On Wed, 9 Aug 2000 sys044@??? wrote:
> Am I right in understanding that the "hints database" is not
> refered to in the test modes of EXIM (-bt or -bh)?
Almost correct. (I thought it was correct until I checked.)
In neither case does Exim have a message for delivery, so it always runs
the directors and routers for each relevant address (testing or
verifying). Since it isn't trying to deliver, it doesn't look at any
transport hints.
However, if there are SMTP rejections during -bh testing, the hints that
are involved with them do get used. I am not sure if this is actually
right, now I come to think about it. But from your next remark, I assume
you are concerned either with a routing or a transport delay.
> Is there any way of asking EXIM to use the hints database in testing or
> is the procedure to remove it before putting up a new configuration if,
> for example, some host routing is changed.
You can always delete the hints without major damage - you will just get
a few more delivery attempts than you expected.
If you change a route and want to override a previous hint causing a
delay to that domain or host(s), you can either force a message delivery
to that host/domain, remove the individual hint using exim_fixdb
(tedious to drive), or just remove the entire hints file.
The easiest is to force a message if you happen to have one handy.
--
Philip Hazel University of Cambridge Computing Service,
ph10@??? Cambridge, England. Phone: +44 1223 334714.