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Mail Server Changes / Maildir Conversion


TCH-Dick

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In an effort to provide you with a more stable mail service and in anticipation of the stable release of cPanel 11, we will be updating all shared/reseller servers to the Maildir format.

 

Maildir is a widely used format for storing e-mail that does not require application-level file locking to maintain message integrity as messages are added, moved and deleted. Unlike the current Mbox format which stores emails in one large single file, Maildir stores each message in a separate file with a unique name. This format will be less resource intensive and prevent issues such as locked in-boxes and duplicate messages from failed downloads.

 

When the conversion process begins all mail services will be stopped until the conversion is completed. There will be no loss of mail, as any mail sent to your domain will be queued and then delivered once the conversion is complete.

 

After the conversion has completed you will find several new directories in /home/~username~/mail/, which contain information specific to your mail account. These new directories (tmp, new, and cur) are where incoming messages are processed by the system and should not be removed.

 

Due to the conversion , anyone using an IMAP client or webmail will need to resubscribe to their folders before those folders will be visible. The easiest method to resubscribe your folders is to log in to SquirrelMail and select the folders you wish to subscribe to.

 

**NOTE: If you store your mail only on the server, we recommend you make a local copy to be safe.

 

 

 

We will not be converting all servers at once and will post here as we begin processing a server.

If you have any questions concerning this conversion please feel free to post here or contact us via the help desk at https://tchhelp.com

 

 

 

UPDATE: Just an note that when resubscribing folders or viewing email via SquirrelMail, you most log in with your actual email address not your cpanel username.

Edited by TCH-Dick
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We will be starting with the conversion in a few on the following servers:

 

dagobah.tchmachines.com

korriban.tchmachines.com

server108.tchmachines.com

ambria.tchmachines.com

abraxas.tchmachines.com

applecore.snhdns.com

server112.tchmachines.com

server114.tchmachines.com

 

Updates to follow.

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It was very helpful when were were notified in advance about the first set of servers going through this conversion. I was able to explain the change my users and backup their mail. Is there a reason we weren't notified about the next of servers that were upgraded? I'm expecting a lot of questions from customers today after last night's changes since I couldn't tell them about it in advance.

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It was very helpful when were were notified in advance about the first set of servers going through this conversion. I was able to explain the change my users and backup their mail. Is there a reason we weren't notified about the next of servers that were upgraded? I'm expecting a lot of questions from customers today after last night's changes since I couldn't tell them about it in advance.

 

We apologize for the confusion caused. We will make sure the next batch of servers are posted here in advance from here onwards.

 

The next 8 servers that will be go in the next batch, on Saturday night (11:30PM EDT) are:

 

server115.tchmachines.com

server117.tchmachines.com

server118.snhdns.com

server119.tchmachines.com

server120.tchmachines.com

server121.tchmachines.com

server122.tchmachines.com

server123.tchmachines.com

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All the above servers have been converted successfully into maildir format. Please raise a helpdesk ticket if you have any issues.

 

We will be working on the next batch tonight.

 

server3124.tchmachines.com

server125.tchmachines.com

server126.snhdns.com

server127.tchmachines.com

server128.tchmachines.com

server317.tchmachines.com

server319.snhdns.com

server320.tchmachines.com

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All servers are done. We have confirmed that mail service is running fine on all servers. if you have an issue feel free to open a ticket.

 

We will be working on the next batch tonight:

r2d2.tchmachines.com

danuta.snhdns.com

elom.tchmachines.com

server31.tchmachines.com

server315.snhdns.com

server316.tchmachines.com

server329.tchmachines.com

luke.tchmachines.com

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My reseller account is on server 320 and we're having troubles this morning.

 

First trouble is I cant get into the help desk software to start a ticket.

 

"Fatal error: in /home/total/public_html/supportdesk/includes/functions.php on line 852"

 

The mail problem we are having is related to the SSL Certificate.

 

"SSL Negotiation Failed: Certificate Error: cert domain not trusted Certificate Bad

Destination Host Name does not match Host Name in Certificate"

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My reseller account is on server 320 and we're having troubles this morning.

