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PMTA knowledge base›Configuration block§ 3.3.2

<spool>

Where the queue lives on disk
One directory is mandatory, several are for speed

The block’s name is the path itself to the directory: <spool /var/spool/pmta>. Inside there are four lines, all about the behavior of this directory.

At least one directory is mandatory. Additional ones are added for speed: the manual names the reason directly — to spread the I/O load across several disks.

priority decides which directory is used first: the higher the priority, the earlier it is used, and with equal priorities the directories alternate. min-free-space sets the free space threshold below which the directory stops accepting messages.

The remaining two lines are about special modes. deliver-only turns a directory into “deliver only”: messages from it are delivered, and new ones are not written. delete-file-holders decides the fate of the temporary files the engine keeps to save I/O.

There are also two obsolete forms of the same thing: spool and spool-min-free-space at the node level, both replaced by this block.

Example configuration
# two directories on different disks: primary and backup
<spool /var/spool/pmta/primary>
    priority 50
    min-free-space 1G
</spool>

<spool /var/spool/pmta/secondary>
    priority 10
    min-free-space 1G
</spool>
yellow — — directive names, blue — blocks. They are highlighted the same way in the text of the card.
Block directives: 4
Queue 4
min-free-spaceset by the HubThe free space threshold below which the directory stops accepting messagesdeliver-onlyset by the HubOnly deliver messages from this directory without writing new onesprioritySpool location priority — from 100, the highest, to 1, the lowestdelete-file-holdersset by the HubWhether to delete temporary file holders after delivery
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

0 relations

Referenced from

spoolGlobalThe replacement: the same location, but with priority, a free space threshold and modes. § 3.3.1.5spool-min-free-spaceGlobalThe replacement lives inside this block: each directory’s own threshold instead of a common one. § 3.3.1.7delete-file-holders<spool>One of the block’s four lines: the fate of temporary files after a message is delivered. § 3.3.2.1deliver-only<spool>One of the block’s four lines: the mode of this location. § 3.3.2.2priority<spool>One of the block’s four lines: the order in which locations are used. § 3.3.2.3

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In the Hub
Cost of a mistake
reversible: harms only while it is set
Scenarios
Prepare a node for sending