At the end of this chapter we describe all the options in detail, with those descriptions in alphabetical order for easy lookup. Here, we present them grouped by application with only a brief description. 24.7.1 File Locations sendmail knows the location of only its configuration file. [6] Options in the configuration file tell sendmail where all other files and directories are located. The options that specify file locations are summarized in Table 24-6. All file location options are of type string . [6] Beginning with V8.6 sendmail , it also knows the location of its default pid file. Table 24-6. File location options Option name | | § | File | AliasFile | (A) | AliasFile | Aliases file and its database files | CACertFile | | CACertFile | File containing certificates for certificate authorities | CACertPath | | CACertPath | Directory with certificates of certificate authorities | ClientCertFile | | ClientCertFile | File containing the client's public certificate | ClientKeyFile | | ClientKeyFile | File with the client certificate's private key | ControlSocketName | | ControlSocketName | Path to control socket | DeadLetterDrop | | DeadLetterDrop | Define dead.letter file location | DHParameters | | DHParameters | Parameters for DSA/DH cipher suite | ErrorHeader | (E) | ErrorHeader | Set error message header | ForwardPath | (J) | ForwardPath | Set forward file search path | HelpFile | (H) | HelpFile | Specify location of the help file | HostsFile | | HostsFile | Specify alternate /etc/ hosts file | HostStatusDirectory | | HostStatusDirectory | Location of persistent host status | PidFile | | PidFile | Location of the sendmail pid file | QueueDirectory | (Q) | QueueDirectory | Location of queue directory | RandFile | | RandFile | Source for random numbers | SafeFileEnvironment | | SafeFileEnvironment | Directory for safe file writes | ServerCertFile | | ServerCertFile | File containing the server's certificate | ServerKeyFile | | ServerKeyFile | File with the server certificate's private key | ServiceSwitchFile | | ServiceSwitchFile | Specify file for switched services | StatusFile | (S) | StatusFile | Specify statistics file | UserDatabaseSpec | (U) | UserDatabaseSpec | Specify user database | File and directory locations should be expressed as full pathnames. Use of relative names will cause the location to become relative to the queue directory or, for some options, cause the name to be interpreted as something other than a file or directory. 24.7.2 The Queue Several options combine to determine your site's policy for managing the sendmail queue (see Chapter 11). Among them is one that specifies the location of the queue directory and another that sets the permissions given to files in that directory. The list of many options that affect the queue is shown in Table 24-7. Table 24-7. Options that affect the queue Option name | | § | Description | CheckpointInterval | (C) | CheckpointInterval | Checkpoint the queue | DataFileBufferSize | | DataFileBufferSize | Buffered I/O df limit | HoldExpensive | (c) | HoldExpensive | Queue for expensive mailers | MaxQueueChildren | | MaxQueueChildren | Limit total concurrent queue processors | MaxQueueRunSize | | MaxQueueRunSize | Maximum queue messages processed | MaxRunnersPerQueue | | MaxRunnersPerQueue | Limit concurrent queue processors per queue group | MinFreeBlocks | (b) | MinFreeBlocks | Define minimum free disk blocks | MinQueueAge | | MinQueueAge | Skip queue file if too young | NiceQueueRun | | NiceQueueRun | Default nice (3) setting for queue processors | PrivacyOptions | (p) | PrivacyOptions | Increase privacy of the daemon | QueueDirectory | (Q) | QueueDirectory | Location of queue directory | QueueFactor | (q) | QueueFactor | Factor for high-load queuing | QueueFileMode | | QueueFileMode | Default permissions for queue files | QueueLA | (x) | QueueLA | On high load, queue only | QueueSortOrder | | QueueSortOrder | How to presort the queue | QueueTimeout | (T) | QueueTimeout | Limit life of a message in the queue to days | RecipientFactor | (y) | RecipientFactor | Penalize large recipient lists | RetryFactor | (Z) | RetryFactor | Increment per job priority | RunAsUser | | RunAsUser | Run as non root [7] | SharedMemoryKey | | SharedMemoryKey | Enable shared memory by setting the key | SuperSafe | (s) | SuperSafe | Queue everything just in case | TempFileMode | (F) | TempFileMode | Permissions for temporary files | Timeout.queuereturn | | See this section | Timeout life in queue | Timeout.queuewarn | | See this section | Timeout for still-in-queue warnings | TrustedUser | | TrustedUser | Alternative to root administration [7] | XscriptFileBufferSize | | XscriptFileBufferSize | Set xf file buffered I/O limit | [7] This is not strictly related to queueing, but it does have indirect bearing on the permissions of the process. 