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authorDaniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>2024-05-06 01:46:30 +0000
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+<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
+ "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
+
+<html>
+
+<head>
+
+<title>Postfix ETRN Howto</title>
+
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
+
+</head>
+
+<body>
+
+<h1><img src="postfix-logo.jpg" width="203" height="98" ALT="">Postfix ETRN Howto</h1>
+
+<hr>
+
+<h2>Purpose of the Postfix fast ETRN service</h2>
+
+<p> The SMTP ETRN command was designed for sites that have intermittent
+Internet connectivity. With ETRN, a site can tell the mail server
+of its provider to "Please deliver all my mail now". The SMTP server
+searches the queue for mail to the customer, and delivers that mail
+<b>by connecting to the customer's SMTP server</b>. The mail is
+not delivered via the connection that was used for sending ETRN.
+</p>
+
+<p> As of version 1.0, Postfix has a fast ETRN implementation that
+does not require Postfix to examine every queue file. Instead,
+Postfix maintains a record of what queue files contain mail for
+destinations that are configured for ETRN service. ETRN service
+is no longer available for domains that aren't configured for the
+service. </p>
+
+<p> This document provides information on the following topics: </p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li><a href="#using">Using the Postfix fast ETRN service</a>
+
+<li><a href="#how">How Postfix fast ETRN works</a>
+
+<li><a href="#dirty_secret">Postfix fast ETRN service limitations</a>
+
+<li><a href="#config">Configuring the Postfix fast ETRN service</a>
+
+<li><a href="#only">Configuring a domain for ETRN service only</a>
+
+<li><a href="#testing">Testing the Postfix fast ETRN service</a>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p> Other documents with information on this subject: </p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li> <a href="flush.8.html">flush(8)</a>, flush service implementation
+
+</ul>
+
+<h2><a name="using">Using the Postfix fast ETRN service</a> </h2>
+
+<p> The following is an example SMTP session that shows how an SMTP
+client requests the ETRN service. Client commands are shown in bold
+font. </p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+220 my.server.tld ESMTP Postfix
+<b>HELO my.client.tld</b>
+250 Ok
+<b>ETRN some.customer.domain</b>
+250 Queuing started
+<b>QUIT</b>
+221 Bye
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p> As mentioned in the introduction, the mail is delivered by
+connecting to the customer's SMTP server; it is not sent over
+the connection that was used to send the ETRN command. </p>
+
+<p> The Postfix operator can request delivery for a specific customer
+by using the command "sendmail -qR<i>destination</i>" and, with
+Postfix version 1.1 and later, "postqueue -s<i>destination</i>".
+Access to this feature is controlled with the <a href="postconf.5.html#authorized_flush_users">authorized_flush_users</a>
+configuration parameter (Postfix version 2.2 and later).
+</p>
+
+<h2><a name="how">How Postfix fast ETRN works</a></h2>
+
+<p> When a Postfix delivery agent decides that mail must be delivered
+later, it sends the destination domain name and the queue file name
+to the <a href="flush.8.html">flush(8)</a> daemon which maintains per-destination logfiles
+with file names of queued mail. These logfiles are kept below
+$<a href="postconf.5.html#queue_directory">queue_directory</a>/flush. Per-destination logfiles are maintained
+only for destinations that are listed with the $<a href="postconf.5.html#fast_flush_domains">fast_flush_domains</a>
+parameter and that have syntactically valid domain names. </p>
+
+<blockquote>
+
+<table>
+
+<tr>
+
+<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> Postfix<br>
+delivery<br> agent</td>
+
+<td> <tt>-</tt>(domain, queue ID)<tt>-&gt;</tt> </td>
+
+<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> Postfix<br>
+flush<br> daemon</td>
+
+<td> <tt>-</tt>(queue ID)<tt>-&gt;</tt> </td>
+
+<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> One logfile <br>
+per eligible<br> domain </td>
+
+</tr>
+
+</table>
+
+</blockquote>
+
+<p> When Postfix receives a request to "deliver mail for a domain
+now", the <a href="flush.8.html">flush(8)</a> daemon moves all <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#deferred_queue">deferred queue</a> files that are
+listed for that domain to the <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#incoming_queue">incoming queue</a>, and requests that
+the queue manager deliver them. In order to force delivery, the
+queue manager temporarily ignores the lists of undeliverable
+destinations: the volatile in-memory list of dead domains, and
+the list of message delivery transports specified with the
+<a href="postconf.5.html#defer_transports">defer_transports</a> configuration parameter. </p>
+
+<h2><a name="dirty_secret">Postfix fast ETRN service limitations</a></h2>
+
+<p> The design of the <a href="flush.8.html">flush(8)</a> server and of the flush queue
+introduce a few limitations that should not be an issue unless you
+want to turn on fast ETRN service for every possible destination.
