bader@b.psy.cmu.edu (miles bader) (11/03/85)
The sendmail I have has an annoying habit of give the message Cannot open /dev/console: Bad file number every single time it's run. It's not really a big deal, since it doesn't seem to affect anything, but it is annoying, and it screws up emacs smail. It also seems rather strange, as EBADF is not one of the errors that open() can die on... Any explanations??? -Miles, bader@a.psy.cmu.edu
eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya) (11/03/85)
I observe that sendmail (including the 4.3 version) is taking on
the appearance of Multics/PL/1. Will a "Ken" please step forward?
From the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:
--eugene miya
NASA Ames Research Center
{hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,decwrl,allegra}!ames!aurora!eugene
eugene@ames-nas.ARPAbarry@adelie.UUCP (Barry A. Burke) (11/05/85)
> The sendmail I have has an annoying habit of give the message > Cannot open /dev/console: Bad file number > every single time it's run. It's not really a big deal, since it > doesn't seem to affect anything, but it is annoying, and it screws > up emacs smail. > > Any explanations??? check your system's /etc/hosts file. If the administrator followed the installation instructions he changed the line: 127.1 localhost to 127.1 <real host name> Sendmail as delivered on most binary-only licenses connects to syslog(8) using the hostname of `localhost' specifically on the connection request[*]. Change it back to `localhost' and everything should work again... [*] this is my personal assumption, since I can't look at the sources. I know in fact that this will cause the problem specified, and the prescribed action will correct it. Apologies to the unix wizards out there if not 100% accurate. -- LIVE: Barry A. Burke, (617) 965-8480 x26 USPS: Adelie Corporation, 288 Walnut St., Newtonville, MA 02160 UUCP: ..!{harvard | decvax!linus!axiom}!adelie!barry ARPA: adelie!barry@harvard.ARPA
jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao) (11/17/85)
In article <2743@brl-tgr.ARPA> bader@b.psy.cmu.edu (miles bader) writes: >The sendmail I have has an annoying habit of give the message > Cannot open /dev/console: Bad file number The Ultrix 1.1 (and prob'ly 1.0) distribution does this. The first reason is that the syslog.c subroutine is compiled -DEBUG, for no apparent reason; this inhibits opening /dev/console if one cannot find localhost in /etc/hosts. However, you don't need source code to fix this. Go put back into /etc/hosts the line that was originally there -- I think: 127.1 localhost myname replacing "myname" with your local name. Then make sure your real hosts line is above this line. (Best performance from sendmail comes from making these ll 2 and 1 respectively in /etc/hosts.) Also, in /etc/networks, put: 127 loopback loop PLEASE check the Ultrix Installation Manual, as I am not sure these are absolutely correct. To make sure these changes are propagated the next time your netadmin user updates the /etc/hosts, put the 2 lines in /etc/hosts.local and the 1 line in /etc/networks.local. Again, check me with the UIM. -- Joe Yao hadron!jsdy@seismo.{CSS.GOV,ARPA,UUCP}