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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 Architecture Overview </title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body>
<h1> <img src="postfix-logo.jpg" width="203" height="98" ALT="">Postfix
Architecture Overview </h1>
<hr>
<h2> Introduction </h2>
<p> This document presents an overview of the Postfix architecture,
and provides pointers to descriptions of every Postfix command
or server program. The text gives the general context in which
each command or server program is used, and provides pointers to
documents with specific usage examples and background information.
</p>
<p> Topics covered by this document: </p>
<ul>
<li> <a href="#receiving"> How Postfix receives mail </a>
<li> <a href="#delivering"> How Postfix delivers mail </a>
<li> <a href="#behind"> Postfix behind the scenes </a>
<li> <a href="#commands"> Postfix support commands </a>
</ul>
<h2><a name="receiving"> How Postfix receives mail </a> </h2>
<p> When a message enters the Postfix mail system, the first stop
on the inside is the <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#incoming_queue">incoming queue</a>. The figure below shows the
main processes that are involved with new mail. Names followed by
a number are Postfix commands or server programs, while unnumbered
names inside shaded areas represent Postfix queues. </p>
<blockquote>
<table>
<tr>
<td colspan="4"> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a href="trivial-rewrite.8.html">trivial-<br>rewrite(8)</a> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Network </td> <td> <tt> -> </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a>
</td>
<td> </td>
<td rowspan="2" align="center"> <table> <tr> <td align="center">
^<br> <tt> | </tt> </td> <td align="center"> <tt> |<br> v </tt>
</td> </tr> </table> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3"> </td> <td> <tt> \ </tt> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Network </td> <td> <tt> -> </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> <a href="qmqpd.8.html">qmqpd(8)</a>
</td>
<td> <tt> -> </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> <a href="cleanup.8.html">cleanup(8)</a>
</td>
<td> <tt> -> </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> <a
href="QSHAPE_README.html#incoming_queue"> incoming </a> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3"> </td> <td> <tt> / </tt> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> <a href="pickup.8.html">pickup(8)</a>
</td>
<td> <tt> <- </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> <a
href="QSHAPE_README.html#maildrop_queue"> maildrop </a> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="4" align="center"> </td>
<td align="center"> ^<br> <tt> | </tt> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Local </td> <td> <tt> -> </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> <a href="sendmail.1.html">sendmail(1)</a>
</td>
<td> <tt> -> </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> <a href="postdrop.1.html">postdrop(1)</a>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li> <p> Network mail enters Postfix via the <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a> or <a href="qmqpd.8.html">qmqpd(8)</a>
servers. These servers remove the SMTP or QMQP protocol encapsulation,
enforce some sanity checks to protect Postfix, and give the sender,
recipients and message content to the <a href="cleanup.8.html">cleanup(8)</a> server. The
<a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a> server can be configured to block unwanted mail, as
described in the <a href="SMTPD_ACCESS_README.html">SMTPD_ACCESS_README</a> document. </p>
<li> <p> Local submissions are received with the Postfix <a href="sendmail.1.html">sendmail(1)</a>
compatibility command, and are queued in the <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#maildrop_queue">maildrop queue</a> by
the privileged <a href="postdrop.1.html">postdrop(1)</a> command. This arrangement even works
while the Postfix mail system is not running. The local <a href="pickup.8.html">pickup(8)</a>
server picks up local submissions, enforces some sanity checks to
protect Postfix, and gives the sender, recipients and message
content to the <a href="cleanup.8.html">cleanup(8)</a> server. </p>
<li> <p> Mail from internal sources is given directly to the
<a href="cleanup.8.html">cleanup(8)</a> server. These sources are not shown in the figure, and
include: mail that is forwarded by the <a href="local.8.html">local(8)</a> delivery agent (see
next section), messages that are returned to the sender by the
<a href="bounce.8.html">bounce(8)</a> server (see second-next section), and postmaster
notifications about problems with Postfix. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="cleanup.8.html">cleanup(8)</a> server implements the final processing
stage before mail is queued. It adds missing From: and other message
headers, and transforms addresses as described in the
<a href="ADDRESS_REWRITING_README.html">ADDRESS_REWRITING_README</a>
