[mdlug] Quotas. How do they work?

[Michael ORourke]

One possible solution...
Setup a logical volume, and add several terabytes of storage creating an 
illusion of unlimited email storage.
Then when users start to complain that it takes 10 minutes to open their 
inbox, simply explain that is normal as the computer has to parse 100,000+ 
emails.   ;-)

-Mike

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Adkins II" <radkins at impelind.com>
To: "'Mark Montague'" <markmont at umich.edu>; <mdlug at mdlug.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 10:47 AM
Subject: Re: [mdlug] Quotas. How do they work?


> Thank you Mark.
>
> I did actually install a new HD into the server and made it the new /home
> directory.
>
> The reason for holding these users to a quota is important. If I do not,
> then they will continue to grow their email storage, indefinitely. It is
> literally a teeth pulling operation to "permanently" remove data from the
> servers that is 6 years out of date. So, I'm looking at having to manage
> inboxes with a potential size of "unlimited".
>
> Thanks,
> Rob
>
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Mark Montague [mailto:markmont at umich.edu]
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 10:42 AM
>> To: mdlug at mdlug.org; radkins at impelind.com
>> Subject: Re: [mdlug] Quotas. How do they work?
>>
>>   On March 29, 2011 10:16 , "Robert Adkins II"
>> <radkins at impelind.com> wrote:
>> > I am seeking to force certain users into trimming back the size of
>> > their email stored on the IMAP server. Much of the data
>> itself doesn't
>> > need to be stored in email long term, as it is replicated
>> elsewhere on the network.
>> >
>> > The problem is, if I just toss in a quota I am concerned that there
>> > will be no warning, just suddenly they will be unable to
>> send/receive
>> > email. Nothing I am seeing the in the tools for enabling quotas
>> > suggests that the users will receive any form of warning.
>> >
>> > Is this true?
>>
>> Are you sure you want to impose quotas?  At the University of
>> Michigan (for example), adding another drive to an IMAP
>> server's RAID array (or upgrading the drives to higher
>> capacity ones, if possible) is cheaper than imposing and
>> managing quotas, and then paying for the resulting end user
>> support.  Plenty of people have 5 GB, 10 GB, even 20 GB
>> mailboxes, and the very rare problem cases can usually be
>> addressed by having a chat with the offending user.  (If this
>> sounds radical, keep in mind that as of today, Google is
>> providing 7.6 GB per user at no cost, with extra space
>> available very cheaply).
>>
>> Alternatively, have a script that runs daily that sends
>> annoying nags to people who are using more space than you
>> would like.  "You have more than 10 GB of email on the
>> server; please be a good citizen and free up some space.
>> Call 555-1234 if you'd like assistance with downloading
>> some of it to your desktop, or otherwise archiving it."
>> You may also
>> want this script to look for and notify the user about common problems
>> -- such as a Trash or Junk Mail folder that has lots of
>> things in it (hundreds of megabytes).
>>
>> But, assuming you really do want to use quotas:
>>
>> - Use IMAP quotas rather than Unix filesystem quotas, if at
>> all possible.  This will give you much more "intelligence",
>> nicer failure modes, and hopefully better control.
>>
>> - Configure your SMTP / LMTP server to hold messages for up
>> to 7 days if they cannot be delivered due to a mailbox being
>> over quota.  Only bounce (or discard) the message after that
>> time, if the user has not freed up space in their quota.
>> Test this regularly to be sure that messages only get
>> delayed, not lost, if a user goes over quota but then frees
>> up space within a week.
>>
>> - Provide a web interface where people can check their
>> current quota usage.
>>
>> - Keep in mind that if the user uses a client that uses a
>> Trash folder, this can sometimes complicate things.  See the
>> question "Why can't I delete any messages from my over-quota
>> mailbox?" at http://www.cyrusimap.org/docs/cyrus-imapd/2.4.6/faq.php
>>
>> - Run a script such as the one described above that warns
>> people when they get close to their quota so that they are
>> not surprised.
>>
>>
>> I hope this helps.
>>
>> --
>>    Mark Montague
>>    mark at catseye.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>    Mark Montague
>>    mark at catseye.org
>>
>
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