One preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a system and
method for evaluating the performance of a network interface sub-system
of an inter-messaging network of voice mail systems. This preferred
embodiment includes a network query device that connects to the
inter-messaging network and requests a test data file to be retrieved
from a particular voice mail network interface sub-system in the
inter-messaging network. The requests for the test data file are
generated according to user command. Accordingly, the performance of a
network interface sub-system in the inter-messaging network, as
represented by the result of the request attempt, is evaluated according
to a defined level of performance, such as a preferred time limit. Other
systems and methods are also provided.