Re: temporary files

On Wed, 7 Apr 2010, Chris Hoogendyk wrote:
> So, we have the mail spool in /var/mail/username and then subdirectories
> in ~username/maildir/ that have been created and subscribed to to move
> things out of /var/mail. Procmail drops probable spam and bounces, among
> other things, in subdirectories of ~username/maildir/.

When you say "~username/maildir/", do you actually mean the maildir
format?  If so, then you are using a modified version of UW IMAP and it is
anyone's guess how it may work.

> I was talking with my boss about directory structures and partitions to
> optimize performance of mail on the server. He thought there was a temp
> directory, maybe something like /var/spool/pop, that could be set up on
> a different spindle so that when email came in  and went out it wasn't
> all hammering on the same drive. As far as I can tell, however, uw-imap
> doesn't use any temporary file space for reading and moving things
> around.

That is correct.  Unmodified UW IMAP does not "read and move things
around".

There are a number of ways that you can do as your boss suggests.  The
first and most important question is:

 	Do you have any reason why you are committed to the legacy
 	traditional UNIX mailbox format?

If your IMAP server system is only accessed via IMAP or POP, then you
would be MUCH better off abandoning the traditional UNIX mailbox format in
favor of mix format (which uses the user's home directory).

If you are stuck with traditional UNIX format because of legacy
applications, then there are measures that you can take.  But before
discussing these, you should seriously consider switching formats.

> If I'm using sendmail with mimedefang, delivering mail with procmail,
> and reading with uw-imap, could someone give me a brief tutorial-like
> summary of the path of the incoming and outgoing mail message,
> indicating what is just done in memory and what file space gets used
> (including any temporary file space)?

In traditional UNIX format, mail is appended directly to the
/var/mail/username file by the delivery process (which is probably
procmail).

UW IMAP edits this file in place, using memory buffers as needed.  It does
not write any temporary files other than lock files.

-- Mark --

http://panda.com/mrc
Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed sheep contesting the vote.
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