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Sun Java System Messaging Server 6.3 Administration Guide

20.14.3 Repairing Mailboxes and the Mailboxes Database

If one or more mailboxes become corrupt, you can use the reconstruct utility to rebuild the mailboxes or the mailbox database and repair any inconsistencies.

The reconstruct utility rebuilds one or more mailboxes, or the master mailbox file, and repairs any inconsistencies. You can use this utility to recover from almost any form of data corruption in the mail store. See Error Messages Signifying that reconstruct is Needed

Table 20–14 lists the reconstruct options. For detailed syntax and usage requirements, see the reconstruct in Sun Java System Messaging Server 6.3 Administration Reference.

Table 20–14 reconstruct Options

Option  

Description  

-e

Removes the store.exp file before reconstructing. This eliminates any internal store record of removed messages which have not been cleaned out by the store process. It would also be useful to use the -f option when using -i or -e, because these options only work if the folder is actually reconstructed. Similarly, if you use the -n option (which performs a check, not a reconstruction), the -i and -e options do not work.

Running a reconstruct -e will not recover removed messages if reconstruct does not detect damage. An -f will force the reconstruct.

-i

Sets the store.idx file length to zero before reconstructing. It would also be useful to use the -f option when using -i or -e, because these options only work if the folder is actually reconstructed. Similarly, if you use the -n option (which performs a check, not a reconstruction), the -i and -e options do not work.

-f

Forces reconstruct to perform a fix on the mailbox or mailboxes.

-l

Reconstruct lright.db.

-m

Performs a consistency check and, if needed, repairs the mailboxes database. This option examines every mailbox it finds in the spool area, adding or removing entries from the mailbox’s database as appropriate. The utility prints a message to the standard output file whenever it adds or removes an entry from the database. Specifically it fixes folder.db, quota.db, and lright.db

-n

Checks the message store only, without performing a fix on the mailbox or mailboxes. The -n option cannot be used by itself unless a mailbox name is provided. When a mailbox name is not provided, the -n option must be used with the -r option. The -r option may be combined with the -p option. For example, any of the following commands are valid:

reconstruct -n user/dulcinea/INBOX

reconstruct -n -r

reconstruct -n -r -p primary

reconstruct -n -r user/dulcinea/

-o

Obsolete, see mboxutil -o

-o -d filename

Obsolete, see mboxutil -o

-p partition

The -p option is used with the -m option and limits the scope of the reconstruction to the specified partition. If the -p option is not specified, reconstruct defaults to all partitions. Specifically it fixes folder.db and, quota.db, but not lright.db. This is because fixing the lright.db requires scanning the acls for every user in the message store. Performing this for every partition is not very efficient. To fix lright.db run reconstruct -l.

Specify a partition name; do not use a full path name. 

-q

Fixes any inconsistencies in the quota subsystem, such as mailboxes with the wrong quota root or quota roots with the wrong quota usage reported. The -q option can be run while other server processes are running.

-r [mailbox]

Repairs and performs a consistency check of the partition area of the specified mailbox or mailboxes. The -r option also repairs all sub-mailboxes within the specified mailbox. If you specify -r with no mailbox argument, the utility repairs the spool areas of all mailboxes within the user partition directory.

-u user

The -u option is used with the -m option and limits the scope of the reconstruction to the specified user. The -u option must be used with the -p option. If the -u option is not specified, reconstruct defaults to all partitions or to the partition specified with the -p option.

Specify a user name; do not use a full path name. 

20.14.3.1 To Rebuild Mailboxes

To rebuild mailboxes, use the -r option. You should use this option when:

reconstruct -r first runs a consistency check. It reports any inconsistencies and rebuilds only if it detects any problems. Consequently, performance of the reconstruct utility is improved with this release.

You can use reconstruct as described in the following examples:

To rebuild the spool area for the mailboxes belonging to the user daphne, use the following command:

reconstruct -r user/daphne

To rebuild the spool area for all mailboxes listed in the mailbox database:

reconstruct -r

You must use this option with caution, however, because rebuilding the spool area for all mailboxes listed in the mailbox database can take a very long time for large message stores. (See 20.14.3.3 reconstruct Performance.) A better method for failure recovery might be to use multiple disks for the store. If one disk goes down, the entire store does not. If a disk becomes corrupt, you need only rebuild a portion of the store by using the -p option as follows:

reconstruct -r -p subpartition

To rebuild mailboxes listed in the command-line argument only if they are in the primary partition:

reconstruct -p primary mbox1 mbox2 mbox3

If you do need to rebuild all mailboxes in the primary partition:

reconstruct -r -p primary

If you want to force reconstruct to rebuild a folder without performing a consistency check, use the -f option. For example, the following command forces a reconstruct of the user folder daphne:

reconstruct -f -r user/daphne

To check all mailboxes without fixing them, use the -n option as follows:

reconstruct -r -n

20.14.3.2 Checking and Repairing Mailboxes

To perform a high-level consistency check and repair of the mailboxes database:

reconstruct -m

To perform a consistency check and repair of the primary partition:

reconstruct -p primary -m
Note –

Running reconstruct with the -P. and -m flags together will not fix lright.db. This is because fixing the lright.db requires scanning the ACLs for every user in the message store. Performing this for every partition is not very efficient. To fix the lright.db run reconstruct -l

To perform a consistency check and repair of an individual user’s mailbox named john:

reconstruct -p primary -u john -m

You should use the -m option when:

20.14.3.3 reconstruct Performance

The time it takes reconstruct to perform an operation depends on the following factors:

The reconstruct -r option performs an initial consistency check; this check improves reconstruct performance depending on how many folders must be rebuilt.

The following performance was found with a system with approximately 2400 users, a message store of 85GB, and concurrent POP, IMAP, or SMTP activity on the server:

Note –

A reconstruct operation may take significantly less time if the server is not performing ongoing POP, IMAP, HTTP, or SMTP activity.