I'd say you've run into a lot of bad software. Even in the custom apps we
write -- and we're usually on too tight of a budget to do extensive error
checking -- we'd wouldn't let something like this happen. If you have a
program writing data to disk, it should either: A) check that there's
sufficient disk space in advance, or B) check that the write was successful
afterwards. If an error condition arises, it posts an error somehow (the NT
application log would be the obvious choice, but email or a pop-up message
would be an excellent addition), and then exits without damaging the existing
data. That's standard programming procedure.
My primary purpose in writing was to look for help, rather than complain, but
I think the complaint is very legitimate. Faced with a space shortage, IMail
destroyed the contents of any active IMAP mailbox. That's a horrendous
outcome, and there is no way to blame it on operator error. Let's suppose
that disk space monitoring software had paged me at home Sunday night. In
the time it takes me to drive to the office, mailboxes are being wiped out
left and right as effectively as any virus might wish.
In the real world, disasters sometimes strike, such as disk space vanishing
overnight. Software -- especially software intended to run on a server --
should always handle error conditions gracefully.
Ben
In a message dated 11/8/99 1:26:59 PM Pacific Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< Subj: Re: [IMail Forum] Lost messages from zero disk space
Date: 11/8/99 1:26:59 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Peter Salvage)
Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: 08 November 1999 10:25
Subject: Re: [IMail Forum] Lost messages from zero disk space
> Let me restate that:
>
> If IMail runs out of disk space, it certainly must stop storing new
messages,
> and it probably should generate an error message. What happens
instead is
> that IMail kills existing messages, and does not generate an error
message.
>
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
> In a message dated 11/8/99 11:37:50 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>
> << Subj: Re: [IMail Forum] Lost messages from zero disk space
> Date: 11/8/99 11:37:50 AM Pacific Standard Time
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Peter Salvage)
> Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Reply-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: 08 November 1999 09:17
> Subject: [IMail Forum] Lost messages from zero disk space
>
>
> > If IMail just kills the message files when disk space runs out,
that
> strikes
> > me as a pretty disasterous bug.
>
> erm colour me uninformed...but where should iMail store the mail if
> there's no disk space?
Again, at the risk of appearing facetious...that would indicate to me
that there was a bug in the operator and not the software. I have yet to
find a software package that, when confronted with zero disk space, will
finish processing, and shut down in an orderly fashion, after first
informing the operator that "there appears to be a problem and would he
be a nice chap and sort it out, sharpish like." Surely the operator
should maintain SOME sense of responsibility for the maintenance of his
server?
As a fix, I suggest running MRTG, pull out the MIB's for available disk
space, and monitor the HDD's yourself, every 5 minutes.
/wiZZ
Please visit http://www.ipswitch.com/support/mailing-lists.html
to be removed from this list.
----------------------- Headers --------------------------------
Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Received: from rly-yd02.mx.aol.com (rly-yd02.mail.aol.com [172.18.150.2])
by air-yd02.mail.aol.com (v62.15) with ESMTP; Mon, 08 Nov 1999 16:26:59 1900
Received: from list.ipswitch.com (list.ipswitch.com [156.21.1.21]) by
rly-yd02.mx.aol.com (v62.10) with ESMTP; Mon, 08 Nov 1999 16:26:41 -0500
Received: from exodus.ait.co.za [196.36.149.2] by list.ipswitch.com
(SMTPD32-5.05) id AC2CD9006C; Mon, 08 Nov 1999 16:10:04 -0500
Received: from wizzard [196.36.149.4] by exodus.ait.co.za
(SMTPD32-4.06) id A636195015A; Mon, 08 Nov 1999 22:59:02 +0200
Message-ID: <049101bf2a2c$16528e60$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
From: "Peter Salvage" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
References: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 22:59:02 +0200
Organization: SybaWeb Internet & Networking
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2014.211
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2014.211
Subject: Re: [IMail Forum] Lost messages from zero disk space
Precedence: bulk
Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
Please visit http://www.ipswitch.com/support/mailing-lists.html
to be removed from this list.
