Spam Filter ISP Forums : spamfilter.ini reload question

spamfilter.ini reload question : lead, SpamFilter does perform...

Tue, 19 Apr 2005 17:51:06 +0000

Author: LogSat
Subject: 5101
Posted: 19 April 2005 at 5:51pm

lead,

SpamFilter does perform some validatation in the ini, but as the inifile was created and maintained by SpamFilter, it's not extensive,super fool proof validation. We have added a feature to have itreloaded automatically, but we did not "improve" the validationprocess. We have implemented the request, but now we in turn ask theadministrators to ensure they add "clean" data in the file, as problemsmay arise if that is not the case.

Should errors occurr in parsing the file, they will be logged. Butsince there are many possible errors, there are many possible eventsthat can be created in the log, depending on where they occurr. We willnot be able to always mention a problem with the ini file, as theerrors routines will not know if the problem was introduced by anexternal app modifying the file or not.

SpamFilter currently checks the files every 3 minutes to see if theywere changed. When a reload occurs, the event is immediately logged inthe logfile. At the moment we do not plan to have an external triggerstart the reload process.

PS - the only commandline option other that the /reinstall is the "-d"option for the standalone, non-service version which causes a debuggingwindow to appear when SpamFilter shuts down to report any mem leaksthat may occurr. It is not to be used routinely as the application willbe slower as it needs to keep track of all memory allocations as theyoccur.

spamfilter.ini reload question : Sorry to come back to this,...

Tue, 19 Apr 2005 06:14:50 +0000

Author: lead
Subject: 5101
Posted: 19 April 2005 at 6:14am

Sorry to come back to this, but I was wondering if spamfilter validates the .ini settings before applying them (it must do)?

If so, having a load this setting in the .ini will not tell the otherapp if the load was successful, apart from checking the log.

How about calling spamfilter.exe with a 'reload .ini file flag', which causes the running instance to read the .ini file.

I know some of you run more than one instance, so there would be some need to indentify that too.

eg: spamfilter.exe /readini

This would return a code one way or the other.

Does spamfilter have any commandline options (apart from /reinstall)?

Edited by lead

spamfilter.ini reload question : Dan B and Dan S, We actually...

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 19:18:57 +0000

Author: LogSat
Subject: 5101
Posted: 14 April 2005 at 7:18pm

Dan B and Dan S,

We actually had an internal build that was testing that feature... I'llsend you the link via private forum msg if you'd like to test it.

Dan S - the change was not "turned on" in the 442 build I provided you earlier. The release notes for this internal build are:

// New to VersionNumber = '2.5.1.443';
{TODO -cFix : virus emails were not being blocked if any of the "Tag and deliver" options were checked}
{TODO -cNew : SpamFilter.ini is automatically reloaded if modified by external application}
{TODO -cNew : When automatic reload of blacklist/whitelist and SpamFilter.ini files, the event is now logged}

spamfilter.ini reload question : Dan, A 2003 box is not a requirement...

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 12:48:04 +0000

Author: Desperado
Subject: 5101
Posted: 14 April 2005 at 12:48pm

Dan,

A 2003 box is not a requirement ... only makes life simpler. I do modify my ini and as "lead" examples above, I restart the service but I use perl to do so. The only issue is that the perl script must run as an administrator. This can easily be set in the IIS on a file by file basis. The perl commands is stupidly simple:

system("net stop SpamFilter");
sleep(10);
system("net start SpamFilter");

However, Having said all that, you can also use ASP natively using IISObjects to get the service name and use MSSQL Stored Procedures to execute the equivalent DOS command OR ... get even more elegant and use WMI ... not for the faint of heart.

Bottom line ... Roberto, I agree with the wish to have some sort of ini file re-read option. I could really remove a lot of convoluted code if this were the case!

Regards,

Edited by Desperado

spamfilter.ini reload question : I thought you maybe able to programmatically...

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 11:46:42 +0000

Author: lead
Subject: 5101
Posted: 14 April 2005 at 11:46am

I thought you maybe able to programmatically restart the service after a change.

If you are running on a server (win2003 or Win2k with the resourcepack) there is a command line for managing services (sc) which youcould send.

sc stop
sc start

spamfilter.ini reload question : I want to create a Cold Fusion...

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 10:21:59 +0000

Author: Dan B
Subject: 5101
Posted: 14 April 2005 at 10:21am

I want to create a Cold Fusion web application that controls the ini file of SF. Instead of giving the customer full access to the server that SF is located on, they can administer it via the web and I can limit what features can be turn on or off per customer basis. IF customer A wants black list servers and a quota of 10MB customer B does not, they can changed the features at will. I do know that for each customer it will take separate licenses of SF. We are looking at different services to offer new and existing customers to generate revenue. To LogSat and us. To do the above the ini file needs to be reloaded on a change that doesn't deal directly with the files that are read periodically and not have to stop and restart the service.

Thanks,
Dan B

spamfilter.ini reload question : re: automatically reloading .ini...

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 07:26:20 +0000

Author: lead
Subject: 5101
Posted: 14 April 2005 at 7:26am

re: automatically reloading .ini every so often.

Can I ask why you would want to?
What are you looking to do with the .ini file?

spamfilter.ini reload question : Roberto, Just wondering if you...

Wed, 13 Apr 2005 10:20:48 +0000

Author: Dan B
Subject: 5101
Posted: 13 April 2005 at 10:20am

Roberto,

Just wondering if you had any update on this request?

Thanks,
Dan B

spamfilter.ini reload question : R, Is there way that you can...

Tue, 15 Mar 2005 16:34:10 +0000

Author: Dan B
Subject: 5101
Posted: 15 March 2005 at 4:34pm

Is there way that you can add to the future wish release to have SF the ability to reload the full ini. During the 60 sec reload of the external files, maybe have a line in the ini like this.

reloadsfsettings=0 ;at normal running state
reloadsfsettings =1 ;when it needs reloaded and after it reloads it would change it back to 0 Something similar to ServU FTP You can modify the ini using a 3rd party and you just change the relaodsettings=0 to 1 to trigger the reload.

Thanks,
Dan B

spamfilter.ini reload question : That entry in the log indicates...

Tue, 15 Mar 2005 16:04:20 +0000

Author: LogSat
Subject: 5101
Posted: 15 March 2005 at 4:04pm

That entry in the log indicates that the "Save Settings" button hasbeen clicked. That causes the settings in the GUI to be written to theini file, which is then reloaded. That only affects the SpamFilter.inifile.

All the other blacklist/whitelist keyword files are automaticallyreloaded when SpamFilter sees their timestamp being modified. The checkis done about every 60 seconds. That event is not logged.