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196 Chapter 12 Working with the Mail Service
Backing Up the Mail Files
When talking about mail-related backup, IMAP mailboxes are the first thing that come
to mind. Aside from the IMAP folders, you might want to back up the configuration files
for both Cyrus and Postfix. The value of backing up the configuration files is clear: it
will save you time should you have to reconfigure your server after it powers down
unexpectedly. The Server Admin tearoff sheets include configuration information and
can thus be backed up instead of the separate configuration files, unless you have
manually modified the configuration files to include additional configuration not
available through Server Admin.
Postfix spool files act as temporary storage and are constantly changing. Backing up
and restoring these files may lead to double delivery of emails to the users.
To back up the mail database, you need to stop the mail service first. You then copy the
following files and folders onto a backup destination:
 Cyrus database (/var/imap)
 IMAP folders (/var/spool/imap)
 Cyrus configuration file (/etc/imapd.conf)
 Postfix configuration file (/etc/postfix/main.cf)
<postings-log> The location of the Mailing Lists Postings log.
Default =
/private/var/mailman/logs/post
<delivery-log>
The location of the Mailing Lists Delivery log.
Default =
/private/var/mailman/logs/smtp
<subscriptions-log>
The location of the Mailing Lists Subscriptions log.
Default =
/private/var/mailman/logs/subscribe
<smtp-log>
The location of the server log.
Default =
smtp.log
<pop-log>
The location of the server log.
Default =
pop3.log
<listerrors-log>
The location of the Mailing Lists Error log.
Default =
/private/var/mailman/logs/error
<imap-log>
The location of the server log.
Default =
imap.log
<failures-log>
The location of the Mailing Lists Delivery Failures log.
Default =
/private/var/mailman/logs/smtp-failure
Value Description