document. Optionally, the <a href="cleanup.8.html">cleanup(8)</a> server can be configured to
do light-weight content inspection with regular expressions as
described in the <a href="BUILTIN_FILTER_README.html">BUILTIN_FILTER_README</a> document. The <a href="cleanup.8.html">cleanup(8)</a>
server places the result as a single file into the <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#incoming_queue">incoming queue</a>,
and notifies the queue manager (see next section) of the arrival
of new mail. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="trivial-rewrite.8.html">trivial-rewrite(8)</a> server rewrites addresses to the
standard "user@fully.qualified.domain" form, as described in the
<a href="ADDRESS_REWRITING_README.html">ADDRESS_REWRITING_README</a> document. Postfix currently does not
implement a rewriting language, but a lot can be done via table
lookups and, if need be, regular expressions. </p>
</ul>
<h2> <a name="delivering"> How Postfix delivers mail </a> </h2>
<p> Once a message has reached the <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#incoming_queue">incoming queue</a> the next step is
to deliver it. The figure shows the main components of the Postfix
mail delivery apparatus. Names followed by a number are Postfix
commands or server programs, while unnumbered names inside shaded
areas represent Postfix queues. </p>
<blockquote>
<table>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2" colspan="4"> </td>
<td rowspan="2" bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a href="trivial-rewrite.8.html">trivial-<br>rewrite(8)</a>
</td>
<td> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> </td>
<td> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td> Network </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"> <tt> / </tt> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2" colspan="4"> </td>
<td rowspan="2" align="center"> <table> <tr> <td align="center">
^<br> <tt> | </tt> </td> <td align="center"> <tt> |<br> v </tt>
</td> </tr> </table> </td>
<td align="right"> <tt> - </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a href="lmtp.8.html">lmtp(8)</a> </td>
<td> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td> Network </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"> <tt> / </tt> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a
href="QSHAPE_README.html#incoming_queue"> incoming </a> </td>
<td> <tt> -> </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a
href="QSHAPE_README.html#active_queue"> active </a> </td>
<td> <tt> -> </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a href="qmgr.8.html">qmgr(8)</a> </td>
<td align="right"> <tt> --- </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a href="local.8.html">local(8)</a> </td>
<td> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td> File, command </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2" colspan="2"> </td>
<td rowspan="2" align="center"> <table> <tr> <td align="center">
^<br> <tt> | </tt> </td> <td align="center"> <tt> |<br> v </tt>
</td> </tr> </table> </td>
<td rowspan="2" colspan="2"> </td>
<td align="left"> <tt> \ </tt> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"> <tt> - </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a href="virtual.8.html">virtual(8)</a> </td>
<td> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td> File </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a
href="QSHAPE_README.html#deferred_queue"> deferred </a> </td>
<td colspan="2"> </td>
<td align="right"> <tt> \ </tt> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="6">
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a href="pipe.8.html">pipe(8)</a> </td>
<td> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td> Command </td>
</tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li> <p> The queue manager (the <a href="qmgr.8.html">qmgr(8)</a> server process in the
figure) is the heart of Postfix mail delivery. It contacts the
<a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a>, <a href="lmtp.8.html">lmtp(8)</a>, <a href="local.8.html">local(8)</a>, <a href="virtual.8.html">virtual(8)</a>, <a href="pipe.8.html">pipe(8)</a>, <a href="discard.8.html">discard(8)</a> or
<a href="error.8.html">error(8)</a> delivery agents, and sends a delivery request for one
or more recipient addresses. The <a href="discard.8.html">discard(8)</a> and <a href="error.8.html">error(8)</a> delivery
agents are special: they discard or bounce all mail, and are not
shown in the figure above. </p>
<p> The queue manager maintains a small <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#active_queue">active queue</a> with the
messages that it has opened for delivery. The <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#active_queue">active queue</a> acts as
a limited window on potentially large <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#incoming_queue">incoming</a> or <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#deferred_queue">deferred queues</a>.
