Hello,

can sendmail pick up stdout when the MDA defers a delivery and adds
the first words into the queue file instead of: (Deferred: local
mailer (/etc/mail/deliver) exited with EX_TEMP)?

I found the string in ./sendmail/deliver.c:

rcode = endmailer(mci, e, pv);
if (!ok)
rcode = EX_TEMPFAIL;
if (rcode == EX_TEMPFAIL && SmtpError[0] == '\0')
{
/*
** Need an e_message for mailq display.
** We set SmtpError as
*/

(void) sm_snprintf(SmtpError, sizeof SmtpError,
"%s mailer (%s) exited with EX_TEMPFAIL",
m->m_name, m->m_mailer);
}

And I wondered if one can fill in the first part of stdout into
SmtpError, maybe in endmailer()?

For permanent errors, stdout/stderr is inserted into the DSN, so is it
is captured somewhere.

Thanks,

On 05/09/07 08:37, ska wrote:
> can sendmail pick up stdout when the MDA defers a delivery and adds
> the first words into the queue file instead of: (Deferred: local
> mailer (/etc/mail/deliver) exited with EX_TEMP)?

Try looking in to LMTP, I think it will serve your needs better.



Grant. . . .

I do not have no compatible LMTP-capable MDA.
But you are right, it would worth looking in this direction.

ska

On 05/10/07 04:39, ska wrote:
> I do not have no compatible LMTP-capable MDA.
> But you are right, it would worth looking in this direction.

What MDA / LDA are you using? I know that Procmail, and a number of
database driven LDAs are capable of using LMTP.




Grant. . . .

> What MDA / LDA are you using? I know that Procmail, and a number of
> database driven LDAs are capable of using LMTP.

I'm using the Dovecot IMAP server. Because of some design decisions of
mine, if I would not use Dovecot's deliver, I need to train other MDAs
where the Maildir base and the Inbox are located; they differ from
their home directories.

I want to achieve two things:

a) mailq shall tell me more than just temp error, when I glance the
output - without the need to combine several entries in two log files.

b) I want to move out-of-quota mails into a slow queue.

But the idea about LMTP sound worth thinking about.

ska

On 05/11/07 04:59, ska wrote:
> I'm using the Dovecot IMAP server. Because of some design decisions of
> mine, if I would not use Dovecot's deliver, I need to train other MDAs
> where the Maildir base and the Inbox are located; they differ from
> their home directories.

*nod*

You can easily alter the source code to Procmail to tell it where to
deliver in to Maildirs. I can provide you with some of this information
if you want it. (I had to edit my Procmail source to get it to do what
I wanted it to do.)

> I want to achieve two things:
>
> a) mailq shall tell me more than just temp error, when I glance the
> output - without the need to combine several entries in two log files.

I believe that if Sendmail is not in LMTP mode it looks at the error
level of the LDA that it called. Sendmail then has a definition of what
error to use with these error levels. As far as grabbing something from
STDOUT I don't know what to say.

> b) I want to move out-of-quota mails into a slow queue.

So long as your MTA has accepted responsibility for the envelopes that
it can not successfully deliver and requeues the messages with such an
error, you will be able to migrate such messages in to a different mail
queue.

Warning! - Word to the wise, this is a way to be DoSed. Imagen if you
will, a recipient that is near quota receiving multi part messages
(think Outlook Express splitting an attachment in to smaller pieces to
send) of a very large attachment. If the recipient is over quota the
envelopes will not be able to be delivered to the recipient. However
the envelopes will still reside in the mail queue not taking in to
account the users quota. In other words, it is possible for someone who
is over quota to receive enough mail to fill your disk despite the fact
that they are over quota.

> But the idea about LMTP sound worth thinking about.

*nod* LMTP is very nice indeed. The next best thing would be for some
sort of milter to be able to check the recipient's quota prior to the
MTA accepting responsibility for the envelope. However this is a bit
tricky as envelopes can have multiple recipients and the acceptance /
rejection of an envelope is all or nothing, not per recipient (yet).



Grant. . . .