IMAP Observability - GermainUX Docs

ComponentsEngineJS ProfilerMobileRPA Bot RecorderRUM JSRUM Extension

Availability2017.1 or later

Business outcomes

Results for mail operations

Backlog and aging detection

Find stuck mailbox queues

SLAs, alerts, and automation

Set mail SLA thresholds

Deployment and configuration

Setup steps for mail monitoring

Overview

GermainUX monitors IMAP mailbox availability, connectivity, authentication, folder status, message counts, and selected email-driven business processes. The GermainUX Engine connects to the configured IMAP server on a schedule, evaluates the selected folders, and sends the resulting metrics and events to GermainUX for analytics, SLA evaluation, alerts, reports, and approved automated actions.

Business outcomes

IMAP monitoring helps organizations:

Detect unavailable or unresponsive IMAP services.
Identify connection, TLS, or authentication failures.
Confirm that operational mailboxes can be accessed.
Detect unread-message or backlog growth.
Find messages that have remained unprocessed beyond an acceptable period.
Monitor email-driven integrations and business workflows.

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Alert teams when an expected message does not arrive.
Detect messages indicating an application, integration, or business failure.
Reduce the time required to identify stalled mailbox-based processes.

Server connectivity and authentication

GermainUX can test:

Test	Details
IMAP server reachability	IMAP server reachability

Connection establishment
TLS negotiation
Authentication
Mailbox access
Folder access
IMAP response time
Connection and protocol errors

Common IMAP ports are:

Connection	Default port
IMAP with explicit TLS where supported	143
IMAP over TLS	993

IMAP Observability: Server connectivity and authentication

Use the port and security settings required by the mail provider. Production monitoring should use encrypted connections. Authentication capabilities depend on the IMAP server, its security policy, and the GermainUX connector version. Confirm compatibility before disabling or changing an organization’s existing authentication controls.

Mailbox and folder monitoring

GermainUX can monitor selected folders such as:

Inbox
Unread
Processing
Completed
Failed
Rejected
Application-specific folders

Depending on the configured monitor and rule, collected measurements can include:

Total message count
Unread-message count
New messages detected
Oldest message age
Messages matching configured criteria
Folder accessibility
Folder check duration
Errors encountered while reading the folder

Only configure folders required for the monitoring objective. Monitoring every folder in a large mailbox can create unnecessary load and data.

Email-driven process monitoring

Many applications and integrations use email as an input, output, notification, or processing queue. GermainUX can monitor these workflows by detecting relevant messages and evaluating their timing or status. Examples include:

Orders received by email
Support requests
Batch-processing notifications
Integration success or failure messages
File-delivery notifications
Report delivery

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Security or infrastructure alerts
Approval requests
Messages waiting for manual processing

A configured rule can create an event or KPI when a message matching approved conditions appears. Possible matching attributes include:

Folder
Sender
Recipient
Subject
Received timestamp
Read or unread state

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Message age
Approved header values
Configured text patterns

Message-body and attachment analysis should be enabled only when required and authorized.

Expected-message monitoring

GermainUX can detect when an expected message does not arrive within a configured period. Examples include:

A daily report was not delivered.
A batch-completion message is late.
An integration confirmation is missing.
A monitored system stopped sending health notifications.
An order-processing acknowledgement was not received.

This requires a defined expectation, including the message criteria, schedule, time window, and acceptable delay. GermainUX cannot infer an expected delivery schedule solely from the IMAP protocol.

Backlog and aging detection

Mailbox folders can function as operational queues. GermainUX can identify:

Increasing unread-message counts
Messages remaining unprocessed beyond an SLA
Sudden changes in incoming volume
No new messages during an expected activity period
Repeated failure messages
A growing processing or rejection folder
Differences between received and completed message counts

These insights depend on the folder structure and message lifecycle implemented by the monitored process.

Performance monitoring

The IMAP monitor can measure operations performed by GermainUX, such as:

Connection duration
Authentication duration
Folder-access duration
Message-query or retrieval duration
Complete monitor execution time

These measurements represent the configured monitoring transaction. They do not automatically provide the IMAP server’s internal CPU, memory, disk, queue, or network utilization. Monitor those resources separately through the appropriate operating-system, infrastructure, cloud, or mail-server integration.

Errors

GermainUX can detect:

Connection timeouts
DNS or network failures
TLS errors
Authentication failures
Mailbox or folder access failures
Permission errors

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IMAP protocol errors
Message-query failures
Monitor execution errors

The error information available depends on what the IMAP server returns to the monitoring connection.

Configure IMAP monitoring

Prerequisites

Before configuration, confirm that:

A GermainUX Engine can reach the IMAP server.
The required hostname and port are available.
Firewall and proxy rules permit the connection.
The monitoring account can access the required mailbox and folders.
The server’s TLS certificate is trusted.
The authentication method is supported.
Mailbox monitoring has been approved by the appropriate security and compliance teams.
The monitoring account uses the minimum required permissions.

Run the IMAP wizard

Sign in to GermainUX Workspace.
Go to Wizards.
Open IMAP.
Select IMAP Monitor as the component type.
Select or create the monitored server.
Select or create the monitored application.
Select the approved monitoring credentials.
Select Next.
Add the folders that GermainUX should inspect.
Enter the IMAP port.
Enable the secure-connection option required by the server.
Enter a descriptive monitor name.
Select the monitoring node.
Select the GermainUX Engine.
Set the monitoring interval.
Review the configuration and select Finish.