The limited <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#active_queue">active queue</a> prevents the queue manager from running
out of memory under heavy load. </p>
<p> The queue manager maintains a separate <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#deferred_queue">deferred queue</a> for mail
that cannot be delivered, so that a large mail backlog will not
slow down normal queue accesses. The queue manager's strategy for
delayed mail delivery attempts is described in the <a href="QSHAPE_README.html">QSHAPE_README</a>
and <a href="TUNING_README.html">TUNING_README</a> documents. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="trivial-rewrite.8.html">trivial-rewrite(8)</a> server resolves each recipient
address according to its local or remote address class, as defined
in the <a href="ADDRESS_CLASS_README.html">ADDRESS_CLASS_README</a> document. Additional routing information
can be specified with the optional <a href="transport.5.html">transport(5)</a> table. The
<a href="trivial-rewrite.8.html">trivial-rewrite(8)</a> server optionally queries the <a href="relocated.5.html">relocated(5)</a> table
for recipients whose address has changed; mail for such recipients is
returned to the sender with an explanation. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> client looks up a list of mail exchangers for
the destination host, sorts the list by preference, and tries each
server in turn until it finds a server that responds. It then
encapsulates the sender, recipient and message content as required
by the SMTP protocol; this includes conversion of 8-bit MIME to
7-bit encoding. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="lmtp.8.html">lmtp(8)</a> client speaks a protocol similar to SMTP that
is optimized for delivery to mailbox servers such as Cyrus. The
advantage of this setup is that one Postfix machine can feed multiple
mailbox servers over LMTP. The opposite is true as well: one
mailbox server can be fed over LMTP by multiple Postfix machines.
</p>
<li> <p> The <a href="local.8.html">local(8)</a> delivery agent understands UNIX-style mailboxes,
qmail-compatible maildir files, Sendmail-style system-wide <a href="aliases.5.html">aliases(5)</a>
databases, and Sendmail-style per-user .forward files. Multiple
local delivery agents can be run in parallel, but parallel delivery
to the same user is usually limited. </p>
<p> The <a href="local.8.html">local(8)</a> delivery agent has hooks for alternative forms of
local delivery: you can configure it to deliver to mailbox files
in user home directories, you can configure it to delegate mailbox
delivery to an external command such as procmail, or you can delegate
delivery to a different Postfix delivery agent. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="virtual.8.html">virtual(8)</a> delivery agent is a bare-bones delivery
agent that delivers to UNIX-style mailbox or qmail-style maildir
files only. This delivery agent can deliver mail for multiple
domains, which makes it especially suitable for hosting lots of
small domains on a single machine. This is described in the
<a href="VIRTUAL_README.html">VIRTUAL_README</a> document. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="pipe.8.html">pipe(8)</a> mailer is the outbound interface to other mail
processing systems (the Postfix <a href="sendmail.1.html">sendmail(1)</a> command being the
inbound interface). The interface is UNIX compatible: it provides
information on the command line and on the standard input stream,
and expects a process exit status code as defined in <sysexits.h>.
Examples of delivery via the <a href="pipe.8.html">pipe(8)</a> mailer are in the <a href="MAILDROP_README.html">MAILDROP_README</a>
and <a href="UUCP_README.html">UUCP_README</a> documents.
