[Dovecot] Time moved backwards

13 May 2008

      Hello,
I would like to suggest a change in handling of 'Time moved backwards'
problem.
Right now dovecot just dies. So, the scenario:

Colocation server is shut down for some reason. The internal time drifts.
Server is started again.
Dovecot starts successfully.
In about a minute, NTP daemon feels confident about adjusting the system
time.
Dovecot sees the changed time and dies.
Admin has to notice that, login and restart Dovecot manually.

I suggest that Dovecot simply terminate the current connections (causing the
client to reconnect) or -- if the time change is really that much of a
problem -- to restart itself automatically. Maybe a config option could be
introduced.
Best wishes
Eugene