+</p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li> <p> The <a href="flush.8.html">flush(8)</a> daemon maintains per-destination logfiles
+with queue file names. When a request to "deliver mail now" arrives,
+Postfix will attempt to deliver all recipients in the queue files
+that have mail for the destination in question. This does not
+perform well with queue files that have recipients in many different
+domains, such as queue files with outbound mailing list traffic.
+</p>
+
+<li> <p> The <a href="flush.8.html">flush(8)</a> daemon maintains per-destination logfiles
+only for destinations listed with $<a href="postconf.5.html#fast_flush_domains">fast_flush_domains</a>. With other
+destinations you cannot request delivery with "sendmail
+-qR<i>destination</i>" or, with Postfix version 1.1 and later,
+"postqueue -s<i>destination</i>". </p>
+
+<li> <p> Up to and including early versions of Postfix version 2.1,
+the "fast flush" service may not deliver some messages if the
+request to "deliver mail now" is received while a <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#deferred_queue">deferred queue</a>
+scan is already in progress. The reason is that the queue manager
+does not ignore the volatile in-memory list of dead domains, and
+the list of message delivery transports specified with the
+<a href="postconf.5.html#defer_transports">defer_transports</a> configuration parameter. </p>
+
+<li> <p> Up to and including Postfix version 2.3, the "fast flush"
+service may not deliver some messages if the request to "deliver
+mail now" arrives while an <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#incoming_queue">incoming queue</a> scan is already in progress.
+</p>
+
+</ul>
+
+<h2><a name="config">Configuring the Postfix fast ETRN service</a></h2>
+
+<p> The behavior of the <a href="flush.8.html">flush(8)</a> daemon is controlled by parameters
+in the <a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a> configuration file. </p>
+
+<p> By default, Postfix "fast ETRN" service is available only for
+destinations that Postfix is willing to relay mail to: </p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+/etc/postfix/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>:
+ <a href="postconf.5.html#fast_flush_domains">fast_flush_domains</a> = $<a href="postconf.5.html#relay_domains">relay_domains</a>
+ <a href="postconf.5.html#smtpd_etrn_restrictions">smtpd_etrn_restrictions</a> = <a href="postconf.5.html#permit_mynetworks">permit_mynetworks</a>, reject
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p> Notes: </p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li> <p> The <a href="postconf.5.html#relay_domains">relay_domains</a> parameter specifies what destinations
+Postfix will relay to. For destinations that are not eligible for
+the "fast ETRN" service, Postfix replies with an error message.
+</p>
+
+<li> <p> The <a href="postconf.5.html#smtpd_etrn_restrictions">smtpd_etrn_restrictions</a> parameter limits what clients
+may execute the ETRN command. By default, any client has permission.
+</p>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p> To enable "fast ETRN" for some other destination, specify: </p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+/etc/postfix/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>:
+ <a href="postconf.5.html#fast_flush_domains">fast_flush_domains</a> = $<a href="postconf.5.html#relay_domains">relay_domains</a>, some.other.domain
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p> To disable "fast ETRN", so that Postfix rejects all ETRN requests
+and so that it maintains no per-destination logfiles, specify: </p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+/etc/postfix/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>:
+ <a href="postconf.5.html#fast_flush_domains">fast_flush_domains</a> =
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<h2><a name="only">Configuring a domain for ETRN service only</a></h2>
+
+<p> While an "ETRN" customer is off-line, Postfix will make
+spontaneous attempts to deliver mail to it. These attempts are
+separated in time by increasing time intervals, ranging from
+$<a href="postconf.5.html#minimal_backoff_time">minimal_backoff_time</a> to $<a href="postconf.5.html#maximal_backoff_time">maximal_backoff_time</a>, and should not be
+a problem unless a lot of mail is queued. </p>
+
+<p> To prevent Postfix from making spontaneous delivery attempts
+you can configure Postfix to always defer mail for the "ETRN"
+customer. Mail is delivered only after the ETRN command or with
+"sendmail -q", with "sendmail -qR<i>domain</i>", or with "postqueue
+-s<i>domain</i>"(Postfix version 1.1 and later only), </p>
+
+<p> In the example below we configure an "etrn-only" delivery
+transport which is simply a duplicate of the "smtp" and "relay"
+mail delivery transports. The only difference is that mail destined
+for this delivery transport is deferred as soon as it arrives.
