SES - Why sending speed is so slow?

Hello OkayMe,

Thanks for bringing this issue to the community. Slow sending speeds can be incredibly frustrating, especially when everything else seems to be set up correctly. Let’s work through this step by step to help you get back on track. 😊

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Clarifying the Issue

From your description, it appears that despite a healthy SES account configuration and a generous quota of 20 emails per second, you are experiencing slow sending speeds of approximately 50 seconds per email. This issue suggests a potential bottleneck, either in your integration with the SES API or an external factor like network latency. Resolving this will require examining your setup systematically.

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Key Terms

• SES API: Amazon Simple Email Service API, used to send emails programmatically.
• Sending Speed: The actual rate at which emails are being sent, which should align with the configured maximum send rate.
• Reputation Metrics: Indicators of your account's health, including sending history and compliance with SES standards.

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The Solution (Our Recipe)

Steps at a Glance:

1. Verify API request structure and ensure no delays in your code.
2. Confirm the network latency between your server and SES.
3. Review and optimize your integration setup for better performance.
4. Monitor SES behavior with CloudWatch metrics for deeper insights.
5. Test sending speed using Amazon SES's SendRawEmail or SendEmail APIs with a streamlined payload.
6. Consider SES ramp-up periods and ensure your account can handle maximum throughput.
7. Reach out to AWS Support for account-specific troubleshooting if needed.

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Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Verify API request structure and ensure no delays in your code:
   Review your application code for unnecessary retries, delays, or inefficient logic when issuing SES API calls. For example, ensure you're not waiting for one email to complete before sending the next. Test your code with a direct API call (e.g., using Postman or an AWS SDK) to check the raw response time.

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2. Confirm the network latency between your server and SES:
   Use tools like ping or traceroute to measure latency between your hosting environment and the SES endpoint for your AWS region. If latency is high, consider moving your application to the same AWS region as your SES endpoint to minimize delays.

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3. Review and optimize your integration setup for better performance:
   Confirm that you are using the recommended SES endpoint (e.g., email.us-east-1.amazonaws.com) and have implemented parallel processing or batching in your code to maximize throughput. Libraries like asyncio in Python can help manage parallel requests efficiently.

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4. Monitor SES behavior with CloudWatch metrics for deeper insights:
   Use AWS CloudWatch to monitor SES metrics such as DeliveryAttempts, Throttle, and Bounce. Here’s a simple example using Python to retrieve DeliveryAttempts data:

   import boto3
   
   # Initialize CloudWatch client
   cloudwatch_client = boto3.client('cloudwatch', region_name='us-east-1')
   
   # Retrieve SES metrics
   response = cloudwatch_client.get_metric_statistics(
       Namespace='AWS/SES',
       MetricName='DeliveryAttempts',
       Dimensions=[
           {'Name': 'Identity', 'Value': 'your-domain-or-email'}
       ],
       StartTime='2024-12-21T00:00:00Z',
       EndTime='2024-12-22T00:00:00Z',
       Period=3600,
       Statistics=['Sum']
   )
   
   # Print metric data
   for data_point in response['Datapoints']:
       print(f"Time: {data_point['Timestamp']}, Attempts: {data_point['Sum']}")

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5. Test sending speed using Amazon SES's APIs:
   Use the SES SendRawEmail or SendEmail APIs with minimal payloads to test raw sending speeds. Here’s an example of a simple email sent using Python and Boto3:

   import boto3
   from botocore.exceptions import BotoCoreError, ClientError
   
   # Initialize SES client
   ses_client = boto3.client('ses', region_name='us-east-1')
   
   try:
       # Sending a simple email
       response = ses_client.send_email(
           Source='your-email_at_example.com',
           Destination={
               'ToAddresses': ['recipient_at_example.com']
           },
           Message={
               'Subject': {'Data': 'Test Email'},
               'Body': {'Text': {'Data': 'This is a test email from Amazon SES.'}}
           }
       )
       print("Email sent! Message ID:", response['MessageId'])
   except (BotoCoreError, ClientError) as error:
       print(f"Error sending email: {error}")

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6. Consider SES ramp-up periods and ensure your account can handle maximum throughput:
   If your SES account is relatively new or you've recently increased your sending volume, AWS applies a ramp-up mechanism to protect sender reputation. Ensure you're adhering to best practices, like using DKIM and SPF authentication, to speed up this process.

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7. Reach out to AWS Support for account-specific troubleshooting:
   If the issue persists, contact AWS Support with detailed information, including your latency tests and CloudWatch metrics. AWS engineers can investigate backend factors affecting your account’s performance.

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Closing Thoughts

It’s understandable to feel stuck when delays persist despite a seemingly healthy setup. By methodically addressing each potential bottleneck—starting with your code and network configuration—you can isolate and resolve the issue. The inclusion of CloudWatch, ramp-up periods, and these sample code snippets provides deeper insights into performance. If you need more help, AWS Support is a reliable avenue for further assistance.

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I hope this enhanced guidance helps, OkayMe! Let me know if you need further clarification or assistance. Resolving this will be a win for you and others who might face similar challenges! 🚀✨

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Cheers, Aaron 😊