[Dovecot] Server power loss and "Dovecot is already running with PID xxx"

[Pekka Savola]

On Tue, 1 Jul 2008, Timo Sirainen wrote:
>> $ /sbin/service dovecot start
>> Starting Dovecot Imap: Error: Dovecot is already running with PID 10825
>> (read from /var/run/dovecot/master.pid)
>> Fatal: Invalid configuration in /etc/dovecot.conf
>>                                                             [FAILED]
>> (Note: there is nothing wrong in the configuration file so the error
>> message is somewhat misleading.)
>
> Yes, it's a bit misleading. But I don't think I'll bother fixing it
> before rewriting the master/config handling for v2.0.
>
>> Is this already a known problem?
>> Should the start-up logic be made more robust (e.g. check whether a
>> process corresponding to the PID actually exists)?
>
> It already checks if the PID exists, but it doesn't check what that
> process is (and I don't think there is a portable way to do it anyway).
> I don't think it's too much to ask to delete the master.pid if in rare
> situations it fails to start due to a PID conflict.

Getting back to this after another power loss.

It doesn't seem to be that the current logic is working; there is no 
program with the PID that's in master.pid, and dovecot (1.0.7 + RHEL 
patches) refuses to start.

root: /root$ /sbin/service dovecot start
Starting Dovecot Imap: Error: Dovecot is already running with PID 2746 
(read from /var/run/dovecot/master.pid)
Fatal: Invalid configuration in /etc/dovecot.conf
                                                            [FAILED]
root: /root$ more /var/run/dovecot/master.pid
2746
root: /root$ ps auxw | grep 2746
root     31714  0.0  0.1   4116   584 pts/1    R+   20:19   0:00 grep 
2746

-- 
Pekka Savola                 "You each name yourselves king, yet the
Netcore Oy                    kingdom bleeds."
Systems. Networks. Security. -- George R.R. Martin: A Clash of Kings