Starting and Stopping NetMail

The commands to start and stop NetMail on NetWare®, Windows, and Linux systems are reviewed in the following sections.


Starting and Stopping NetMail on NetWare

After install, you must manually launch the messaging server on NetWare® systems.

To launch NetMail 3.5, type load ims at the console prompt. Repeat this for every messaging server in the tree.

To stop NetMail, type ims u at the console prompt.

When starting NetMail, ims.nlm verifies that eDirectoryTM is loaded and then launches the messaging server and its enabled agents with the exception of the WebAdmin Agent and the MailCon utility. Ims.nlm does not load WebAdmin or the MailCon utility. It will, however, unload MailCon to unload the messaging server. Ims.nlm is located in the sys:\system directory.

During installation, the autoexec.ncf file is updated to include the ims command so that NetMail automatically loads each time you restart your server.

For information on starting individual agents, see NetMail Agent Configuration Options.


Starting and Stopping NetMail on Windows

After install, NetMail automatically launches on Windows systems.

To manually load or unload NetMail on Windows, you must start or stop the NetMail Manager service:

  1. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel.

  2. Select Administrative Tools > Services.

  3. In the list of installed services, right-click NetMail Manager and select Start or Stop from the quick menu.

    Repeat this step for every messaging server in the tree.

For information on starting individual agents, see NetMail Agent Configuration Options.


Starting and Stopping NetMail on Linux

After install, NetMail automatically launches on Linux systems. To manually start or stop your NetMail system, use the following commands: 

/etc/init.d/novell-netmail start 
/etc/init.d/novell-netmail stop 
/etc/init.d/novell-netmail restart

For information on starting individual agents, see NetMail Agent Configuration Options.


The ims Executable

The novell-netmail script calls the /opt/novell/netmail/bin/ims executable, which functions as a monitor and auto-loader for your NetMail system. It monitors agents that are running and restarts them if needed.

You can use the following switches with the ims executable either in the NetMail script or on the command line:

Switch Description

-c core_directory

Specifies a directory for NetMail core files; core files named core.time are stored in agent_name subdirectories

-r

E-mails NetMail core files to the NetMail development team at Novell for analysis

-t seconds

Specifies the interval after which a stopped NetMail agent is automatically reloaded (unless the agent was killed with a -15)

-e email_address SMTP_server

Sends an error e-mail message to the specified e-mail address by way of the SMTP server specified by IP address or host name

-h

Displays this help information

Use the following kill commands with ims:

Command Description

killall -15 ims

Unloads ims and all NetMail agents

killall -10 ims

Reloads any NetMail agents that were unloaded using killall -15

killall -12 ims

Disables agent monitoring; ims no longer reloads agents; core files and messages no longer are delivered.