mailertable question: saving whole domain incoming mail in one user account

"Robert A. Buaas" <buaas@wireless.net> wrote:
> [...]
> Thank you Andrew (I hope this is your English-translated name).

You are correct :-)

> [...]
> In the FAQ answer, is Procmail required BECAUSE Sendmail
> doesn't have the capability to (a) maintain enough headers
> in the output to allow fetchmail to properly parse/deliver
> based on the original To: user, while (b) writing all the output to a
> single user spool?

By default hardly any MTA copies "envelope recipient" info provided in
SMTP session into headers of delivered message. In default configurations
"envelope recipient" info can not be *RELIABLY* retrieved from message
delivered to mailbox. As I remember "man fetchmail" describes the issue
in much more detailed way.

procmail is required because sendmail DOES NOT deliver messages to local
mailboxes itself, sendail always uses another program (local mailer) for
the task. Procmail is the most flexible of such widely available and used
programs.

Procmail can deliver to maildir (separate file per every message),
Procmail can be configured to use and create "hourly" maildirs
(e.g. .../2008/09/06/23) or spool of randomly selected maildirs.

The nasty traps you may fall in:
1) file system performance drop when *thousands* of files are present in
single (maildir) directory => you can use multiple maildirs and
"rotate" them
2) lack of free "file nodes" in file system after storing a few hundredth
thousands+ messages => you can archive old maildirs into one
compressed tar file

Appending messages to (classic) "mailbox file" would create locking
problems under heavy load (servicing *MANY* parallel messages in peak
load periods).

P.S.
1) Do not expect short "reply time" from me this weekend.
2) Do you plan to set up permanent "backup" for "next time"?
I may provide more detailed instructions in a few weeks time
*if* "somebody" is really going to use them and help to improve
them by testing them in "real life situations".

--
[pl>en Andrew] Andrzej Adam Filip : anfi@onet.eu : anfi@xl.wp.pl
Confess your sins to the Lord and you will be forgiven;
confess them to man and you will be laughed at.
-- Josh Billings