man > proxymap(8)

PROXYMAP(8postfix)                                                                PROXYMAP(8postfix)

NAME
       proxymap - Postfix lookup table proxy server

SYNOPSIS
       proxymap [generic Postfix daemon options]

DESCRIPTION
       The  proxymap(8)  server  provides  read-only  or  read-write table lookup service to Postfix
       processes. These services are implemented with distinct service names:  proxymap  and  proxy‐
       write, respectively. The purpose of these services is:

       •      To  overcome  chroot restrictions. For example, a chrooted SMTP server needs access to
              the system passwd file in order to reject mail for non-existent local  addresses,  but
              it is not practical to maintain a copy of the passwd file in the chroot jail.  The so‐
              lution:

              local_recipient_maps =
                  proxy:unix:passwd.byname $alias_maps

       •      To consolidate the number of open lookup tables by sharing one open table among multi‐
              ple processes. For example, making mysql connections from every Postfix daemon process
              results in "too many connections" errors. The solution:

              virtual_alias_maps =
                  proxy:mysql:/etc/postfix/virtual_alias.cf

              The total number of connections is limited by the number of proxymap server processes.

       •      To provide single-updater functionality for lookup tables that do not reliably support
              multiple writers (i.e. all file-based tables).

       The proxymap(8) server implements the following requests:

       open maptype:mapname flags
              Open  the  table with type maptype and name mapname, as controlled by flags. The reply
              includes the maptype dependent flags (to distinguish a fixed string table from a regu‐
              lar expression table).

       lookup maptype:mapname flags key
              Look up the data stored under the requested key.  The reply is the request  completion
              status  code  and the lookup result value.  The maptype:mapname and flags are the same
              as with the open request.

       update maptype:mapname flags key value
              Update the data stored under the requested key.  The reply is the  request  completion
              status code.  The maptype:mapname and flags are the same as with the open request.

              To  implement  single-updater maps, specify a process limit of 1 in the master.cf file
              entry for the proxywrite service.

              This request is supported in Postfix 2.5 and later.

       delete maptype:mapname flags key
              Delete the data stored under the requested key.  The reply is the  request  completion
              status code.  The maptype:mapname and flags are the same as with the open request.

              This request is supported in Postfix 2.5 and later.

       sequence maptype:mapname flags function
              Iterate  over  the  specified  database.  The function is one of DICT_SEQ_FUN_FIRST or
              DICT_SEQ_FUN_NEXT.  The reply is the request completion status code and a  lookup  key
              and result value, if found.

              This request is supported in Postfix 2.9 and later.

       The  request  completion status is one of OK, RETRY, NOKEY (lookup failed because the key was
       not found), BAD (malformed request) or DENY (the table is not approved for proxy read or  up‐
       date access).

       There  is  no  close command, nor are tables implicitly closed when a client disconnects. The
       purpose is to share tables among multiple client processes.

SERVER PROCESS MANAGEMENT
       proxymap(8) servers run under control by the Postfix master(8) server.  Each server can  han‐
       dle  multiple  simultaneous  connections.  When all servers are busy while a client connects,
       the master(8) creates a new proxymap(8) server process, provided that the  process  limit  is
       not  exceeded.   Each  server  terminates  after  serving  at least $max_use clients or after
       $max_idle seconds of idle time.

SECURITY
       The proxymap(8) server opens only  tables  that  are  approved  via  the  proxy_read_maps  or
       proxy_write_maps  configuration  parameters, does not talk to users, and can run at fixed low
       privilege, chrooted or not.  However, running the proxymap server  chrooted  severely  limits
       usability, because it can open only chrooted tables.

       The  proxymap(8) server is not a trusted daemon process, and must not be used to look up sen‐
       sitive information such as UNIX user or group IDs, mailbox file/directory names  or  external
       commands.

       In  Postfix  version 2.2 and later, the proxymap client recognizes requests to access a table
       for security-sensitive purposes, and opens the table directly. This allows the  same  main.cf
       setting to be used by sensitive and non-sensitive processes.

       Postfix-writable  data  files  should  be stored under a dedicated directory that is writable
       only by the Postfix mail system, such as the Postfix-owned data_directory.

       In particular, Postfix-writable files should never  exist  in  root-owned  directories.  That
       would  open up a particular type of security hole where ownership of a file or directory does
       not match the provider of its content.

DIAGNOSTICS
       Problems and transactions are logged to syslogd(8) or postlogd(8).

BUGS
       The proxymap(8) server provides service to multiple clients, and must therefore not  be  used
       for tables that have high-latency lookups.

       The  proxymap(8)  read-write service does not explicitly close lookup tables (even if it did,
       this could not be relied on, because the process may be terminated  between  table  updates).
       The read-write service should therefore not be used with tables that leave persistent storage
       in an inconsistent state between updates (for example, CDB). Tables that support "sync on up‐
       date"  should  be  safe (for example, Berkeley DB) as should tables that are implemented by a
       real DBMS.

CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS
       On busy mail systems a long time may pass before proxymap(8) relevant changes to main.cf  are
       picked up. Use the command "postfix reload" to speed up a change.

       The  text below provides only a parameter summary. See postconf(5) for more details including
       examples.

       config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf configuration files.

       data_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The directory with Postfix-writable data files  (for  example:  caches,  pseudo-random
              numbers).

       daemon_timeout (18000s)
              How  much time a Postfix daemon process may take to handle a request before it is ter‐
              minated by a built-in watchdog timer.

       ipc_timeout (3600s)
              The time limit for sending or receiving information  over  an  internal  communication
              channel.

       max_idle (100s)
              The  maximum  amount of time that an idle Postfix daemon process waits for an incoming
              connection before terminating voluntarily.

       max_use (100)
              The maximal number of incoming connections that a Postfix daemon process will  service
              before terminating voluntarily.

       process_id (read-only)
              The process ID of a Postfix command or daemon process.

       process_name (read-only)
              The process name of a Postfix command or daemon process.

       proxy_read_maps (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The  lookup  tables that the proxymap(8) server is allowed to access for the read-only
              service.

       Available in Postfix 2.5 and later:

       data_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The directory with Postfix-writable data files  (for  example:  caches,  pseudo-random
              numbers).

       proxy_write_maps (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The  lookup tables that the proxymap(8) server is allowed to access for the read-write
              service.

       Available in Postfix 3.3 and later:

       service_name (read-only)
              The master.cf service name of a Postfix daemon process.

SEE ALSO
       postconf(5), configuration parameters
       master(5), generic daemon options

README FILES
       Use "postconf readme_directory" or "postconf html_directory" to locate this information.
       DATABASE_README, Postfix lookup table overview

LICENSE
       The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this software.

HISTORY
       The proxymap service was introduced with Postfix 2.0.

AUTHOR(S)
       Wietse Venema
       IBM T.J. Watson Research
       P.O. Box 704
       Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA

       Wietse Venema
       Google, Inc.
       111 8th Avenue
       New York, NY 10011, USA

                                                                                  PROXYMAP(8postfix)
proxymap(8)
NAME SYNOPSIS DESCRIPTION SERVER PROCESS MANAGEMENT SECURITY DIAGNOSTICS BUGS CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS
config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) data_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) daemon_timeout (18000s) ipc_timeout (3600s) max_idle (100s) max_use (100) process_id (read-only) process_name (read-only) proxy_read_maps (see 'postconf -d' output) data_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) proxy_write_maps (see 'postconf -d' output) service_name (read-only)
SEE ALSO README FILES LICENSE HISTORY

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