</ul>
<h2> <a name="behind"> Postfix behind the scenes </a> </h2>
<p> The previous sections gave an overview of how Postfix server
processes send and receive mail. These server processes rely on
other server processes that do things behind the scenes. The text
below attempts to visualize each service in its own context. As
before, names followed by a number are Postfix commands or server
programs, while unnumbered names inside shaded areas represent
Postfix queues. </p>
<ul>
<li> <p> The resident <a href="master.8.html">master(8)</a> server is the supervisor that keeps
an eye on the well-being of the Postfix mail system. It is typically
started at system boot time with the "postfix start" command, and
keeps running until the system goes down. The <a href="master.8.html">master(8)</a> server is
responsible for starting Postfix server processes to receive and
deliver mail, and for restarting servers that terminate prematurely
because of some problem. The <a href="master.8.html">master(8)</a> server is also responsible
for enforcing the server process count limits as specified in the
<a href="master.5.html"><b>master.cf</b></a> configuration file. The picture below gives the
program hierarchy when Postfix is started up. Only some of the mail
handling daemon processes are shown. </p>
<table>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff">
<a href="postfix.1.html">postfix(1)</a> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td align="center"> |<br> |</td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff">
postfix-script(1) </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td> <table> <tr> <td> </td> <td> / </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> / </td> <td> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td align="center">
|<br> |</td> <td> <table> <tr> <td> \ </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td> \ </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="postsuper.1.html">postsuper(1)</a> </td> <td>
</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="master.8.html">master(8)</a> </td> <td>
</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="postlog.1.html">postlog(1)</a> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td> <table> <tr> <td> </td> <td> / </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> / </td> <td> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td align="center">
|<br> |</td> <td> <table> <tr> <td> \ </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td> \ </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a> </td> <td>
</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="qmgr.8.html">qmgr(8)</a> </td> <td>
</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="local.8.html">local(8)</a> </td> </tr>
</table>
<li> <p> The <a href="anvil.8.html">anvil(8)</a> server implements client connection and
request rate
limiting for all <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a> servers. The <a href="TUNING_README.html">TUNING_README</a> document
provides guidance for dealing with mis-behaving SMTP clients. The
<a href="anvil.8.html">anvil(8)</a> service is available in Postfix version 2.2 and later.
</p>
<table>
<tr> <td> Network </td> <td> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td align="center"
bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <br> <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a><br><br> </td> <td> <tt> <->
</tt> </td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <br> <a href="anvil.8.html">anvil(8)</a><br><br>
</td> </tr>
</table>
<li> <p> The <a href="bounce.8.html">bounce(8)</a>, <a href="defer.8.html">defer(8)</a> and <a href="trace.8.html">trace(8)</a> services each maintain
their own queue directory trees with per-message logfiles. Postfix
uses this information when sending "failed", "delayed" or "success"
delivery status notifications to the sender. </p>
<p> The <a href="trace.8.html">trace(8)</a> service also implements support for the Postfix
"sendmail
-bv" and "sendmail -v" commands which produce reports about how
Postfix delivers mail, and is available with Postfix version 2.1
and later. See <a href="DEBUG_README.html#trace_mail"> DEBUG_README
</a> for examples. </p>
<table>
<tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="cleanup.8.html">cleanup(8)</a> </td> <td
valign="middle"> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td align="center"
bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="qmgr.8.html">qmgr(8)</a><br> Postfix<br> queue </td> <td
valign="middle"> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td align="center"
bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> Delivery<br> agents</td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center"> ^<br> <tt> | </tt> </td> <td> </td> <td
align="center"> <tt> |<br> v </tt> </td> <td> </td> <td align="center">
<tt> |<br> v </tt> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center"> (Non-)<br> delivery<br> notice </td> <td
valign="middle"> <tt> <- </tt> </td> <td align="center"
bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="bounce.8.html">bounce(8)</a><br> <a href="defer.8.html">defer(8)</a><br> <a href="trace.8.html">trace(8)</a> </td> <td
valign="middle"> <tt> <- </tt> </td> <td align="center"> Queue
id,<br> recipient,<br> status</td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td align="center"> <table> <tr> <td
align="center"> ^<br> <tt> | </tt> </td> <td align="center"> <tt>
|<br> v </tt> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff">
Per- <br> message<br> logfiles </td> </tr>
