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7FLUSH(8)                                                              FLUSH(8)
8
9<b>NAME</b>
10       flush - Postfix fast flush server
11
12<b>SYNOPSIS</b>
13       <b>flush</b> [generic Postfix daemon options]
14
15<b>DESCRIPTION</b>
16       The <a href="flush.8.html"><b>flush</b>(8)</a> server maintains a record of deferred mail by destination.
17       This information is used to improve the performance of  the  SMTP  <b>ETRN</b>
18       request,   and  of  its  command-line  equivalent,  "<b>sendmail  -qR</b>"  or
19       "<b>postqueue -f</b>".  This program expects to  be  run  from  the  <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a>
20       process manager.
21
22       The record is implemented as a per-destination logfile with as contents
23       the queue IDs of deferred mail. A logfile is append-only, and is  trun-
24       cated  when  delivery is requested for the corresponding destination. A
25       destination is the part on the right-hand side of the right-most  <b>@</b>  in
26       an email address.
27
28       Per-destination  logfiles of deferred mail are maintained only for eli-
29       gible destinations. The list of eligible destinations is specified with
30       the  <b><a href="postconf.5.html#fast_flush_domains">fast_flush_domains</a></b>  configuration  parameter,  which  defaults  to
31       <b>$<a href="postconf.5.html#relay_domains">relay_domains</a></b>.
32
33       This server implements the following requests:
34
35       <b>add</b> <i>sitename queueid</i>
36              Inform the <a href="flush.8.html"><b>flush</b>(8)</a> server that the message with  the  specified
37              queue ID is queued for the specified destination.
38
39       <b>send_site</b> <i>sitename</i>
40              Request delivery of mail that is queued for the specified desti-
41              nation.
42
43       <b>send_file</b> <i>queueid</i>
44              Request delivery of the specified deferred message.
45
46       <b>refresh</b>
47              Refresh non-empty per-destination logfiles that were not read in
48              <b>$<a href="postconf.5.html#fast_flush_refresh_time">fast_flush_refresh_time</a></b> hours, by simulating send requests (see
49              above) for the corresponding destinations.
50
51              Delete empty per-destination logfiles that were not  updated  in
52              <b>$<a href="postconf.5.html#fast_flush_purge_time">fast_flush_purge_time</a></b> days.
53
54              This request completes in the background.
55
56       <b>purge</b>  Do a <b>refresh</b> for all per-destination logfiles.
57
58<b>SECURITY</b>
59       The  <a href="flush.8.html"><b>flush</b>(8)</a> server is not security-sensitive. It does not talk to the
60       network, and it does not talk to local users.  The  fast  flush  server
61       can run chrooted at fixed low privilege.
62
63<b>DIAGNOSTICS</b>
64       Problems and transactions are logged to <b>syslogd</b>(8) or <a href="postlogd.8.html"><b>postlogd</b>(8)</a>.
65
66<b>BUGS</b>
67       Fast flush logfiles are truncated only after a "send" request, not when
68       mail is actually delivered, and therefore can  accumulate  outdated  or
69       redundant data. In order to maintain sanity, "refresh" must be executed
70       periodically. This can be automated with a suitable wakeup  timer  set-
71       ting in the <a href="master.5.html"><b>master.cf</b></a> configuration file.
72
73       Upon  receipt of a request to deliver mail for an eligible destination,
74       the <a href="flush.8.html"><b>flush</b>(8)</a> server requests delivery of all messages that  are  listed
75       in  that  destination's  logfile, regardless of the recipients of those
76       messages. This is not an issue for mail that is sent to a <b><a href="postconf.5.html#relay_domains">relay_domains</a></b>
77       destination  because  such  mail  typically  only has recipients in one
78       domain.
79
80<b>CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS</b>
81       Changes to <a href="postconf.5.html"><b>main.cf</b></a> are picked up automatically  as  <a href="flush.8.html"><b>flush</b>(8)</a>  processes
82       run for only a limited amount of time. Use the command "<b>postfix reload</b>"
83       to speed up a change.
