Ghost emails - there, but cannot read

L

lowbwtom

Verified User
Joined
Aug 17, 2008
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22
running DA as single-user admin for multiple domains. each domain is a user.
lots of email addresses on all domains. using exim and dovecot.

stopped receiving any emails, possibly after automatic update to Dovecot?? (where is update log??) everything was working perfectly for years before this.

All accounts read empty by clients (no emails with outlook and web-based).

HOWEVER, DA Email accounts Usage shows 4.7MB of mail waiting to be read in one account, 5.7MB in another. (tally updated, size grows with every new email sent to box)

no errors from email clients (outlook and web-based)
no errors in any log file (exim, dovecot, maillog, etc.)
tried updating exim configuration (conf/pl files), no change.
tried reboot (doh), no change.

What is going on?

# later ... tried updating exim (not latest version) no idea what version DA expects, exim not on update list, so who knows? hours of wasted time and cannot install exim update. don't have yum, cannot install yum. exim needs intltool (who knows what that is?). does anyone know of a reliable system where this bit-level fiddling is not needed to keep your email running? Why is exim not on the DA update system?

I NEED THOSE EMAILS -- can someone PLEASE help?
 
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Check your exim.conf file to make sure it's delivering into maildir. To check, grep your exim.conf file for the existence of the word Maildir.

Jeff
 
scsi: the logs look 'normal' to me - no major errors. everything is dumped into maillog, so that was easy. i added mail_debug=yes to the dovecot conf to check the destination and that seems to be correct. Here are some "suspicious" looking entries:

Apr 8 02:47:40 server dovecot: master: Warning: SIGHUP received - reloading configuration
Apr 8 02:48:18 server dovecot: doveadm: Debug: This is Dovecot's debug log (1302245298)
Apr 8 02:48:18 server dovecot: doveadm: This is Dovecot's info log (1302245298)
Apr 8 02:48:18 server dovecot: doveadm: Warning: This is Dovecot's warning log (1302245298)
Apr 8 02:48:18 server dovecot: doveadm: Error: This is Dovecot's error log (1302245298)
Apr 8 02:48:18 server dovecot: doveadm: Fatal: This is Dovecot's fatal log (1302245298)
Apr 8 02:48:25 server dovecot: doveadm: Debug: This is Dovecot's debug log (1302245304)
Apr 8 02:48:25 server dovecot: doveadm: This is Dovecot's info log (1302245304)
Apr 8 02:48:25 server dovecot: doveadm: Warning: This is Dovecot's warning log (1302245304)
Apr 8 02:48:25 server dovecot: doveadm: Error: This is Dovecot's error log (1302245304)
Apr 8 02:48:25 server dovecot: doveadm: Fatal: This is Dovecot's fatal log (1302245304)

Apr 8 02:52:44 server dovecot: auth: passwd(user): unknown user
Apr 8 02:52:44 server dovecot: auth: passwd-file(user): no passwd file: /etc/virtual//passwd
Apr 8 02:52:49 server dovecot: auth: passwd([email protected]): unknown user

Apr 8 02:53:33 server dovecot: auth: shadow([email protected],my_conn_ip): unknown user
Apr 8 02:53:33 server dovecot: auth: passwd([email protected],my_conn_ip): unknown user
Apr 8 02:53:33 server dovecot: pop3-login: Login: user=<[email protected]>, method=PLAIN, rip=my_conn_ip, lip=my_site_ip, mpid=28376
Apr 8 02:53:33 server dovecot: pop3([email protected]): Debug: Effective uid=502, gid=12, home=/home/useracct/imap/domain.com/user
Apr 8 02:53:33 server dovecot: pop3([email protected]): Debug: maildir++: root=/home/useracct/imap/domain.com/user/Maildir, index=, control=, inbox=/home/useracct/imap/domain.com/user/Maildir
Apr 8 02:53:34 server dovecot: pop3([email protected]): Disconnected: Logged out top=0/0, retr=0/0, del=0/0, size=0


jlasman: looks ok, i think...

[root@server etc]# grep "Maildir" exim.conf
directory = /home/$local_part/Maildir/
directory = /home/${lookup{$domain}lsearch*{/etc/virtual/domainowners}{$value}}/imap/${domain}/${local_part}/Maildir

I have to admit (with a certain amount of embarrassment) that I do not fully understand the difference between Dovecot and Exim (or why they are in my system rather than the stock linux sendmail stuff). Both have something to do with mail delivery, but why two? The Wiki definitions left much to be desired...

Now here's the weird thing -- new emails are coming through on all accounts. The one box that has a large "Usage" number that is still growing but shows zero email according to email clients, emails are being received now, but the pre-update mailbox contents seem to be stuck in limbo. The Maildir/new directory size shows there is something in there. Can't see what though.

