2014-01-15 10:53:42 +01:00

216 lines
11 KiB
HTML

<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html> <head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<title> Postfix manual - master(8) </title>
</head> <body> <pre>
MASTER(8) MASTER(8)
<b>NAME</b>
master - Postfix master process
<b>SYNOPSIS</b>
<b>master</b> [<b>-Ddtvw</b>] [<b>-c</b> <i>config</i><b>_</b><i>dir</i>] [<b>-e</b> <i>exit</i><b>_</b><i>time</i>]
<b>DESCRIPTION</b>
The <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a> daemon is the resident process that runs
Postfix daemons on demand: daemons to send or receive mes-
sages via the network, daemons to deliver mail locally,
etc. These daemons are created on demand up to a config-
urable maximum number per service.
Postfix daemons terminate voluntarily, either after being
idle for a configurable amount of time, or after having
serviced a configurable number of requests. Exceptions to
this rule are the resident queue manager, address verifi-
cation server, and the TLS session cache and pseudo-random
number server.
The behavior of the <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a> daemon is controlled by the
<a href="master.5.html"><b>master.cf</b></a> configuration file, as described in <a href="master.5.html"><b>master</b>(5)</a>.
Options:
<b>-c</b> <i>config</i><b>_</b><i>dir</i>
Read the <a href="postconf.5.html"><b>main.cf</b></a> and <a href="master.5.html"><b>master.cf</b></a> configuration files
in the named directory instead of the default con-
figuration directory. This also overrides the con-
figuration files for other Postfix daemon pro-
cesses.
<b>-D</b> After initialization, run a debugger on the master
process. The debugging command is specified with
the <b><a href="postconf.5.html#debugger_command">debugger_command</a></b> in the <a href="postconf.5.html"><b>main.cf</b></a> global configu-
ration file.
<b>-d</b> Do not redirect stdin, stdout or stderr to
/dev/null, and do not discard the controlling ter-
minal. This must be used for debugging only.
<b>-e</b> <i>exit</i><b>_</b><i>time</i>
Terminate the master process after <i>exit</i><b>_</b><i>time</i> sec-
onds. Child processes terminate at their conve-
nience.
<b>-t</b> Test mode. Return a zero exit status when the <b>mas-</b>
<b>ter.pid</b> lock file does not exist or when that file
is not locked. This is evidence that the <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a>
daemon is not running.
<b>-v</b> Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. This
option is passed on to child processes. Multiple <b>-v</b>
options make the software increasingly verbose.
<b>-w</b> Wait in a dummy foreground process, while the real
master daemon initializes in a background process.
The dummy foreground process returns a zero exit
status only if the master daemon initialization is
successful, and if it completes in a reasonable
amount of time.
This feature is available in Postfix 2.10 and
later.
Signals:
<b>SIGHUP</b> Upon receipt of a <b>HUP</b> signal (e.g., after "<b>postfix</b>
<b>reload</b>"), the master process re-reads its configu-
ration files. If a service has been removed from
the <a href="master.5.html"><b>master.cf</b></a> file, its running processes are ter-
minated immediately. Otherwise, running processes
are allowed to terminate as soon as is convenient,
so that changes in configuration settings affect
only new service requests.
<b>SIGTERM</b>
Upon receipt of a <b>TERM</b> signal (e.g., after "<b>postfix</b>
<b>abort</b>"), the master process passes the signal on to
its child processes and terminates. This is useful
for an emergency shutdown. Normally one would ter-
minate only the master ("<b>postfix stop</b>") and allow
running processes to finish what they are doing.
<b>DIAGNOSTICS</b>
Problems are reported to <b>syslogd</b>(8). The exit status is
non-zero in case of problems, including problems while
initializing as a master daemon process in the background.
<b>ENVIRONMENT</b>
<b>MAIL_DEBUG</b>
After initialization, start a debugger as specified
with the <b><a href="postconf.5.html#debugger_command">debugger_command</a></b> configuration parameter
in the <a href="postconf.5.html"><b>main.cf</b></a> configuration file.
