http://www.dovecot.org/doc/INSTALL
Once everything is configured, there's two ways to start Dovecot:
Run "dovecot" binary which does everything.
Start it via inetd or similiar by executing "imap-login" or "pop3-login" binaries. If you're listening in SSL port, add --ssl parameter.
What are the pros and cons of using 'dovecot' vs. inetd.
This may seem silly, but I noticed that there isn't any documentation saying what is the proper way to kill Dovecot. I assume it is to kill the 'dovecot' process.
This is indirectly addressed in the Wiki:
- Why can't I change the log location? http://wiki.dovecot.org/moin.cgi/QuestionsAndAnswers#head-c9650f53dd4f7ca2b0...
though the first few examples refer to <pid> without identifying the pid of what.
Maybe adding a "How do I start Dovecot?" and "How do I stop Dovecot?" as the first two items on that page would be a good idea, and then the log file question and "7.1 Dovecot isn't running." and "8. Why doesn't Dovecot listen on localhost (127.0.0.1)?" could refer to those. (If this sounds reasonable, I'll update the Wiki.)
Any plans to support a /var/run/dovecot/pid file or similar?
What are your thoughts on including an init.d script in the distribution. I know some of the binary distributions will have platform-specific scripts included, but it might be good to include a generic one for those who build from source.
-Tom