distributed mailing list? (Was Re: [SunRescue] Question...)

[Dan Debertin]

On Fri, 25 May 2001, Tugrul Galatali wrote:

> 	One of those things I've wanted to do but never got the energy to do
> when I was jobless was write a mail server. Clustering seemed like something
> fun to implement :) I also had this crazy idea to throw everything into a SQL
> server, since there is no point in reinventing a system of storing massive
> quantities of data ;)

Noooooo! *screams and gasps for breath*

That's exactly what mail needs, is one more point of failure.

Why add a database server into the mix when files do just fine? Flat files
are quite good at storing and organizing non-interrelated data, like mail.
If you (needlessly, IMHO) put it into a database, it is *you* who are
"reinventing a system of storing massive quantities of data". The
filesystem does this just fine.

<aside>
It's like those people with all-php/mysql, all-the-time webpages, where
the *entire page* is stored in a database, and the index just executes a
SELECT. What's the bleddy point? You just turned mysqld into an incredibly
slow, non-redundant remote filesystem!
</aside>

Databases are great when applied to things that benefit from it. Mail is
not one of those things.


Dan
--
Dan Debertin
airboss at nodewarrior.org
www.nodewarrior.org