On Mon, 23 Dec 1996, Christoph Lameter wrote:
> 1996-12-23 11:08:13 clameter@???: local_delivery transport
> deferred: failed to lock mailbox /var/spool/mail/clameter (lock file)
This means Exim couldn't complete its algorithm for creating a lock
file.
> And exim leaves a lock file(?)
>
> -rw-rw---- 1 clameter mail 0 Dec 23 10:56 /var/spool/mail/clameter
> -rw------- 1 clameter mail 0 Dec 23 11:22 /var/spool/mail/clameter.lock
... which is weird, because the file is created with the "hitch name"
> lock name: /var/spool/mail/jchiu.lock
> hitch name: /var/spool/mail/jchiu.lock.jethro.fuller.edu.32c00052.000014cc
and changed into the final lock name by manipulating hard links. (Don't
ask. It's a tricky algorithm for creating lock files over NFS, copied
from Pine.)
> I am running Linux 2.0.27 under Debian 1.1 on the Server and Debian 1.2 on
> the NFS client.
It seems to me that there must be some problem with the NFS on those
systems that is causing the lock-file creation logic not to work. It
works fine on other systems. The Solaris 2.4 system I'm writing from has
its /var/mail on a separate FASserver file server, and is serviced by
two Unix hosts. With 10,000 messages a day on each, we haven't had any
interlocking problems. If you want to look at the code, it's around line
900 of transports/appendfile.c.
On Tue, 24 Dec 1996, Nigel Metheringham wrote:
> Use the exim debug/verbose options to get more information on what is
> happening here. If exim is tring to inode lock the file as well it will
> always fail - Linux has no locking code. Without more info I can't really
> suggest much at present.
It would have said "(fcntl)" in the message if that is what had failed.
The fact that it said "(lock file)" means the problem was in setting up
the lock file.
On Tue, 24 Dec 1996, Christoph Lameter wrote:
> Would it be possible to not do locking on the inode and just use the
> username.lock file to do locking? Is that reliable or can it be reliable?
Suggestion noted. In fact, the opposite option exists (use fcntl and not
lock file). However, such an option won't help you, as it seems that the
creation of the lock file is failing.
--
Philip Hazel University Computing Service,
ph10@??? New Museums Site, Cambridge CB2 3QG,
P.Hazel@??? England. Phone: +44 1223 334714