</table>
<li> <p> The <a href="flush.8.html">flush(8)</a> servers maintain per-destination logs and
implement both ETRN and "sendmail -qRdestination", as described
in the <a href="ETRN_README.html">ETRN_README</a> document. This moves selected queue files from
the <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#deferred_queue">deferred queue</a> back to the <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#incoming_queue">incoming queue</a> and requests their
delivery. The <a href="flush.8.html">flush(8)</a> service is available with Postfix version
1.0 and later. </p>
<table>
<tr> <td colspan="4"> </td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff">
<a href="QSHAPE_README.html#incoming_queue"> incoming </a><br>^
<br><a href="QSHAPE_README.html#deferred_queue"> deferred </a>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="4"> </td> <td align="center"> ^<br> |</td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a><br> <a href="sendmail.1.html">sendmail(1)</a><br>
<a href="postqueue.1.html">postqueue(1)</a> </td> <td> <tt> - </tt> </td> <td align="center">
Destination<br> to flush</td> <td> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td
align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="flush.8.html">flush(8)</a> </td> <td> <tt> <-
</tt> </td> <td align="center"> Deferred<br> destination,<br> queue
id </td> <td> <tt> - </tt> </td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff">
Delivery<br> agents,<br> <a href="qmgr.8.html">qmgr(8)</a> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="4"> </td> <td align="center"> <table> <tr> <td
align="center"> ^<br> <tt> | </tt> </td> <td align="center"> <tt>
|<br> v </tt> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="4"> </td> <td align="center"> Per-dest-<br>
ination<br> logs </td> </tr>
</table>
<li> <p> The <a href="proxymap.8.html">proxymap(8)</a> servers provide read-only and read-write
table lookup
service to Postfix processes. This overcomes chroot restrictions,
reduces the number of open lookup tables by sharing one open
table among multiple processes, and implements single-updater
tables. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="scache.8.html">scache(8)</a> server maintains the connection cache for
the Postfix <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> client. When connection caching is enabled for
selected destinations, the <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> client does not disconnect
immediately after a mail transaction, but gives the connection to
the connection cache server which keeps the connection open for a
limited amount of time. The <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> client continues with some
other mail delivery request. Meanwhile, any <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> process can
ask the <a href="scache.8.html">scache(8)</a> server for that cached connection and reuse it
for mail delivery. As a safety measure, Postfix limits the number
of times that a connection may be reused. </p>
<p> When delivering mail to a destination with multiple mail servers,
connection caching can help to skip over a non-responding server,
and thus dramatically speed up delivery. SMTP connection caching
is available in Postfix version 2.2 and later. More information
about this feature is in the <a href="CONNECTION_CACHE_README.html">CONNECTION_CACHE_README</a> document. </p>
<table>
<tr> <td> </td> <td> <tt> /-- </tt> </td> <td align="center"
colspan="3" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> </td> <td colspan="2"> <tt>
--> </tt> </td> <td> Internet </td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="qmgr.8.html">qmgr(8)</a> </td> <td> </td>
<td align="center" rowspan="3"><tt>|<br>|<br>|<br>|<br>v</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td> <tt> \-- </tt> </td> <td align="center"
colspan="4" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> </td> <td align="left">
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td> </td> <td
align="center"><tt>^<br>|</tt></td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td align="center" colspan="3"
bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="scache.8.html">scache(8)</a> </td> </tr>
</table>
<p> A Postfix <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> client can reuse a TLS-encrypted connection
(with "<a href="postconf.5.html#smtp_tls_connection_reuse">smtp_tls_connection_reuse</a> = yes"). This can greatly reduce
the overhead of connection setup and improves message delivery
rates. After a Postfix <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> client connects to a remote SMTP
server and sends plaintext EHLO and STARTTLS commands, the <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a>
client inserts a <a href="tlsproxy.8.html">tlsproxy(8)</a> process into the connection as shown
below. </p>
<p> After the mail transaction completes, the Postfix <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> client
gives the <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a>-to-<a href="tlsproxy.8.html">tlsproxy(8)</a> connection to the <a href="scache.8.html">scache(8)</a>
server, which keeps the connection open for a limited amount of
time. The <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> client continues with some other mail delivery
request. Meanwhile, any Postfix <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> client can ask the <a href="scache.8.html">scache(8)</a>
server for that cached connection and reuse it for mail delivery.
