Re: [Exim] retry configuration for exim-3.36

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Author: Odhiambo G. Washington
Date:  
To: exim-users
Subject: Re: [Exim] retry configuration for exim-3.36
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* Paul <paul@???> [20040114 11:08]: wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I am just doing some fine tuning for our mail system and wondering if our
> retry configuration is correct.
> Below is what is currently set to, which I am pretty sure is the default for
> exim. We run a very large site on exim-3.36
> Our /var/spool/mail/input is 16GB and doesn't fluctuate that much, only
> slighty. I have graphs of it's size from mrtg
>
> Also whats the best way to run exim and its queue daemon? Currently we're
> doing /usr/sbin/sendmail -bd -q1h
> Is it better to do /usr/sbin/sendmail -bd and then do a seperate
> /usr/sbin/sendmail -q1h or is it better to just combine them both.
> Should we be using a lower -qx (minute or hour) setting? Someone mentioned
> 15m, is too much for our site?


I believe unleashing several queue runners might help reduce the size of
your input. 16GB is so huge I wonder what is stored there. Does your
site have over 1 million users? ;(

exim -bd -q15m should be fine, but I believe there are other
suggestions, like unleasing multiple queue runners.


> I have also considering using another server for all outgoing mail, so in
> theory instead of mailing waiting in /var/spool/input it goes via another
> server and sits in the queue on that server.


Why can't it just go straight to the destination?


> Are there any associated nasties with doing this? No hosts or sites will
> refuse my emails or anything wierd because the sending host isn't listed as
> an MX?


fallback hosts should (I think) be used only when you cannot deliver
immediately. For example, what difference does it make when all the mail
go and stay on the queue of the other box? To me it sounds more like a
simple case of shifting goal posts, not tackling the problem.

> Grand total summary
> -------------------
>                                                        At least one address
>   TOTAL               Volume    Messages    Hosts      Delayed       Failed
>   Received              20GB      543163     48651   59840 11.0%    71048 13.1%
>   Delivered             19GB      487914     5522


You received 20GB and deliver 19GB. Well, that seems fast! How comes
then you have an input directory of 16GB? Doesn't make sense to me, but
I could be having a bad day.

> Deliveries by transport
> -----------------------
>                       Volume    Messages
>   local_delivery      3886KB         666
>   remote_smtp         1046MB       40524
>   spam_transport       394KB          34
>   virtual_delivery      17GB      446690


This adds up, according to the above stats.


> ######################################################################
> #                      RETRY CONFIGURATION                           #
> ######################################################################

>
> # This single retry rule applies to all domains and all errors. It specifies
> # retries every 15 minutes for 2 hours, then increasing retry intervals,
> # starting at 1 hour and increasing each time by a factor of 1.5, up to 16
> # hours, then retries every 8 hours until 4 days have passed since the first
> # failed delivery.
>
> # Domain                Error           Retries
> # ------                -----           -------
> *                       quota_7d
> *                       quota           F,2h,15m; F,3d,1h
> *                       quota_7d
> *                       quota           F,2h,15m; F,3d,1h


Aren't those rules redundant?
I have only changed retry rules for some intermittently connected hosts
that fetch mail from my server using ETRN.




        cheers
       - wash
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Odhiambo Washington                     . WANANCHI ONLINE LTD (Nairobi, KE)  |
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