 

First trouble is I cant get into the help desk software to start a ticket.

 

"Fatal error: in /home/total/public_html/supportdesk/includes/functions.php on line 852"

 

The mail problem we are having is related to the SSL Certificate.

 

"SSL Negotiation Failed: Certificate Error: cert domain not trusted Certificate Bad

Destination Host Name does not match Host Name in Certificate"

 

Little change in the ticket system. Now, even though I'm using the correct login and password I get a wrong login or password error message.

 

I've been able to retrieve my mail by ignoring the certificate error but I'm uncomfortable doing that.

 

Jim

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Please open a support ticket with the help desk.

 

 

Bruce, I CAN NOT OPEN A TICKET! Please read my message.

 

First trouble is I cant get into the help desk software to start a ticket.

 

"Fatal error: in /home/total/public_html/supportdesk/includes/functions.php on line 852"

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If you want, you can always chat with the techs, either through the live chat or one of their instant messengers. Contact details are here.

 

I forgot to say.

I am not sure at what stage in the ticket process this error happens but the helpdesk seems to work now.

Edited by TCH-Thomas
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All servers done. I have checked all servers converted tonight and made sure that everything is working fine. But, if you experience any issues please raise a helpdesk ticket. The next batch of servers follows:

 

endor.tchmachines.com

zeltros.tchmachines.com

server345.snhdns.com

server335.tchmachines.com

widek.tchmachines.com

server366.tchmachines.com

server369.tchmachines.com

xerxes.tchmachines.com

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PLEASE DEAR FRIENDS AT TCH I NEED SOME ASAP HELP!

I'm really lost: I can't understand how to recover / 'resuscribe' all of the accounts in my HORDE view...

Among other web sites hosted by TCH I manage the account www.peru-uniontours.com when I enter the 'cpanel' > I choose webmail.

Then > Horde,

Then login... and usually I can see on the left all the mail accounts.

NOW I CAN'T SEE ANY OF THE ACCOUNTS UNDER mail/peru-uniontours .... they have 'dissapeared'!!! please I need some help since I must clean every night the mailboxes... IT'S MY JOB... PLEASE SOME ASAP HELP!!!

 

Can you write some "step-by-step" "what-to do"?

remember please that not all of us (your clients) are experts... just happy user (until now) of TCH services...

BTW: Please send my best regards to "Guru Bill"

Edited by Georgeh
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Maildir conversion on the above servers will be started shortly.

 

Thanks for your fast answer, but I do not understand what's the meaning... (soory for being so 'dummy' or unexpert) Is the meaning that I can't access the mialboxes until the conversion is finished?

I manage several other websites:

sos-web.org

avantixgroup.com

peru-uniontours.com

apavitperu.org

cuzcoonline.com

 

and I have the same issue in all of them...

Please give me some 'specific' hints what-to-do and/or when the server will be back to normal...

5 of this account are bussines accounts... and I must check that themailboxes get cleaned everyday overnight...

Thanks in advance for your help, :potofgold: George :tchrocks:

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Thanks for your fast answer, but I do not understand what's the meaning...

Sorry for confusing you. I was talking about the servers that were scheduled for the conversion tonight. If you still have an issue and can't fix it by re subscribing to the mail directories as described in Dick's post, please open a ticket with us. Also, make sure you provide the login details needed for reproducing the issue.

 

endor.tchmachines.com

zeltros.tchmachines.com

server345.snhdns.com

server335.tchmachines.com

widek.tchmachines.com

server366.tchmachines.com

server369.tchmachines.com

xerxes.tchmachines.com

So far server335, server345 and server366 in the above list have been successfully converted to maildir format.

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Oh guys, this is very . . . unexpected. My mail is a total mess now. Sent messages shows up as a mailbox inside my inbox and I can't create any new mailboxes (IMAP)

IMAP command "CREATE" failed.

 

The server error encountered was: Invalid mailbox name.

 

The thing is I'm in the middle of a large project and don't have much time to spend setting up my mail again. I need to use it.

Edited by Nicholas Naime
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Please open a help deck ticket.

I did. And . . . I figured out that in order for my setup to continue working I need to change the IMAP Path Prefix to INBOX on all my accounts on all my machines. D'oh . . .