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+ 1 /etc/postfix/<a href="master.5.html">master.cf</a>:
+ 2 # =============================================================
+ 3 # service type private unpriv chroot wakeup maxproc command
+ 4 # (yes) (yes) (yes) (never) (100)
+ 5 # =============================================================
+ 6 smtp unix - - n - - smtp
+ 7 relay unix - - n - - smtp
+ 8 etrn-only unix - - n - - smtp
+ 9
+10 /etc/postfix/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>:
+11 <a href="postconf.5.html#relay_domains">relay_domains</a> = customer.tld ...other domains...
+12 <a href="postconf.5.html#defer_transports">defer_transports</a> = etrn-only
+13 <a href="postconf.5.html#transport_maps">transport_maps</a> = <a href="DATABASE_README.html#types">hash</a>:/etc/postfix/transport
+14
+15 /etc/postfix/transport:
+16 customer.tld etrn-only:[mailhost.customer.tld]
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>Translation: </p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li> <p> Line 8: The "etrn-only" mail delivery service is a copy of the
+"smtp" and "relay" service. </p>
+
+<li> <p> Line 11: Don't forget to authorize relaying for this
+customer, either via <a href="postconf.5.html#relay_domains">relay_domains</a> or with the <a href="postconf.5.html#permit_mx_backup">permit_mx_backup</a>
+feature. </p>
+
+<li> <p> Line 12: The "etrn-only" mail delivery service is configured
+so that spontaneous mail delivery is disabled. </p>
+
+<li> <p> Lines 13-16: Mail for the customer is given to the
+"etrn-only" mail delivery service. </p>
+
+<li> <p> Line 16: The "[mailhost.customer.tld]" turns off MX record
+lookups; you must specify this if your Postfix server is the primary
+MX host for the customer's domain. </p>
+
+</ul>
+
+<h2><a name="testing">Testing the Postfix fast ETRN service</a></h2>
+
+<p> By default, "fast ETRN" service is enabled for all domains that
+match $<a href="postconf.5.html#relay_domains">relay_domains</a>. If you run Postfix with "fast ETRN" service
+for the very first time, you need to run "sendmail -q" once
+in order to populate the per-site deferred mail logfiles. If you
+omit this step, no harm is done. The logfiles will eventually
+become populated as Postfix routinely attempts to deliver delayed
+mail, but that will take a couple hours. After the "sendmail
+-q" command has completed all delivery attempts (this can take
+a while), you're ready to test the "fast ETRN" service.
+
+<p> To test the "fast ETRN" service, telnet to the Postfix SMTP
+server from a client that is allowed to execute ETRN commands (by
+default, that's every client), and type the commands shown in
+boldface: </p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+220 my.server.tld ESMTP Postfix
+<b>HELO my.client.tld</b>
+250 Ok
+<b>ETRN some.customer.domain</b>
+250 Queuing started
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p> where "some.customer.domain" is the name of a domain that has
+a non-empty logfile somewhere under $<a href="postconf.5.html#queue_directory">queue_directory</a>/flush. </p>
+
+<p> In the maillog file, you should immediately see a couple of
+logfile records, as evidence that the queue manager has opened
+queue files: </p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+Oct 2 10:51:19 <a href="postconf.5.html#myhostname">myhostname</a> postfix/qmgr[51999]: 682E8440A4:
+ from=&lt;whatever&gt;, size=12345, nrcpt=1 (queue active)
+Oct 2 10:51:19 <a href="postconf.5.html#myhostname">myhostname</a> postfix/qmgr[51999]: 02249440B7:
+ from=&lt;whatever&gt;, size=4711, nrcpt=1 (queue active)
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p> What happens next depends on whether the destination is reachable.
+If it's not reachable, the mail queue IDs will be added back to
+the some.customer.domain logfile under $<a href="postconf.5.html#queue_directory">queue_directory</a>/flush.
+</p>
+
+<p> Repeat the exercise with some other destination that your server
+is willing to relay to (any domain listed in $<a href="postconf.5.html#relay_domains">relay_domains</a>), but
+that has no mail queued. The text in bold face stands for the
+commands that you type: </p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+220 my.server.tld ESMTP Postfix
+<b>HELO my.client.tld</b>
+250 Ok
+<b>ETRN some.other.customer.domain</b>
+250 Queuing started
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p> This time, the "ETRN"" command should trigger NO mail deliveries
+at all. If this triggers delivery of all mail, then you used the
+wrong domain name, or "fast ETRN" service is turned off. </p>
+
+<p> Finally, repeat the exercise with a destination that your mail
+server is not willing to relay to. It does not matter if your
+server has mail queued for that destination. </p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+220 my.server.tld ESMTP Postfix
+<b>HELO my.client.tld</b>
+250 Ok
+<b>ETRN not.a.customer.domain</b>
+459 &lt;not.a.customer.domain&gt;: service unavailable
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p> In this case, Postfix should reject the request
+as shown above. </p>
+
+</body>
+
+</html>