24.7.3 Managing Aliases In addition to knowing the location of the aliases file, some options determine how that file and its associated database files will be used. For example, there is an option that tells sendmail to check the right side of the aliases for validity. The various aliases -related options are shown in Table 24-8. Table 24-8. Options for managing aliases Option name | | § | Description | AliasFile | (A) | AliasFile | Define the location of the aliases file | AliasWait | (a) | AliasWait | Wait for aliases file rebuild | AutoRebuildAliases | (D) | AutoRebuildAliases | Autorebuild the aliases database (V8.11 and earlier) | CheckAliases | (n) | CheckAliases | Check RHS of aliases | DefaultUser | (u) | DefaultUser | Default delivery agent identity | DontBlameSendmail | | DontBlameSendmail | Relax file security checks | MaxAliasRecursion | | MaxAliasRecursion | Maximum recursion of aliases | ServiceSwitchFile | | ServiceSwitchFile | Specify file for switched services | TrustedUser | | TrustedUser | Alternative to root administration | 24.7.4 Controlling Machine Load Several options control the sendmail program's behavior under high-machine-load conditions. They are intended to reduce the impact of sendmail on machines that provide other services and to help protect sendmail from overburdening a machine. The list of options that determine and help to prevent high-load conditions is shown in Table 24-9. Table 24-9. Options that determine load Option name | | § | Description | ClassFactor | (z) | ClassFactor | Multiplier for priority increments | ConnectionRateThrottle | | ConnectionRateThrottle | Incoming SMTP connection rate | DelayLA | | DelayLA | Add one second SMTP sleep on high load | DeliveryMode | (d) | DeliveryMode | Set delivery mode | HoldExpensive | (c) | HoldExpensive | Queue for expensive mailers | MaxDaemonChildren | | MaxDaemonChildren | Maximum forked children | MaxQueueRunSize | | MaxQueueRunSize | Maximum queue messages processed | MaxRunnersPerQueue | | MaxRunnersPerQueue | Limit concurrent queue processors per queue group | MinQueueAge | | MinQueueAge | Skip queue file if too young | NiceQueueRun | | NiceQueueRun | Default nice (3) setting for queue processors | QueueFactor | (q) | QueueFactor | Factor for high-load queuing | QueueLA | (x) | QueueLA | On high load, queue only | QueueSortOrder | | QueueSortOrder | How to presort the queue | RefuseLA | (X) | RefuseLA | Refuse connections on high load | Timeout | (r) | Timeout | Set timeouts | 24.7.5 Connection Caching Connection caching improves the performance of SMTP-transported mail. In processing the queue or delivering to a long list of recipients, keeping a few SMTP connections open (just in case another message is for one of those same sites) will improve the speed of transfers. Caching is of greatest benefit on busy mail hub machines but can benefit any machine that sends a great deal of network mail. Table 24-10 lists the options that determine how connections will be cached. Table 24-10. Options that determine connection caching Option name | | § | Description | ConnectionCacheSize | (k) | ConnectionCacheSize | SMTP connection cache size | ConnectionCacheTimeout | (K) | ConnectionCacheTimeout | SMTP connection cache time out | HostStatusDirectory | | HostStatusDirectory | Location of persistent host status | SingleThreadDelivery | | SingleThreadDelivery | Set single-threaded delivery | 24.7.6 Problem Solving The sendmail program offers a few options that will help in locating and solving some mail delivery problems. Table 24-11 lists the available options. Table 24-11. Options that help with problem solving Option name | | § | Description | CheckAliases | (n) | CheckAliases | Check RHS of aliases | DoubleBounceAddress | | DoubleBounceAddress | Errors when sending errors | LogLevel | (L) | LogLevel | Set (increase) the logging level | PostmasterCopy | (P) | PostmasterCopy | Extra copies of bounce messages (not V5 BSD) | Verbose | (v) | Verbose | Run in verbose mode | Other means to solve problems are described in Chapter 16, which discusses the -d debugging command-line switch, and in Chapter 14 ( specifically Section 14.2), which covers the -X traffic-logging command-line switch. 24.7.7 Other Options The sendmail program supports a vast array of options, each of which is described at the end of this chapter. For now, study each one well enough to get a basic feeling for what it does. Then, as you gain experience with sendmail , you'll know where to look for the particular option that will meet your needs. |