 

Hope this info will help other users, if they encounter similar problems.

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I did. And . . . I figured out that in order for my setup to continue working I need to change the IMAP Path Prefix to INBOX on all my accounts on all my machines. D'oh . . .

 

Hope this info will help other users, if they encounter similar problems.

 

Sorry, but I do not understand what's the meaning of "change the IMAP path... etc." I will try to ask my question as simple as I can: Is there any 'simple', step-by-step indications of what/how-to-do to recover all of the mailboxes accounts and see them in Horde as before????

i HAD WRITE A 'TICKET'... GET THE SAME USELESS ANSWER...

I WILL APPRECIATE ANY ASAP HELP SINCE THERE ARE 48 HOURS THAT I CAN'T DO MY WORK... I HAVE A LOT OF MAILBOXES IN DIFFERENT TCH HOSTED WEBSITES... AND AFTER MANY YEARS OF HAPPINESS WITH TCH I'M NOW COMPLETELY LOST...

I REPEAT: NEED URGENTLY A SERVICE: A SIMPLE WAY TO RECOVER (not one-by-one) the access to all the mailboxes accounts as before... SIMPLE STEP-BY-STEP WHAT/HOW-TO-DO-IT...

THANKS!!! :potofgold: George

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I guess this is why my email id's have now disappeared. From horde. :potofgold:

 

NEED URGENTLY A SERVICE: A SIMPLE WAY TO RECOVER (not one-by-one) the access to all the mailboxes accounts as before

 

cPanel has removed the ability to view all accounts at once via web mail and this will occur on all servers as we push out updates.

 

If you have any problems please follow up with the help desk, we can not assist you here.

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cPanel has removed the ability to view all accounts at once via web mail and this will occur on all servers as we push out updates.

 

If you have any problems please follow up with the help desk, we can not assist you here.

 

Yes Mr. Dick, I have problems, I had writed to the help desk. I didn't get yet the help / explanations that I need to understand waht to do from now on...

But maybe you as an administrator at TCH can answer some simple questions:

I do not get it: If you (mean TCH) remove the options to manage the mailboxes; how can I, as the administrator of the accounts, administer / mantain the accounts? On a One-by-One service?

I can't have the personal passwords of each account to have the acces to them and clean up the mailboxes so the users / workers get clean mailboxes every morning as I have been doing for years; so how can I do it now? Please, really I will appreciate your kind help.

G.

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George, TCH did not remove the functionality, it was cPanel that removed it.

 

You can only do it by logging into each account one-by-one and you will need to know the password for the account.

 

Sorry, but TCH has no control over how cPanel chooses to implement changes.

 

Either you will have to get their passwords or have them clean their own email out.

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I do not get it: If you (mean TCH) remove the options to manage the mailboxes; how can I, as the administrator of the accounts, administer / mantain the accounts? On a One-by-One service?

 

I can't have the personal passwords of each account to have the acces to them and clean up the mailboxes so the users / workers get clean mailboxes every morning as I have been doing for years; so how can I do it now? Please, really I will appreciate your kind help.

G.

 

The help desk and Dick have been trying to help you. You asked (paraphrasing) "How can I access all of the mailboxes under my account from my main cpanel login". They both responsed (paraphrasing), "You cannot anymore, that 'feature' is no longer available. If you need to access individual mailboxes now, you have to login to each one."

 

Asking repeatedly won't change that fact. I'm sorry for your inconvenience, but this was a feature that was somewhat of a security risk and you happened to be using it to your advantage, but that option isn't available anymore.

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Sorry, but I do not understand what's the meaning of "change the IMAP path... etc."

Oh, I wasn't referring to Horde. I was referring to email clients accessing mailboxes via IMAP. The folder structure has changed and all the mailboxes now reside in a single folder with the name of the email account. Email clients see it (in my case) as a folder called INBOX, so you need to tell this to your email client. It will create all the folders (or pick up the existing folders) within a single folder called INBOX (the actual name on the server is different).

 

I'm sorry if this doesn't help you. I use a standalone email client, not Horde.

