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Knowledge base

PMTA knowledge base›Procedure§ 2.4

Removing the engine

Uninstalling
What remains afterwards

PowerMTA is installed with the standard package manager and removed the same way: on Linux — rpm -e PowerMTA or dpkg -r PowerMTA as root, on Windows — through “Programs and Features”.

State remains on disk. The configuration, logs, accounting and messages in the PowerMTA directories are not deleted, and neither are the directories themselves. On Linux the uninstaller lists the remaining files and the commands to remove them; on Windows the whole installation directory tree is deleted.

The main trap is treating uninstallation as cleanup. The package goes away, but the spool, accounting and logs remain — with recipient addresses and message contents; they must be removed deliberately, using the list the uninstaller prints.
What the Hub does. The Hub cannot remove the engine. The directories that remain after uninstallation are the same five that make up the node’s recoverable state: /etc/pmta, /var/lib/pmta, /var/log/pmta, /var/spool/pmta and /opt/pmta.
Recommended values

What remains after uninstallation on Linux:

Directory What is in it
/etc/pmta configuration
/var/lib/pmta internal state
/var/log/pmta logs and accounting
/var/spool/pmta queued messages
/opt/pmta crash dumps
The removal methods and what remains on disk come from the manual (§ 2.4); the directories come from the backup table (§ 1.8). The table is ours.
Example configuration
# removing the package on Linux
rpm -e PowerMTA
On systems with dpkg — dpkg -r PowerMTA; the uninstaller prints the list of what remains itself.
yellow — — directive names, blue — blocks. They are highlighted the same way in the text of the card.
Compatibility
PowerMTA 6.0
described in the manual of this version · platform: any
The vendor does not state the first version for every directive — there is no note here. The name also appears in the 5.0 edition of the manual.
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Related entries

2 relations

Can be replaced by

Installing on LinuxA related procedure: they share some of the steps. § 2.4

Affects

Node backup and restoreA related procedure: they share some of the steps. § 1.8

How to check on the node
Check what remained after uninstallation:
ls -d /etc/pmta /var/lib/pmta /var/log/pmta /var/spool/pmta /opt/pmta
The directories are in place — the node state is preserved; whether to delete them or keep them as a copy is decided separately.
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What else to read

3 articles

◇The activation key is a prerequisite for installation, not a step after itWithout an activation key from SparkPost support the engine neither installs nor runs, and the license tier sets the outbound connection ceiling: on Standard everything above 200 is ignored.◇Cloud restrictionsClouds restrict outbound mail on port 25 until you ask them to lift the limit, and mailbox providers treat their address ranges with suspicion.◇How to turn a sending plan into hardwareTwo constants for sizing any node: about 2 KB of memory per queued recipient and spool space proportional to the total size of the messages.

In the Hub
Cost of a mistake
dangerous: effects outlast a rollback
Scenarios
Prepare a node for sending