SMTP reference

Microsoft 4.7.500: server busy, throttled

Microsoft / Outlookrate_limitedaction: throttle

Microsoft 4.7.500 is throttling. The message has not been rejected, it has been deferred because Microsoft is limiting how much it will take from you right now. Reduce concurrency for Microsoft destinations and let the retries run.

What it looks like in the log

451 4.7.500 Server busy. Please try again later from [x.x.x.x].
421 4.7.500 Server busy, please try again later.

Why it happens

What to do

Related

5.7.606 · S3140

Classifying this automatically

This response maps to rate_limited with a recommended action of throttle in smtpsift, an open-source classifier for SMTP rejections and deferrals.