SYSERR(root): readqf: cannot open ./df*

Spicer, Kevin Kevin.Spicer at BMRB.CO.UK
Thu Dec 12 16:41:35 GMT 2002


I forgot to mention a couple of things...
This only seems to happen when the email load is relatively high (I say relatively because the box only handles about 7000 a day).
I've also just noticed that the errors only relate to mail coming into our local domains.  We use a mailertable rather than MX records to direct mail to our internal servers.  Outgoing mail is unaffected.

-----Original Message-----
From: Spicer, Kevin 
Sent: 12 December 2002 16:21
To: MAILSCANNER at JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: Re: SYSERR(root): readqf: cannot open ./df*


>>
>> Dec  9 10:53:59 mailhost sendmail[19633]: gB9Arxid019633: SYSERR(root):
>> cannot flock (/etc/mail/access.db, fd=7, type=1, omode=100000, euid=0): No
>> locks available
>>
>Is the failed lock always for access.db?

Yes, but There will be a flurry of this error (40 or 50) then it won't reappear for maybe an hour or more.

>>
>Well there could be a problem with flock on a 2.4 kernel, but it sounds
>like something else is going on since changing to fcntl didn't fix it.
>I've not see any problems like this on any of my RedHat mail servers,
>you'd think that one that  handles some 250K messages per day would
>encounter the problem at some point.

Yes, you would!  


>What other services does this box provide? What kind of mail load does
>it see? Are there any automated processes futzing with access.db?

Only other service is an iptables firewall which serves only to firewall the box itself and to NAT the Outlook Web Access (IIS) on the exchange box where the messages end up (I'd love to blame Exchange, but this time I don't think I'll get away with it!).

I didn't really post my configuration here it is...
Mandrake 9.0 (kernel 2.4.19)
sendmail 8.12.6
mailscanner 3.23

The other oddness is that I noticed a few minutes ago that there are occaisionally more than two sendmail processes running (not including children - i.e. processess with a PPID of 1) I suspect this might be part of the problem - but I don't know where they are coming from!  Does anyone know if mailscanner invokes sendmail directly?

--
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
The instructions said to use Windows 98 or better, so I installed RedHat
   Jim Levie                                 email:
jim at entrophy-free.net


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http://www.bmrb.co.uk +44 (0)20 8566 5000
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This message (and any attachment) is intended only for the recipient and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If you have received this in error, please contact the sender and delete this message immediately. Disclosure, copying or other action taken in respect of this email or in reliance on it is prohibited. BMRB International Limited accepts no liability in relation to any personal emails, or content of any email which does not directly relate to our business.




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