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My email folders are gone. You only moved primary folders (inbox, sent, drafts).

 

It would be nice if you completed moving ALL folders. I submitted a ticket already. Please address this as soon as you can.

 

 

Also it would be nice if you guys use EMAIL alerts next time when you decide to do such a significant change. I am not checking out this forum every day you know.

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My email folders are gone. You only moved primary folders (inbox, sent, drafts).

 

Did you try the below instructions to see if it was just the IMAP folder subscriptions you lost?

 

Due to the conversion , anyone using an IMAP client or webmail will need to resubscribe to their folders before those folders will be visible. The easiest method to resubscribe your folders is to log in to SquirrelMail and select the folders you wish to subscribe to.
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All servers done. The next batch of servers to go follows:

quanton.tchmachines.com

jandoon.snhdns.com

bespin.tchmachines.com

ansek.tchmachines.com

ithor.tchmachines.com

server384.snhdns.com

felucia.tchmachines.com

server386.tchmachines.com

 

 

We will be kicking off maildir conversion on above servers shortly.

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All servers done. Feel free to open a helpdesk ticket if you have any issues. Servers to go in the next batch follows.

 

server387.tchmachines.com

server39.snhdns.com

server4.tchmachines.com

server40.tchmachines.com

server43.tchmachines.com

tarvis.tchmachines.com

server46.tchmachines.com

server47.snhdns.com

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server387.tchmachines.com

server39.snhdns.com

server4.tchmachines.com

server40.tchmachines.com

server43.tchmachines.com

tarvis.tchmachines.com

server46.tchmachines.com

server47.snhdns.com

 

We will start the conversion on the above servers in a few. Watch this thread for updates.

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Server43 is done. All the servers in the above batch have been converted to maildir format without any errors. The next batch has been scheduled to Saturday night 11:30PM EDT.

 

ophideran.tchmachines.com

mandalore.tchmachines.com

plavin.tchmachines.com

vortex.tchmachines.com

yavin.tchmachines.com

ossus.tchmachines.com

kashyk.snhdns.com

server364.tchmachines.com

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All servers done. Exim runs fine on all servers. If you have any issues please open a ticket. We will be working on the following servers tonight.

 

server365.snhdns.com

server67.snhdns.com

coruscant.snhdns.com

hoth.tchmachines.com

server373.snhdns.com

server374.tchmachines.com

server375.tchmachines.com

server379.tchmachines.com

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Due to some technical reasons we couldn't start with the maildir conversions at the scheduled time. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this. We have now started the conversion process on all scheduled servers. Will update you once we are done.

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Maildir conversion is complete on all servers and everything appears to be working fine. If you have any issues please open a helpdesk ticket.

 

Following servers will go as the next batch:

naboo.tchmachines.com

dantooine.tchmachines.com

server390.snhdns.com

utapau.tchmachines.com

server92.tchmachines.com

server94.tchmachines.com

kalee.snhdns.com

byss.tchmachines.com

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Following servers will go as the next batch:

naboo.tchmachines.com

dantooine.tchmachines.com

server390.snhdns.com

utapau.tchmachines.com

server92.tchmachines.com

server94.tchmachines.com

kalee.snhdns.com

byss.tchmachines.com

 

We are currently working on the above servers. I will update this thread when it is complete.

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All servers done. Feel free to open a ticket if you are having any issues with sending or receiving emails. Following servers are slated for tonight.

ukatis.tchmachines.com

server300.snhdns.com

server301.tchmachines.com

server302.tchmachines.com

kamino.tchmachines.com

saijo.tchmachines.com

fresia.tchmachines.com

server24.tchmachines.com

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All servers done. Feel free to open a ticket if you are having any issues with sending or receiving emails. Following servers are slated for tonight.

ukatis.tchmachines.com

server300.snhdns.com

server301.tchmachines.com

server302.tchmachines.com

kamino.tchmachines.com

saijo.tchmachines.com

fresia.tchmachines.com

server24.tchmachines.com

 

We are currently working on the above servers. Updates to follow.

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Server24 is also done. We have checked all servers and made sure that mail service is running fine. We will be working on the following servers tonight.