</p>
<table>
<tr> <td> </td> <td> <tt> /-- </tt> </td> <td align="center"
colspan="3" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> </td> <td colspan="2"> <tt>
--> </tt> </td> <td align="center"bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="tlsproxy.8.html">tlsproxy(8)</a>
</td> <td> <tt> --> </tt> </td> <td> Internet </td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="qmgr.8.html">qmgr(8)</a> </td> <td> </td>
<td align="center" rowspan="3"><tt>|<br>|<br>|<br>|<br>v</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td> <tt> \-- </tt> </td> <td align="center"
colspan="4" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> </td> <td align="left">
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td> </td> <td
align="center"><tt>^<br>|</tt></td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td align="center" colspan="3"
bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="scache.8.html">scache(8)</a> </td> </tr>
</table>
<li> <p> The <a href="showq.8.html">showq(8)</a> servers list the Postfix queue status. This
is the queue listing service that does the work for the <a href="mailq.1.html">mailq(1)</a>
and <a href="postqueue.1.html">postqueue(1)</a> commands. </p>
<table>
<tr> <td> Output </td> <td> <tt> <- </tt> </td> <td align="center"
bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="mailq.1.html">mailq(1)</a><br>
<a href="postqueue.1.html"> post-<br>queue(1) </a> <br> </td> <td>
<tt> <- </tt> </td> <td align="center" valign="middle"
bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <a href="showq.8.html">showq(8)</a> </td> <td> <tt> <- </tt></td> <td
align="center" valign="middle" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> Postfix<br> queue
</td> </tr>
</table>
<li> <p> The <a href="spawn.8.html">spawn(8)</a> servers run non-Postfix commands on request,
with the client connected via socket or FIFO to the command's
standard input, output and error streams. You can find examples of
its use in the <a href="SMTPD_POLICY_README.html">SMTPD_POLICY_README</a> document. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="tlsmgr.8.html">tlsmgr(8)</a> server runs when TLS (Transport Layer
Security, formerly known as SSL) is turned on in the Postfix <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a>
client or <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a> server. This process has two duties: </p>
<ul>
<li> <p> Maintain the pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) that
is used to seed the TLS engines in Postfix <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> client or <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a>
server processes. The state of this PRNG is periodically saved to
a file, and is read when <a href="tlsmgr.8.html">tlsmgr(8)</a> starts up. </p>
<li> <p> Maintain the optional Postfix <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> client or <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a>
server caches with TLS session keys. Saved keys can improve
performance by reducing the amount of computation at the start of
a TLS session. </p>
</ul>
<p> TLS support is available in Postfix version 2.2 and later.
Information about the Postfix TLS implementation is in the <a href="TLS_README.html">TLS_README</a>
document. </p>
<table>
<tr> <td>Network<tt>-> </tt> </td> <td align="center"
bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <br> <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a> <br> </td> <td colspan="2">
<tt> <---seed---<br><br><-session-> </tt> </td> <td
align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <br> <a href="tlsmgr.8.html">tlsmgr(8)</a> <br> </td>
<td colspan="3"> <tt> ---seed---><br> <br><-session->
</tt> </td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> <br> <a href="smtp.8.html">smtp(8)</a> <br>
</td> <td> <tt> -></tt>Network </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="3"> </td> <td align="right"> <table> <tr> <td>
</td> <td> / </td> </tr> <tr> <td> / </td> <td> </td> </tr> </table>
</td> <td align="center"> |<br> |</td> <td align="left"> <table>
<tr> <td> \ </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> \ </td>
</tr> </table> </td> <td colspan="3"> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff">
smtpd<br> session<br> cache </td> <td> </td> <td align="center"
bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> PRNG<br> state <br>file </td> <td> </td> <td
align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"> smtp<br> session<br> cache </td>
<td colspan="2"> </td> </tr>
</table>
<li> <p> The <a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a> server verifies that a sender or recipient
address is deliverable before the <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a> server accepts it. The
<a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a> server queries a cache with address verification results.
If a result is not found, the <a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a> server injects a probe
message into the Postfix queue and processes the status update from
a delivery agent or queue manager.
