# pmdamailq

## NAME



           **pmdamailq** - mail queue performance metrics domain agent (PMDA)
    


## SYNOPSIS



           **$PCP_PMDAS_DIR/mailq/pmdamailq**[**-b** _binlist_] [**-D** _debug_] [**-d** _domain_]
           [**-l** _logfile_] [**-r** _regex_] [**-U** _username_] [_queuedir_]
    


## DESCRIPTION



           **pmdamailq** is a Performance Metrics Domain Agent (PMDA) which
           extracts performance metrics describing the state of the e-mail
           queues managed by **sendmail**(1) and other mail transfer agents.
    
           The **mailq** PMDA exports metrics that measure the total number of
           entries in the mail queue, and the subtotals for entries that have
           been queued for various time periods.
    
           A brief description of the **pmdamailq** command line options follows:
    
           **-b** The _binlist_ argument specifies a list of delay thresholds
                used to ``bin'' the entries in the queue into a a histogram
                based on how long the entry has been in the mail queue.  The
                default thresholds are: 1 hour, 4 hours, 8 hours, 1 day, 3
                days and 7 days.  The entries in _binlist_ are comma separated
                time intervals, using the syntax described in PCPIntro(1) for
                an update or reporting interval, e.g. the default list could
                be specified using the value **1hr,4hrs,8hrs,1day,3days,7days**.
    
                Values in _binlist_ are assumed to be in ascending order, and
                mail items in the queue less than the first threshold are
                binned into a special bin labeled ``recent''.
    
           **-d** It is absolutely crucial that the performance metrics _domain_
                number specified here is unique and consistent.  That is,
                _domain_ should be different for every PMDA on the one host,
                and the same _domain_ number should be used for the same PMDA
                on all hosts.
    
           **-l** Location of the log file.  By default, a log file named
                _mailq.log_ is written in the current directory of pmcd(1) when
                **pmdamailq** is started, i.e.  **$PCP_LOG_DIR/pmcd .** If the log
                file cannot be created or is not writable, output is written
                to the standard error instead.
    
           **-r** Use an extended regular expression to match file names in the
                mail queue directory, rather than assuming all "df" prefixed
                files in the directory are mail files (the "df" prefix is the
                **sendmail** convention, but this convention is not followed by
                other mail daemons).  The _regex_ pattern specified should
                conform to the POSIX format described in regex(3), and it
                describes file names that should be considered mail.
    
           **-U** User account under which to run the agent.  The default is
                the unprivileged "pcp" account in current versions of PCP,
                but in older versions the superuser account ("root") was used
                by default.
    
           The optional _queuedir_ argument defines the directory in which
           **pmdamailq** expects to find the mail queue.  The default is
           **/var/spool/mqueue**.
    


## INSTALLATION



           If you want access to the names, help text and values for the
           mailq performance metrics, do the following as root:
    
                # cd $PCP_PMDAS_DIR/mailq
                # ./Install
    
           If you want to undo the installation, do the following as root:
    
                # cd $PCP_PMDAS_DIR/mailq
                # ./Remove
    
           **pmdamailq** is launched by pmcd(1) and should never be executed
           directly.  The Install and Remove scripts notify pmcd(1) when the
           agent is installed or removed.
    


## FILES



           **$PCP_PMCDCONF_PATH**
                  command line options used to launch **pmdamailq**
           **$PCP_PMDAS_DIR/mailq/help**
                  default help text file for the mailq metrics
           **$PCP_PMDAS_DIR/mailq/Install**
                  installation script for the **pmdamailq** agent
           **$PCP_PMDAS_DIR/mailq/Remove**
                  undo installation script for the **pmdamailq** agent
           **$PCP_LOG_DIR/pmcd/mailq.log**
                  default log file for error messages and other information
                  from **pmdamailq**
    


## PCP ENVIRONMENT



           Environment variables with the prefix **PCP_** are used to
           parameterize the file and directory names used by PCP.  On each
           installation, the file _/etc/pcp.conf_ contains the local values for
           these variables.  The **$PCP_CONF** variable may be used to specify an
           alternative configuration file, as described in pcp.conf(5).
    


## DEBUGGING OPTIONS



           The **-D** or **--debug** option enables the output of additional
           diagnostics on _stderr_ to help triage problems, although the
           information is sometimes cryptic and primarily intended to provide
           guidance for developers rather end-users.  _debug_ is a comma
           separated list of debugging options; use pmdbg(1) with the **-l**
           option to obtain a list of the available debugging options and
           their meaning.
    


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