<b>MAIL_CONFIG</b>
Directory with Postfix configuration files.
<b>CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS</b>
Unlike most Postfix daemon processes, the <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a> server
does not automatically pick up changes to <a href="postconf.5.html"><b>main.cf</b></a>. Changes
to <a href="master.5.html"><b>master.cf</b></a> are never picked up automatically. Use the
"<b>postfix reload</b>" command after a configuration change.
<b>RESOURCE AND RATE CONTROLS</b>
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#default_process_limit">default_process_limit</a> (100)</b>
The default maximal number of Postfix child pro-
cesses that provide a given service.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#max_idle">max_idle</a> (100s)</b>
The maximum amount of time that an idle Postfix
daemon process waits for an incoming connection
before terminating voluntarily.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#max_use">max_use</a> (100)</b>
The maximal number of incoming connections that a
Postfix daemon process will service before termi-
nating voluntarily.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#service_throttle_time">service_throttle_time</a> (60s)</b>
How long the Postfix <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a> waits before forking
a server that appears to be malfunctioning.
Available in Postfix version 2.6 and later:
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#master_service_disable">master_service_disable</a> (empty)</b>
Selectively disable <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a> listener ports by
service type or by service name and type.
<b>MISCELLANEOUS CONTROLS</b>
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#config_directory">config_directory</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b>
The default location of the Postfix <a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a> and
<a href="master.5.html">master.cf</a> configuration files.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#daemon_directory">daemon_directory</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b>
The directory with Postfix support programs and
daemon programs.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#debugger_command">debugger_command</a> (empty)</b>
The external command to execute when a Postfix dae-
mon program is invoked with the -D option.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#inet_interfaces">inet_interfaces</a> (all)</b>
The network interface addresses that this mail sys-
tem receives mail on.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#inet_protocols">inet_protocols</a> (all)</b>
The Internet protocols Postfix will attempt to use
when making or accepting connections.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#import_environment">import_environment</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b>
The list of environment parameters that a Postfix
process will import from a non-Postfix parent
process.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#mail_owner">mail_owner</a> (postfix)</b>
The UNIX system account that owns the Postfix queue
and most Postfix daemon processes.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#process_id">process_id</a> (read-only)</b>
The process ID of a Postfix command or daemon
process.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#process_name">process_name</a> (read-only)</b>
The process name of a Postfix command or daemon
process.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#queue_directory">queue_directory</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b>
The location of the Postfix top-level queue direc-
tory.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#syslog_facility">syslog_facility</a> (mail)</b>
The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
<b><a href="postconf.5.html#syslog_name">syslog_name</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b>
The mail system name that is prepended to the
process name in syslog records, so that "smtpd"
becomes, for example, "postfix/smtpd".
<b>FILES</b>
To expand the directory names below into their actual val-
ues, use the command "<b>postconf <a href="postconf.5.html#config_directory">config_directory</a></b>" etc.
$<a href="postconf.5.html#config_directory">config_directory</a>/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>, global configuration file.
$<a href="postconf.5.html#config_directory">config_directory</a>/<a href="master.5.html">master.cf</a>, master server configuration file.
$<a href="postconf.5.html#queue_directory">queue_directory</a>/pid/master.pid, master lock file.
$<a href="postconf.5.html#data_directory">data_directory</a>/master.lock, master lock file.
<b>SEE ALSO</b>
<a href="qmgr.8.html">qmgr(8)</a>, queue manager
<a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a>, address verification
<a href="master.5.html">master(5)</a>, <a href="master.5.html">master.cf</a> configuration file syntax
<a href="postconf.5.html">postconf(5)</a>, <a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a> configuration file syntax
syslogd(8), system logging
<b>LICENSE</b>
The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this
software.
<b>AUTHOR(S)</b>
Wietse Venema
IBM T.J. Watson Research
P.O. Box 704
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA
MASTER(8)
</pre> </body> </html>