Use a monitor name that identifies the mailbox, environment, and purpose, for example:

Order Processing Mailbox – Production

Do not include passwords, tokens, email content, or other secrets in the monitor name.

Custom IMAP rules

The standard IMAP monitor can be customized when additional message analysis is required. A custom rule can:

Create a KPI from a folder or message count.
Detect a message matching approved criteria.
Categorize selected messages.
Measure message age.
Identify a missing expected message.
Associate a message with an application or business process.
Trigger an alert or approved action.

SAMPLE: imap-default.drl

//
// Sample IMAP monitoring rules.
//
package com.germainsoftware.apm;

dialect "mvel"

import javax.mail.*;
import com.germainsoftware.apm.config.data.*;
import com.germainsoftware.apm.converter.*;
import com.germainsoftware.apm.data.*;
import com.germainsoftware.apm.data.model.*;
import com.germainsoftware.apm.message.*;
import com.germainsoftware.apm.router.*;

global org.slf4j.Logger logger;
global com.germainsoftware.apm.converter.DatamartConverter datamart;
global com.germainsoftware.apm.router.RouterContext context;

rule "Unread folder count"
when 
    $m : IMGermainessage( )
then
    logger.info("Received message for: {}", $m.name);

    GenericMetric m = new GenericMetric();
    m.type = "IMAP:Unread Count";
    m.name = $m.name;
    m.timestamp = $m.timestamp;
    m.value = (double)$m.folder.getUnreadMessageCount();
    datamart.insert(m, context);

    retract($m);
end

Use the standard monitor wherever possible. Create a custom rule only when the required condition is not already provided, and validate it against representative messages before production deployment.

SLAs, alerts, and automation

Configure SLAs for conditions such as:

IMAP server unavailable
Authentication failed
Folder inaccessible
Connection or folder check too slow
Unread-message count above the accepted threshold
Message older than the processing SLA

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Expected message missing
Failure message detected
Monitoring data no longer received

Detected conditions can trigger:

Email or SMS alerts
Watches for interested GermainUX users
Incident creation or enrichment
Webhooks or approved HTTP actions
Diagnostic scripts
Authorized remediation workflows
Scheduled reports

See Automation. Avoid sending an IMAP alert exclusively through the same impaired email infrastructure being monitored. Use an independent notification channel for critical availability alerts.

Analytics and correlation

GermainUX can analyze IMAP activity by:

Mailbox and folder
Application and environment
Server
Message category
Sender domain or another approved attribute
Time period

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Success or failure condition
Message age
Processing outcome

When compatible identifiers and timestamps are available, IMAP events can be correlated with:

Application logs
Integration transactions
Batch processes
Support cases
Orders or business records
Infrastructure conditions
Related API or database activity

Correlation requires the relevant identifier to be available in both sources.

Security and privacy

Mailbox content can contain personal information, credentials, confidential business data, attachments, and regulated information.

Use a dedicated least-privilege monitoring account.
Grant access only to required mailboxes and folders.
Use encrypted IMAP connections.
Protect credentials using the approved GermainUX credential mechanism.
Avoid collecting message bodies or attachments unless required.
Mask, anonymize, or exclude sensitive fields.

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Restrict access to collected message information.
Configure appropriate retention.
Do not store passwords or access tokens in rules, labels, or dashboards.
Review sender, subject, recipient, and message content for privacy implications.

See Data Privacy.

Validate monitoring

After configuration:

Confirm that the GermainUX Engine can reach the IMAP server

Verify successful TLS negotiation and authentication

Confirm access to each configured folder

Send an approved test message

Verify that the folder and unread counts change as expected

Confirm that the corresponding KPI or event appears in GermainUX

Test an approved matching rule

Validate any missing-message or aging condition

Confirm that SLAs and alerts operate as expected

Verify that unauthorized message content is not collected

Deployment and configuration

Deploy or select a GermainUX Engine with secure access to the IMAP server.
Run the IMAP wizard in GermainUX Workspace.
Configure the mailbox, folders, secure connection, credentials, and monitoring interval.
Create custom message rules only for application-specific requirements.
Configure KPIs, pivots, and measures when additional analytics are required.
Configure SLAs and alerts for operationally significant conditions.

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Configure correlation and tracing with related applications and business processes where supported.
Configure approved automated actions when required.
Create or customize a dashboard.
Configure scheduled reports.

Get Help

Contact GermainUX Support

The GermainUX team helps you get up and running faster, empower your team, turn data into actionable insights, and optimize performance to deliver measurable business outcomes.

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The content of this document is proprietary to GERMAIN SOFTWARE.

Business outcomes

Backlog and aging detection

SLAs, alerts, and automation

Deployment and configuration

​Overview

​Business outcomes

​Server connectivity and authentication

​Mailbox and folder monitoring

​Email-driven process monitoring

​Expected-message monitoring

​Backlog and aging detection

​Performance monitoring

​Errors

​Configure IMAP monitoring

​Prerequisites

​Run the IMAP wizard

​Custom IMAP rules

​SLAs, alerts, and automation

​Analytics and correlation

​Security and privacy

​Validate monitoring

​Deployment and configuration

​Get Help

Contact GermainUX Support

Can't find what you need?

Overview

Business outcomes

Server connectivity and authentication

Mailbox and folder monitoring

Email-driven process monitoring

Expected-message monitoring

Backlog and aging detection

Performance monitoring

Errors

Configure IMAP monitoring

Prerequisites

Run the IMAP wizard

Custom IMAP rules

SLAs, alerts, and automation

Analytics and correlation

Security and privacy

Validate monitoring

Deployment and configuration

Get Help