vahe@cadvax (Vahe Sarkissian) (09/04/84)
I've encountered a problem with sendmail recently, for which the fix appears straightforward. But, I'm worried that there's something I've missed, and am seeking advice. Eric Allman, are you out there? First, I run sendmail (Version 4.12) on 4.2 bsd on three 750's and 25 proprietary micros, connected via Ethernet. The problem is that I'll occasionally see a whole bunch of stale mail get delivered. Reading the logs, I realized it was due to sendmail dying (cause as yet unknown), and leaving a whole bunch of lock files. When the machine reboots (not often; most machines here stay up for about a month at a time), the locks are removed in /etc/rc, and presto -- weeks-old mail at your doorstep. In an environment that is heavily dependent on mail for communication, this is unacceptable. Well, the fix for stale locks is simple: time them out, with some intelligent cutoff point. But, as I read the documentation (in the code and in the manuals -- well written, I might add), I get the distinct impression that Allman knew about this, and omitted it on purpose. Other than the chance of mail getting delivered twice, I can't see any other problems this could cause. So, the QUESTION: am I missing something? Is there some fundamental reason why the lock files shouldn't be removed (presuming, of course, that the decision is made in a reasonable fashion.) I can be reached via: ...allegra!fortune!megatest!vahe (408) 998-7110 x3168 Vahe Sarkissian @ Megatest Corp, 880 Fox Lane, San Jose, CA 95132
zemon@felix.UUCP (Art Zemon) (09/13/84)
Please keep me posted on anything you find out about mail
being redelivered after a system reboot. We have the same
problem with sendmail on our pair of VAXen running 4.2bsd.
Thanks.
--
-- Art Zemon
FileNet Corp.
...!{decvax,ucbvax}!trwrb!felix!zemon