Is this a conversion issue? How can I see what's in there and convert it without risking deleting it all?
 
i agree, but the only difference between the default conf file you linked to and the one i have is these three lines:

#mail_plugins = convert
#convert_mail = mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/mail/%u
mail_debug=yes

the first two are from my attempt to "convert" the ghost emails. dovecot refused to start with these lines in, so i commented them out.

from maillog, april 3 - 8,

About 40,000 (almost all) entries were one hacker trying to break into my email server:

server dovecot: auth: passwd-file(root,61.206.115.166): no passwd file: /etc/virtual//passwd

Only two were from me checking my email:

server dovecot: auth: passwd-file(user,my_conn_ip): no passwd file: /etc/virtual//passwd (occurred 4 times)
server dovecot: auth: passwd-file(user): no passwd file: /etc/virtual//passwd (occurred 1 time)

Since this only happened a few times, I will assume it is a fluke. It's not happening now. Although I thought you should only get "unknown user" on ONE of passwd-file or shadow for the same valid user, not on both.
 
Update: SOME emails are getting through. I think any coming from outside my system are going into limbo, while those sent by my server are getting through.

Does anyone have a clue regarding these lost limbo emails?

Does DA support dovecot / exim? i think i should disable any DA auto-updates since my two biggest crashes in the history of my sites were caused by software installed by DA auto-updates.
 
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lowbwtom said:
Update: SOME emails are getting through. I think any coming from outside my system are going into limbo, while those sent by my server are getting through.

Does anyone have a clue regarding these lost limbo emails?
Click to expand...
The only way to tell is to read and evaluate the log files. If you can't do that, then perhaps you should hire someone to do it for you, or take the time to learn. I and others here on these forums offer DirectAdmin administration services.
Does DA support dovecot / exim?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what you mean by support. DirectAdmin installs both, and maintains their directory structure, but they work independentlly of DirectAdmin, which, after it's installed, simply presents the control panel interface and makes changes to the files as required by changes/additions you and your users make.
i think i should disable any DA auto-updates since my two biggest crashes in the history of my sites were caused by software installed by DA auto-updates.
Click to expand...
DirectAdmin updates really shouldn't do this, as generally all it does is updates the control panel.

That said, we don't auto-update; we wait a week or so to see if there are any problems surfacing on these forums before updating.

To see what a specific update did or does, see the DirectAdmin Version history.

Jeff
 
i read the log files. like i said, there are no indications of problems there.

reading the build script today (had to, no docs on config options), DA does not install exim, only exim.conf and exim.pl. the exim install/update part of the script is missing. exim update is manual, but no working docs/instructions available.

version history gives DA versions only, nothing about other apps, eg dovecot, exim, etc. therefore useless.

** so, let's see if anyone knows this: where exactly does DA get the mailbox usage size it displays? (not the cache, the original source) and where is this configured. DA is obviously looking somewhere other than where exim/dovecot are looking. that or one is misinterpreting the data. the recent dovecot update broke that connection and left my pre-update emails dangling somewhere.
 
As I wrote, DirectAdmin updates don't update exim. there's nothing in version history for those files because the updates don't update them. That was my point; you said that the update broke your email delivery. If the update made any changes that would have affected email delivery, they would have been in there.

The config options for custombuild are in /usr/local/directadmin/custombuild/options.conf

If you don't want to hire someone to help you with this, and you can't fix it yourself, then, if you've got a license which includes support (generally all full-price licenses except lifetime licenses) you can of course contact DirectAdmin Support, as this is a volunteer peer-to-peer forum, and it appears you've reached the limits of the support you can get here.

Jeff
 
lowbwtom said:
but aren't you support?
Click to expand...
That depends on what you mean by support.

I run NoBaloney Internet Services (nobaloney.net), a third-party support company for small webhosting companies, supplying almost everything a small webhosting company could need or want to stay in business. For over five years, we've concentrated much of our work on DirectAdmin and on companies using DirectAdmin. While we do some retail webhosting, and in fact we're beginning to expand that presence, support for webhosting companies is our primary business.

But I'm not employed by DirectAdmin. Though I and some of my contracted staffl have also contracted with JBMC (the publishers of DirectAdmin, our job is NOT to support you under any contract with them.

I offer as much free support on these forums as time and resources allow, though at times I must draw the line. One place I always draw the line is at logging into your server; if we're going to take on any responsibility for your server, I feel we should be paid for that.

Hopefully you qualify for support direct from DirectAdmin Staff, which is why I already mentioned that option. If you don't, then perhaps someone else will be willing to log on to your server to investigate your problem at no charge to you. If not, then you have the choice of learning the way most of us did and still do, or paying someone (I may be more expensive than others who post here) to log into your system and help you.

Jeff
 
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