more further outgoing messages from the sender after the one or more outgoing messages have been sent;   send the one or more further outgoing messages in accordance with the outgoing rate for the sender,   increment the message count for the sender according to the one or more further outgoing messages sent; and   responsive to the message count for sender exceeding the threshold for the sender, reduce or further reduce the outgoing rate for the sender.   
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising storing computer readable instructions thereon, the computer readable instructions being executable by a processor of a server having a sender mail transfer agent (MTA) to cause the sender MTA to perform a method of managing network traffic, the method comprising:
 receiving one or more outgoing messages from a sender;   determining a threshold for the sender, wherein the threshold relates to outgoing messages that are allowed to be sent within a predetermined period of time;   determining an outgoing rate for the sender, wherein the outgoing rate is the rate at which outgoing messages will be sent;   determining a message count for the sender, wherein the message count relates to messages sent within the predetermined period of time;   sending the one or more outgoing messages in accordance with the outgoing rate for the sender,   incrementing the message count for the sender according to the one or more outgoing messages sent; and   responsive to the message count for the sender exceeding the threshold for the sender, reducing the outgoing rate for the sender.   
     
     
         14 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the sending comprises forwarding the one or more outgoing messages to the internet for delivery to at least one recipient. 
     
     
         15 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the threshold for the sender and the message count for the sender relate to the number of outgoing messages. 
     
     
         16 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the threshold for the sender and the message count for the sender relate to the size of outgoing messages. 
     
     
         17 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 13 , in the reducing the outgoing rate, the outgoing rate for the sender is reduced by at least 50%. 
     
     
         18 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the method further comprises:
 receiving one or more further outgoing messages from the sender after the sending one or more outgoing messages;   sending the one or more further outgoing messages in accordance with the outgoing rate for the sender,   incrementing, the message count for the sender according to the one or more further outgoing messages sent; and   responsive to the message count for sender exceeding the threshold for the sender, reducing or further reducing the outgoing rate for the sender.