zmailer - zmailer control script

zmailer

[--zconfig /mail/zmailer-x.conf] [[-q] [kill|nuke|stop] [start] [router] [scheduler] [smtpserver] [newdb] [newaliases] [resubmit] [bootclean] [cleanup] [logsync] [freeze] [thaw|unfreeze]]

The zmailer(1zm) is the quick interface to starting and stopping the local mail daemons, and doing other administrative chores.

There are three daemons, called the router(8zm), the scheduler(8zm), and the smtpserver(8zm).

The router(8zm)'s home directory is POSTOFFICE/router, which it scans every 15 idle seconds for newly submitted message files. The router(8zm) determines what to do with a message. It will typically send it on to the scheduler(8zm) queue. This is maintained in the POSTOFFICE/scheduler directory, which is also the working directory of the scheduler(8zm) and its transport agents. The scheduler(8zm) process is what listens to the mailq TCP port for queries from the mailq(1zm) program used to examine the state of the transport queues.

Invoking zmailer(1zm) without any argument is equivalent to giving the three arguments: router scheduler smtpserver

Invoking zmailer(1zm) with only one argument, "kill", is equivalent to invoking it with the four arguments: kill router scheduler smtpserver

The arguments specify actions to take in sequence:

--zconfig /path/to/zconfig

accepted only as the first parameter, and can be used to override the hardcoded system-wide value of ZCONFIG ZENV variable. This value will also be propagated to all daemons started by this script.

-q

shuts up this script wrapper from muttering anything.

freeze

sets a flag so that latter options/executions of the zmailer script need at first an unfreeze to allow restart of various subprograms. The goal is to keep automatically restarting systems from starting up a mailer when there is a maintance going on.

unfreeze

clears the flag that freeze did set. Has an alias: thaw.

kill

sets a flag so that when the following arguments are executed, the relevant process will be shut down gracefully, as opposed to restarted. If kill is the last (or only) argument, it will terminate all three daemons.

nuke

is like kill except the processes are shut down with the KILL signal.

start

clears the nuke/kill flag, and all daemons explicitely named after this (or if this the last in the command line, then all) will be started.

router

will start up (or shut down if after a kill) a new router daemon.

scheduler

will start up (or shut down if after a kill) a new scheduler daemon.

smtpserver

will start up (or shut down if after a kill) a new SMTP server daemon.

newdb

will run database regeneration per definitions at "MAILSHARE/db/dbases.conf" file. See zdbases.conf(5zm).

newaliases

will run the script to recreate the alias database from the "MAILSHARE/db/aliases" file. (This is old invokation method, and is superceded with "newdb")

resubmit

moves messages from the POSTOFFICE/deferred directory to the POSTOFFICE/router directory. This should be run regularly by cron.

bootclean

does any necessary boot-time cleanup.

cleanup

gets rid of old files from the POSTOFFICE/postman and POSTOFFICE/public directories. This should be run once a day or week or month.

logsync

A "post-logfile-movement" call hook to do things needed in various subsystems to get their logfiles reopened, or some such. Most subsystems have automated "reopen everything within 30 seconds of previous reopen" logic inside them. Some may have other requirements.

To stop the currently running daemons:

zmailer kill

At boot time, typically the following script fragment will be run to start up all the daemons:

. /etc/zmailer/zmailer.conf
if [ -f $MAILSHARE/zmailer ]; then
        $MAILSHARE/zmailer -q &
        (echo -n ' zmailer')     >/dev/console
fi

/etc/zmailer/zmailer.conf

ZCONFIG file

/var/spool/postoffice

$POSTOFFICE

/usr/lib/zmailer/router

$MAILBIN/router

/usr/lib/zmailer/scheduler

$MAILBIN/scheduler

/usr/lib/zmailer/smtpserver

$MAILBIN/smtpserver

router(8zm), scheduler(8zm), smtpserver(8zm), mailq(1zm), newdb(8zm), zdbases.conf(5zm), zmailer.conf(5zm).

This program authored and copyright by: Rayan Zachariassen <no address> Modifications over the years 1990-2003 by: Matti Aarnio <mea@nic.funet.fi>