This process is described in the <a href="ADDRESS_VERIFICATION_README.html">ADDRESS_VERIFICATION_README</a>
document. The <a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a> service is available with Postfix version
2.1 and later. </p>
<table>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2" colspan="5" align="center" valign="middle">
</td> <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="bottom">
<tt> -> </tt> </td> <td rowspan="3" align="center"
valign="middle"> probe<br> message </td> <td rowspan="3"
align="center" valign="middle"> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td
rowspan="3" bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle">
Postfix<br> mail<br> queue </td>
</tr>
<tr> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle"> Network </td>
<td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle"> <tt> -> </tt>
</td> <td rowspan="3" bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"
valign="middle"> <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a> </td> <td rowspan="3" align="center"
valign="middle"> <tt> <-> </tt> </td> <td rowspan="3"
bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> <a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="1" colspan="3"> </td> <td rowspan="1" align="center"
valign="middle"> <tt> |</tt><br> <tt> v</tt> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="top"> <tt> <- </tt>
</td> <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle"> probe<br>
status </td> <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">
<tt> <- </tt> </td> <td rowspan="3" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"
align="center" valign="middle"> Postfix<br> delivery<br> agents
</td> <td rowspan="3" align="left" valign="middle"> <tt>-></tt>
Local<br> <tt>-></tt> Network</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3" colspan="4" align="center" valign="middle">
</td> <td rowspan="3" align="center" valign="middle">
<tt> ^</tt><br> <tt> |</tt><br> <tt> v</tt> </td>
</tr>
<tr> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="4"> </td> </tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="4" align="center" valign="middle"> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle"> Address<br>
verification<br> cache </td>
</tr>
</table>
<li> <p> The <a href="postscreen.8.html">postscreen(8)</a> server can be put "in front" of Postfix
<a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a> processes. Its purpose is to accept connections from the
network and to decide what SMTP clients are allowed to talk to
Postfix. According to the 2008 MessageLabs annual report, 81% of
all email was spam, and 90% of that was sent by botnets; by 2010,
those numbers were 92% and 95%, respectively. While <a href="postscreen.8.html">postscreen(8)</a>
keeps the zombies away, more <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a> processes remain available
for legitimate clients. </p>
<p> <a href="postscreen.8.html">postscreen(8)</a> maintains a temporary allowlist for clients that
pass its tests; by allowing allowlisted clients to skip tests,
<a href="postscreen.8.html">postscreen(8)</a> minimizes its impact on legitimate email traffic.
</p>
<p> The <a href="postscreen.8.html">postscreen(8)</a> server is available with Postfix 2.8 and
later. To keep the implementation simple, <a href="postscreen.8.html">postscreen(8)</a> delegates
DNS allow/denylist lookups to <a href="dnsblog.8.html">dnsblog(8)</a> server processes, and
delegates TLS encryption/decryption to <a href="tlsproxy.8.html">tlsproxy(8)</a> server processes.
This delegation is invisible to the remote SMTP client. </p>
<table>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td align="center"> zombie </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="3"> </td> <td align="left"> <tt> \ </tt> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> zombie </td> <td> <tt> - </tt> </td> <td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a href="tlsproxy.8.html">tlsproxy(8)</a> </td> <td align="left"> <tt> - </tt> </td> <td>
</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td align="right"> <tt> - </tt> </td>
<td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="3"> </td> <td align="right"> <tt> \ </tt> </td> <td> </td>
<td align="left"> <tt> / </tt> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> other </td> <td> <tt>
--- </tt> </td> <td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center" valign="middle">
<a href="postscreen.8.html">postscreen(8)</a> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="3"> </td> <td align="right"> <tt> / </tt> </td> <td> </td>
<td align="right"> <tt> \ </tt> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> other </td> <td align="left">
<tt> - </tt> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td align="right">
<tt> - </tt> </td> <td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" align="center"> <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="3"> </td> <td align="left"> <tt> / </tt> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> <td align="center"> zombie </td> </tr>
</table>
<li> <p>The <a href="postlogd.8.html">postlogd(8)</a> server provides an alternative to syslog
logging, which remains the default. This feature is available with
Postfix version 3.4 or later, and supports the following modes:
</p>
<ul>
<li> <p>Logging to file, which addresses a usability problem with
MacOS, and eliminates information loss caused by systemd rate limits.