 

server27.tchmachines.com

server60.tchmachines.com

server101.tchmachines.com

server105.tchmachines.com

server11.tchmachines.com

inysh.snhdns.com

server12.snhdns.com

server14.tchmachines.com

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server27.tchmachines.com

server60.tchmachines.com

server101.tchmachines.com

server105.tchmachines.com

server11.tchmachines.com

inysh.snhdns.com

server12.snhdns.com

server14.tchmachines.com

 

We are going to kick off the maildir conversion on the above.

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All the above servers have been converted to the maildir format without any errors. Here are the servers scheduled to tonight.

 

server21.snhdns.com

server32.snhdns.com

server49.tchmachines.com

server52.snhdns.com

server54.tchmachines.com

server6.tchmachines.com

server61.tchmachines.com

server70.tchmachines.com

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Another hostings service I use has upgraded to cPanel 11.4.19-RELEASE 14379. In the last upgrades, the ability to access several email accounts through Horde as TCH had until recently was restored. Are you seeing this likely to be returned in the future at TCH.

 

Thanks,

Ben

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server21.snhdns.com

server32.snhdns.com

server49.tchmachines.com

server52.snhdns.com

server54.tchmachines.com

server6.tchmachines.com

server61.tchmachines.com

server70.tchmachines.com

 

We are currently working on the above serves. Updates to follow.

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My clients have emailed me stating "my email account isn't working". By not being pre-warned about the upgrades and the effects of the upgrade, my clients feel the email service is not reliable or that it changes too much. Some of them left other email services like AOL, Yahoo, GoDaddy, etc. to go with us (TCH), so they compare the ease of use. When changes like this take place in this manner, it becomes a strike against us.

 

Please provide a simple, easy to read, easy to understand statement that I can send to my clients that will explain the changes as a service (not disservice) to them. I read the initial post that explains the conversion, but as a non-technical person, it left me with the following questions?

 

1. Which folders in SquirrelMail should I resubscribe to? When I subscribe to all of them, I am left with multiple inbox, sent, trash folders.

2. Why can't I view all of my email accounts by logging in with my cpanel username?

3. Will the change cut down on the ridiculous amount of spam that I get?

4. Is the resubscription a process that I (as the reseller) can complete on behalf of my clients without having their email password?

 

Thank you in advance for your help.

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Any ETA on when server76 will be complete? Email access has been down since last night, and is still down.

 

server89. All servers except server76 are done. It is still going and currently at nbateam.
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Server76 is still going. The user currently being converted is signist. Please note that server93 had been already converted to maildir as we restored it after a hard disk crash a few weeks ago. Hence, once we are done with server76, all TCH shared/reseller servers are in maildir format. :)

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I checked my mail today only to find that much of my email had been duplicated and as unread for the last year or so. Also way too much spam that was thrown away many moons ago. I manage several email accounts and it was daunting to go in and edit 100's of what needed to stay and what needed tossed. I use Mac mail on a mac to check all my email accounts.

 

After just doing all of this work, :) it just downed on me to search this forum. I learn here that mail for my server was just worked on this last Sat. night. I believe I received no email notice. And I made sure not too long ago to have a non TCH server email address in C panel. I will check with help desk to follow up on contact ability.

 

But is this new Cpanel update going to be something we should prepare for somehow besides a backup? And what could we have done to keep all that email from showing up as new?

 

Thanks

 

JW

Edited by JustWade
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i'm still not receiving any old or new messages on server76.. i'm in the process of moving hosting companies.. this full day outage of email that wasn't communicated to us in advance is unacceptable.

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First of all, thanks to the TCH staff for generally excellent work!

 

Concerning the mail server conversion- while I had seen the notice a while ago that all the servers were slowly being changed over- the early morning calls from irate clients must have caught me before morning coffee, so I did not make the connection :) , and had to wait for a help desk reply in order to be able to reassure them that all will return to normal within a few hours (it did).

 

May I suggest that an advance warning by e-mail would have saved me some damaged customer relations. If that would have been too much work- how about a notice on the individual server update forum that I imagine most people are subscribed to?

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Nablusi

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