What does this mean?

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2 total messages Started by Stuart M Castergine Thu, 16 Apr 1992 05:44

#262

Author: Stuart M Castergine
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 05:44

23 lines
1304 bytes

Someone was recently trying to send mail to my site (not the one I'm
posting from now) and got the following error messages:

  ----- Transcript of session follows -----
451 makeconnection: server "smtp" unknown: Invalid argument
554 saqqara.cis.ohio-state.edu.tcp... 554 System file missing
554 <katrina@waltham.columbus.oh.us>... System file missing
 
Anybody know what that means?

She is able to send mail to this account:
scasterg@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu, which is how she informed me about
the error, so I am surprised that she can't send to
waltham.columbus.oh.us, since waltham is a uucp node that is MX
forwarded through cis.ohio-state.edu (i.e., at the same site).

Other sites are able to send mail to waltham with no problem.

Thanks.
-- 
scasterg@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu -- Stuart M. Castergine

Wake the Witch!

Re: What does this mean?

#263

Author: Karl_Kleinpaste
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 14:02

26 lines
1692 bytes

scasterg@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu writes:
   Someone was recently trying to send mail to my site (not the one I'm
   posting from now) and got the following error messages:
   451 makeconnection: server "smtp" unknown: Invalid argument
   554 saqqara.cis.ohio-state.edu.tcp... 554 System file missing
   Anybody know what that means?

It means that her system uses Yellow Pages (aka NIS); that her
system's "services" map is supported by that means; that her NIS
server was overloaded at the time; and that when sendmail requested of
that NIS server the numeric port number for mail service ("smtp", port
25), the overload on the server caused it not to respond before a
timeout occurred in sendmail, giving the (erroneous) impression of an
unknown "system file."

Solutions:
[1] Add code to retry the getservbyname("smtp") call if it fails.
[2] Hardcode port 25 where the getservbyname("smtp") call currently exists.
[3] Nuke YP/NIS with the biggest weapon you can find.

   She is able to send mail to this account...

Purely an accident.  When she got around to sending mail to you there,
the NIS server was no longer overloaded.  It could happen again any time.

--karl

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