The problem in brief, is that NFS clients are locking mail spool files, and keeping the locks even after the locking process dies.
Even deleting and recreating the file doesn't remove the lock (though it does free up the file, as the lock now points to the inode
for a nonexistant file).
I have had no definitive answers.
I have upgraded to the latest patches (2, on DU4.0D) and I haven't seen the problem since, but it doesn't happen very frequently so
I can't be sure that this has fixed it.
Thanks to:
T.S. Horsnell
Serguei Patchkovskii
for trying to help out.
J.T.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
James Talbut James.Talbut_at_phy.cam.ac.uk
Cavendish Laboratory, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HE
Tel: 01223 337457 Fax: 01223 337457
Received on Wed Nov 18 1998 - 09:45:53 NZDT