Found nn messages in the processing-messages database

[Mark Sapiro]

On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 09:16:21AM +0100, Julian Field wrote:
> 
> 
> On 14/4/09 22:14, Mark Sapiro wrote:
> >Beginning yesterday after I upgraded from MailScanner 4.76.7-1 to
> >4.76.10-2 and continuing today after upgrading to 4.76.12-1, I am
> >seeing  messages like
> >
> >Found nn messages in the processing-messages database
> >
> >every time a child starts. I used to see these in prior versions, but
> >the count was always zero. Beginning with my installation of
> >4.76.10-2, the count appears (so far) to be a non-decreasing number.
> >
> >Is this correct?
> >   
> It tends to imply that some of your MailScanner children are dying 
> unnatural deaths. Run it with --debug a few times and see if you can 
> catch it breaking. Then grab a copy of your mqueue.in so we have the 
> rogue messages to experiment with.


I won't have time for a day or two to do further testing, but I don't
think children are dying unnaturally. I see sets of log messages like
the following when MailScanner is restarted, say by updating spear
fishing rules.

Apr 15 03:16:02 sbh16 MailScanner[9708]: MailScanner child caught a SIGHUP
Apr 15 03:16:09 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: MailScanner E-Mail Virus Scanner version 4.76.12 starting...
Apr 15 03:16:09 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: Read 854 hostnames from the phishing whitelist
Apr 15 03:16:09 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: Read 4107 hostnames from the phishing blacklist
Apr 15 03:16:10 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: Using SpamAssassin results cache
Apr 15 03:16:10 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: Connected to SpamAssassin cache database
Apr 15 03:16:22 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: Connected to processing-messages database
Apr 15 03:16:22 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: Found 23 messages in the processing-messages database
Apr 15 03:16:22 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: Using locktype = flock
Apr 15 03:16:22 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: New Batch: Scanning 1 messages, 1052 bytes
Apr 15 03:16:22 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: Requeue: 4F3D86900A5.69860 to 548ED6902C5
Apr 15 03:16:22 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: Unscanned: Delivered 1 messages
Apr 15 03:16:22 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: Virus and Content Scanning: Starting
Apr 15 03:16:22 sbh16 MailScanner[10451]: Deleted 1 messages from processing-database

And sets like this when a child dies of old age

Apr 15 06:40:02 sbh16 MailScanner[14223]: MailScanner child dying of old age
Apr 15 06:40:02 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: MailScanner E-Mail Virus Scanner version 4.76.12 starting...
Apr 15 06:40:02 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: Read 854 hostnames from the phishing whitelist
Apr 15 06:40:02 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: Read 4095 hostnames from the phishing blacklist
Apr 15 06:40:02 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: Using SpamAssassin results cache
Apr 15 06:40:02 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: Connected to SpamAssassin cache database
Apr 15 06:40:10 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: Connected to processing-messages database
Apr 15 06:40:10 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: Found 23 messages in the processing-messages database
Apr 15 06:40:10 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: Using locktype = flock
Apr 15 06:49:22 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: New Batch: Scanning 1 messages, 15107 bytes
Apr 15 06:49:26 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: Virus and Content Scanning: Starting
Apr 15 06:49:27 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: Requeue: B274569036E.4D3D9 to E761F69037A
Apr 15 06:49:27 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: Uninfected: Delivered 1 messages
Apr 15 06:49:27 sbh16 MailScanner[16013]: Deleted 1 messages from processing-database

I only run with one child, and there are no other deaths/restarts in the log
besides "old age" and expected "SIGHUP".

Note that the "Found" count doesn't always increase between restarts, but
it never decreases. Also, "New Batch: Scanning X messages" in the log are
always followed by "Deleted X messages from processing-database" with the
same count and over any period, the "Deleted" counts add up to the same
total as the "Scanning" counts even where the "Found" count has increased.

-- 
Mark Sapiro mark at msapiro net       The highway is for gamblers,
San Francisco Bay Area, California    better use your sense - B. Dylan