IMAP server dying: fatal flex scanner internal error--end of buffer missed

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sms
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IMAP server dying: fatal flex scanner internal error--end of buffer missed

Post by sms » Sun Apr 16, 2023 12:00 am

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ITS $ tcpip show version

  HP TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Industry Standard 64 Version V5.7 - ECO 5
  on an HP rx2600  (1.50GHz/6.0MB) running OpenVMS V8.4-2L3

   In recent weeks, my Mac Mail program has been unable to access my VMS
mail using IMAP.  The Mac Mail program says "Downloading Messages",
there's much I/O by the TCPIP$IMAP_<n> process, then the Inbox list on
the Mac goes blank.  Rinse, repeat.  Occasionally, I can grab a message
before the Inbox list disappears but it's not easy.

   Some versions of SYS$SYSDEVICE:[TCPIP$IMAP]TCPIP$IMAP_RUN.LOG say
things like:

ITS $ ty SYS$SYSDEVICE:[TCPIP$IMAP]TCPIP$IMAP_RUN.LOG;-1
$ Set NoOn
$ VERIFY = F$VERIFY(F$TRNLNM("SYLOGIN_VERIFY"))
TCPIP-I-IMAPSTART, Server starting.
TCPIP-I-IMAPIDENT, IMAP Server V5.3-RG40
TCPIP-I-IMAPRUN, Server running.
fatal flex scanner internal error--end of buffer missed
%NONAME-E-NOMSG, Message number 00000002
  TCPIP$IMAP   job terminated at 15-APR-2023 19:48:33.39

  Accounting information:
  Buffered I/O count:              37081      Peak working set size:     261728
  Direct I/O count:                 4478      Peak virtual size:         442784
  Page faults:                     16736      Mounted volumes:                0
  Charged CPU time:        0 00:00:07.26      Elapsed time:       0 00:00:45.85

   I'm not sure that it's related.  If I quit the Mac Mail program, the
IMAP server does not always die.

   As error messages go, "fatal flex scanner internal error" is less
helpful than it might have been, as I have no good idea what the program
was actually doing/reading/whatever when this happened.  If "00000002"
is really ENOENT ("No such file or directory"), then a useful message
would reveal what name was used for the "file or directory".  In any
case, _some_ kind of useful info might have been more helpful.

   Usage notes: I normally use plain-old VMS MAIL, but VSI (along with
many others) now sends MIME/HTML disk fillers for the simplest of actual
messages, so my usual procedure for a cryptic MESSage (which I don't
want to discard/ignore) is to COPY it to the NEWMAIL folder in a
separate mail file, and use the Mac Mail client to read it.  Different
user, different MAIL store.  That way, I don't need to worry about my
primary MAIL store being damaged by anything the Mac (or the IMAP
server) might do.  Until recently, this scheme seemed to work about as
expected.

   I might guess that there's some quirky message in the pile which
confuses the IMAP server.  I haven't yet tried very hard to move
messages out of Inbox/NEWMAIL to isolate a possible culprit, but if no
one has any better ideas, then I might invest some time in that.


   Is anyone using this IMAP server for serious work?

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arne_v
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Re: IMAP server dying: fatal flex scanner internal error--end of buffer missed

Post by arne_v » Sun Apr 16, 2023 10:24 am

It is 25 years since I stopped using VMS mail at work and 18 years ago since I stopped using VMS for personal email, so big disclaimer about my memory.

But in the last few years of using VMS mail then I remember VMS Mail truncating very long lines. That can in itself be a problem due to content being lost. But I could imagine more problem if a modern email program try to access such an email via IMAP due to various header info and actual content being inconsistent due to the truncation.

I believe later versions of PMDF supported storing emails in its own format instead of VMS mail.

Pure speculation from me. Disclaimers apply.
Arne
arne@vajhoej.dk
VMS user since 1986

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