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Date:      Sun, 20 Oct 2002 17:58:47 -0400
From:      Doug Lee <dgl@visi.com>
To:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: fetchmail protocol error caused by DNS timeout - solution?
Message-ID:  <20021020215847.GA936@kirk.dlee.org>
In-Reply-To: <20021020215055.GA586@kirk.dlee.org>
References:  <20021020215055.GA586@kirk.dlee.org>

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CORRECTION:  It's not an rDNS lookup that's causing my problem; it's a
straight DNS lookup of the From: address, I think.  Example:  I just
spotted a message coming in from m7.shineandsparkle.com which plugged
up my ``fetchmail'' download (I have to go to the source mailbox and
hand-delete the thing to get the rest of them to come in by
fetchmail).  Pinging m7.shineandsparkle.com causes a long pause
followed by

ping: cannot resolve m7.shineandsparkle.com.: Host name lookup failure

It appears that the same DNS lookup, when initiated by ``fetchmail,''
is taking so long that the remote mail server gives up waiting, so
that when DNS finally quits trying, ``fetchmail'' issues a protocol
error, only to try again later and go through the same sequence.

Also, this problem is not fixed by using my ISP's DNS server instead
of my own.

Again, thanks for any help.

On Sun, Oct 20, 2002 at 05:50:55PM -0400, Doug Lee wrote:
> Some spam messages I get come from invalid ips (here I mean ips
> which have no rDNS mapping) which, when looked up in DNS, cause
> very long pauses in processing.  When this happens during a run of
> ``fetchmail,'' the fetchmail session dies (after DNS returns) with
> a protocol error, presumably because the mail server at the other
> end of the fetchmail connection gave up waiting for my system to
> continue downloading messages.  I don't see any settings for
> ``fetchmail'' or ``named'' (I run my own nameserver) that might
> help me...
> 
> So I am seeking a solution here.  Please respond directly to me to
> make sure I don't miss the reply; copying the list is also fine with
> me, since I run a ``procmail'' rule that obliterates dups anyway. :)
> 
> 
> -- 
> Doug Lee           dgl@visi.com        http://www.visi.com/~dgl
> Bartimaeus Group   doug@bartsite.com   http://www.bartsite.com
> "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's
> character, give him power." -Abraham Lincoln

-- 
Doug Lee           dgl@visi.com        http://www.visi.com/~dgl
Bartimaeus Group   doug@bartsite.com   http://www.bartsite.com
"It's not easy to be crafty and winsome at the same time,
and few accomplish it after the age of six." --D. Sutton

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