Re: [exim] Fastest Exim server ever

Ken Price wrote:
>> The MTA has to be able to receive 50k/second in bursts and get them out
>> as quick as possible. Probably not as fast as coming in but from what I
>> understand delivery speed is important.
>> It's coming from some sort of SQL server that they say can deliver it
>> that fast.
>>
>
> Don't think one server. Think multiple, less powerful servers. 50k
> unique messages a second isn't a realistic goal from a single server.
> Theoretically, you're talking 50k outbound connections to remote MX
> servers.
>
> Also, and I hate saying this, but the advanced features, flexibility,
> and functionality that make Exim so great will also hinder you. You
> don't need a full blown MTA here. Don't hate me, but I REALLY
> recommend Qmail in this application. It's fast, lightweight, and for
> this application ... simple. Might as well go with djbdns on the
> local machines for DNS caching, too.
>
> I don't typically recommend D. J. Bernstein software, but I think it's
> the right choice here.
>
> My 2 cents.
>
>

I just can't stand Qmail. I wish it would just die. When Qmail sees a
421 response it doesn't retry the higher MX which in my mind makes it
totally unacceptable. But thanks for the suggestion.

Yes - we will go wide if need be using multiple servers in parallel.
Going to start with an Intel Quad core and 8 gigs of ram. Put the queue
in ram and if the first attempt fail it goes to a secondary server for
retries. And have a dedicated DNS server for fast lookups. I'm going to
keep the config as small and simple as possible. But just looking for
some stats to see if anyone else ever did anything like this.