84
85       The text below provides only a parameter summary. See  <a href="postconf.5.html"><b>postconf</b>(5)</a>  for
86       more details including examples.
87
88       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#config_directory">config_directory</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b>
89              The  default  location of the Postfix <a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a> and <a href="master.5.html">master.cf</a> con-
90              figuration files.
91
92       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#daemon_timeout">daemon_timeout</a> (18000s)</b>
93              How much time a Postfix daemon process  may  take  to  handle  a
94              request before it is terminated by a built-in watchdog timer.
95
96       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#fast_flush_domains">fast_flush_domains</a> ($<a href="postconf.5.html#relay_domains">relay_domains</a>)</b>
97              Optional list of destinations that are eligible for per-destina-
98              tion logfiles with mail that is queued to those destinations.
99
100       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#fast_flush_refresh_time">fast_flush_refresh_time</a> (12h)</b>
101              The time after which  a  non-empty  but  unread  per-destination
102              "fast flush" logfile needs to be refreshed.
103
104       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#fast_flush_purge_time">fast_flush_purge_time</a> (7d)</b>
105              The  time after which an empty per-destination "fast flush" log-
106              file is deleted.
107
108       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#ipc_timeout">ipc_timeout</a> (3600s)</b>
109              The time limit for sending  or  receiving  information  over  an
110              internal communication channel.
111
112       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#max_idle">max_idle</a> (100s)</b>
113              The  maximum  amount of time that an idle Postfix daemon process
114              waits for an incoming connection before terminating voluntarily.
115
116       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#max_use">max_use</a> (100)</b>
117              The maximal number of incoming connections that a Postfix daemon
118              process will service before terminating voluntarily.
119
120       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#parent_domain_matches_subdomains">parent_domain_matches_subdomains</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b>
121              A list of Postfix features where the pattern "example.com"  also
122              matches  subdomains  of  example.com,  instead  of  requiring an
123              explicit ".example.com" pattern.
124
125       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#process_id">process_id</a> (read-only)</b>
126              The process ID of a Postfix command or daemon process.
127
128       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#process_name">process_name</a> (read-only)</b>
129              The process name of a Postfix command or daemon process.
130
131       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#queue_directory">queue_directory</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b>
132              The location of the Postfix top-level queue directory.
133
134       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#syslog_facility">syslog_facility</a> (mail)</b>
135              The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
136
137       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#syslog_name">syslog_name</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b>
138              A prefix that  is  prepended  to  the  process  name  in  syslog
139              records, so that, for example, "smtpd" becomes "prefix/smtpd".
140
141       Available in Postfix 3.3 and later:
142
143       <b><a href="postconf.5.html#service_name">service_name</a> (read-only)</b>
144              The <a href="master.5.html">master.cf</a> service name of a Postfix daemon process.
145
146<b>FILES</b>
147       /var/spool/postfix/flush, "fast flush" logfiles.
148
149<b>SEE ALSO</b>
150       <a href="smtpd.8.html">smtpd(8)</a>, SMTP server
151       <a href="qmgr.8.html">qmgr(8)</a>, queue manager
152       <a href="postconf.5.html">postconf(5)</a>, configuration parameters
153       <a href="master.5.html">master(5)</a>, generic daemon options
154       <a href="master.8.html">master(8)</a>, process manager
155       <a href="postlogd.8.html">postlogd(8)</a>, Postfix logging
156       syslogd(8), system logging
157
158<b>README FILES</b>
159       <a href="ETRN_README.html">ETRN_README</a>, Postfix ETRN howto
160
161<b>LICENSE</b>
162       The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this software.
163
164<b>HISTORY</b>
165       This service was introduced with Postfix version 1.0.
166
167<b>AUTHOR(S)</b>
168       Wietse Venema
169       IBM T.J. Watson Research
170       P.O. Box 704
171       Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA
172
173       Wietse Venema
174       Google, Inc.
175       111 8th Avenue
176       New York, NY 10011, USA
177
178                                                                      FLUSH(8)
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