</p>
<table>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" rowspan="3" valign="middle" align="center">
commands<br>or daemons</td> <td colspan="4"> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> <td> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td bgcolor="#f0f0ff">
<a href="postlogd.8.html">postlogd(8)</a> </td> <td> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td> /path/to/file
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan=6> </td> </tr>
</table>
<li> <p>Logging to stdout, which eliminates a syslog dependency
when Postfix runs inside a container. </p>
<table>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#f0f0ff" rowspan="3" valign="middle" align="center">
commands<br>or daemons</td> <td colspan="4"> </td> <td
rowspan="3" align="center"> stdout inherited<br>from "postfix
start-fg" </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"> <tt> -> </tt> </td> <td bgcolor="#f0f0ff">
<a href="postlogd.8.html">postlogd(8)</a> </td> <td> <tt> -> </tt> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan=5> </td> </tr>
</table>
</ul>
<p> See <a href="MAILLOG_README.html">MAILLOG_README</a> for details and limitations. </p>
</ul>
<h2> <a name="commands"> Postfix support commands </a> </h2>
<p> The Postfix architecture overview ends with a summary of
command-line utilities for day-to-day use of the Postfix mail
system. Besides the Sendmail-compatible <a href="sendmail.1.html">sendmail(1)</a>, <a href="mailq.1.html">mailq(1)</a>, and
<a href="newaliases.1.html">newaliases(1)</a> commands, the Postfix system comes with it own
collection of command-line utilities. For consistency, these are
all named post<i>something</i>. </p>
<ul>
<li> <p> The <a href="postfix.1.html">postfix(1)</a> command controls the operation of the mail
system. It is the interface for starting, stopping, and restarting
the mail system, as well as for some other administrative operations.
This command is reserved to the super-user. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="postalias.1.html">postalias(1)</a> command maintains Postfix <a href="aliases.5.html">aliases(5)</a> type
databases. This is the program that does the work for the
<a href="newaliases.1.html">newaliases(1)</a> command. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="postcat.1.html">postcat(1)</a> command displays the contents of Postfix
queue files. This is a limited, preliminary utility. This program
is likely to be superseded by something more powerful that can also
edit Postfix queue files. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="postconf.1.html">postconf(1)</a> command displays or updates Postfix <a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>
parameters and displays system dependent information about the
supported file locking methods, and the supported types of lookup
tables. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="postdrop.1.html">postdrop(1)</a> command is the mail posting utility that
is run by the Postfix <a href="sendmail.1.html">sendmail(1)</a> command in order to deposit mail
into the <a href="QSHAPE_README.html#maildrop_queue">maildrop queue</a> directory. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="postkick.1.html">postkick(1)</a> command makes some Postfix internal
communication channels available for use in, for example, shell
scripts. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="postlock.1.html">postlock(1)</a> command provides Postfix-compatible mailbox
locking for use in, for example, shell scripts. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="postlog.1.html">postlog(1)</a> command provides Postfix-compatible logging
for shell scripts. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="postmap.1.html">postmap(1)</a> command maintains Postfix lookup tables
such as <a href="canonical.5.html">canonical(5)</a>, <a href="virtual.5.html">virtual(5)</a> and others. It is a cousin of the
UNIX makemap command. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="postmulti.1.html">postmulti(1)</a> command repeats the "postfix start" etc.
command for each Postfix instance, and supports creation, deletion
etc. of Postfix instances. For a tutorial, see <a href="MULTI_INSTANCE_README.html">MULTI_INSTANCE_README</a>.
</p>
<li> <p> The <a href="postqueue.1.html">postqueue(1)</a> command is the privileged command that
is run by Postfix <a href="sendmail.1.html">sendmail(1)</a> and <a href="mailq.1.html">mailq(1)</a> in order to flush or
list the
mail queue. </p>
<li> <p> The <a href="postsuper.1.html">postsuper(1)</a> command maintains the Postfix queue. It
removes old temporary files, and moves queue files into the right
directory after a change in the hashing depth of queue directories.
This command is run at mail system startup time and when Postfix
is restarted. </p>
</ul>
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