PMDF System Manager's Guide
PMDF-REF-6.0

In addition to immediate channel jobs created automatically when messages are first submitted into PMDF, or to manually created delivery jobs as described above in Section 34.2.7 , PMDF also has periodic jobs that perform clean up tasks, and retry delivery of previously undelivered messages.

The command

$ SHOW QUEUE/ALL MAIL$BATCH

Figure 34-2 Output of SHOW QUEUE/ALL MAIL$BATCH on a basic PMDF system

$ SHOW QUEUE/ALL MAIL$BATCH
 
Generic server queue MAIL$BATCH 
 
  Entry  Jobname         Username  Blocks  Status 
  -----  -------         --------  ------  ------ 
    153  PMDF delivery   SYSTEM        11  Holding until 18-NOV-1997 15:13 (1)
     56  PMDF message bouncer 
                         SYSTEM        12  Holding until 19-NOV-1997 00:30 (2)

Figure 34-3 Output of SHOW QUEUE/ALL MAIL$BATCH on a system with optional jobs

$ show queu/all mail$batch 
Generic server queue MAIL$BATCH 
 
  Entry  Jobname         Username     Blocks  Status 
  -----  -------         --------     ------  ------ 
     95  PMDF delivery   SYSTEM           14  Holding until 18-NOV-1997 15:52:00 (1)
    810  PMDF message bouncer 
                         SYSTEM           14  Holding until 19-NOV-1997 00:30:00 (2)
    399  PMDF PC Post    SYSTEM            8  Holding until 18-NOV-1997 13:05:03 (3)
    811  PMDF popstore message bouncer 
                         SYSTEM            5  Holding until 19-NOV-1997 00:30:00 (4)

The two holding jobs indicated in the figures as (1) and (2) should always be present during normal operation of PMDF. They run periodically and resubmit themselves automatically. If you are using the PMDF popstore, you should also see a popstore return job, (4) , either holding or running (perhaps in an execution queue, if MAIL$BATCH is a generic queue). If you are using PMDF-LAN channels, then depending on just how you have configured it you may also see an additional job, the PMDF PC post job, (3) ; if you are using DECUS UUCP and have defined the PMDF_DO_RETURN_VN logical so that pmdf_submit_jobs.com also submits the DECUS UUCP message bouncer job, then you should see that job as well.

1. The "PMDF delivery" job is responsible for scanning the message queues and retrying delivery of messages waiting in the queues. The period defaults to four hours and may be changed with the PMDF_POST_INTERVAL logical name. If the PMDF delivery job is lost, messages that are not immediately deliverable will tend to collect in the queue and never be retried. In addition, channels marked with the periodic channel keyword, which defers immediate delivery, will not function reliably.
2. The "PMDF message bouncer" job checks the message queues for messages which do not appear to get through in a timely fashion and generates warning messages to the sender as well as the Postmaster. If such a message sits long enough, the PMDF message bouncer will eventually return the message to the sender and remove it from the message queue. This job usually runs once a day at 12:30 AM. If PMDF is configured for an hourly return interval (see Section 1.4.4 ) then the PMDF message bouncer will run every hour. The number of intervals between warnings is controlled by the notices channel keyword. If the PMDF message bouncer job is not running, messages that cannot be delivered will sit in the message queue indefinitely and no notification will be sent to either the sender or the local Postmaster.
3. The "PMDF PC Post" job is responsible for periodically polling for incoming messages from PC-LAN mail systems such as cc:Mail, Microsoft Mail, GroupWise (WordPerfect Office), and Novell MHS mail systems through PMDF-LAN channels, as well as for re-trying delivery of messages to those mail systems. Some PMDF-LAN configurations will use such a job; some will manage the running of PMDF-LAN channel jobs using other mechanisms.
4. The "PMDF popstore message bouncer" job deletes old, stored PMDF popstore messages which have exceeded their alloted storage time, and sends notification messages back to the senders of messages which were never downloaded by their recipients. The job usually runs once a day around midnight. See the PMDF popstore & MessageStore Manager's Guide for full details.

If one or both of the PMDF delivery job and the PMDF message bouncer job is not present in the queue, (or if one of the other periodic jobs that your site uses is missing), it should be resubmitted using the pmdf_submit_jobs.com procedure

$ @SYS$STARTUP:pmdf_submit_jobs.com