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List:       exim-users
Subject:    Re: [Exim] Rereading config (from Relay troubles)
From:       Philip Hazel <ph10 () cus ! cam ! ac ! uk>
Date:       2000-09-28 8:23:27
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On Wed, 27 Sep 2000, John Sloan wrote:

> I have a related wish.  We have one server whose configuration changes
> very rapidly (the networks/domains we allow through it varies
> rapidly).  Every time the configuration changes, we HUP exim and it
> rereads it.  So far so good.

As someone else said, in this situation the best approach is to put the 
changing information into a separate file that is referenced from the 
Exim configuration. Then it will get used as soon as it is changed, 
without any HUP needed.

> Unfortunately the already running queue-runners don't appear tracked by
> the new exim daemon.  [Indeed they appear to become orphaned, as the
> daemon respawns].

Correct. This is documented behaviour.

> Is this a behaviour which could be changed?   Could exim reread it's
> configuration without respawning?

Not without a lot of work. It would have to clean up all the store used
by the old configuration, and reset all the variables. It just isn't 
designed this way - I thought that, as this would be a rare occurrence, 
a completely fresh start was best, as it avoids these kinds of problems. 
Otherwise, it would be too easy to forget something and cause it to 
start leaking memory, or otherwise get messed up. Currently, there is no 
difference between a freshly started daemon and a HUPped one - having 
such a different could potentially lead to odd bugs that would be hard 
to track down ("this happens only after I've HUPped it 5 times...")


-- 
Philip Hazel            University of Cambridge Computing Service,
ph10@cus.cam.ac.uk      Cambridge, England. Phone: +44 1223 334714.

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