Apache mail log

Apache Mail Server (formerly known as Mercury) is a popular open-source email server that uses a log file to record various events and activities related to email processing. The log file is typically named mail.log and is located in the Apache Mail Server installation directory.

Here are some common entries you might find in an Apache Mail Server log file:

  1. Connection attempts: Records of incoming and outgoing connections, including the IP address and port number of the connecting client.

    2023-02-20 14:30:00 [INFO] Connection from 192.168.1.100:1234

  2. Email delivery: Records of email delivery, including the sender, recipient, and status of the delivery (e.g., successful, failed, or deferred).

    2023-02-20 14:31:00 [INFO] Delivering email from [email protected] to [email protected]
2023-02-20 14:31:00 [INFO] Email delivered successfully

  3. Email rejection: Records of email rejections, including the reason for rejection (e.g., invalid recipient, spam filtering).

    2023-02-20 14:32:00 [INFO] Rejected email from [email protected] to [email protected] (Invalid recipient)

  4. Spam filtering: Records of spam filtering activities, including the detection of spam emails and the actions taken (e.g., quarantine, delete).

    2023-02-20 14:33:00 [INFO] Spam filter detected spam email from [email protected] (Quarantined)

  5. Error messages: Records of errors that occurred during email processing, including the error message and the affected email.

    2023-02-20 14:34:00 [ERROR] Error delivering email from [email protected] to [email protected] (Invalid recipient)

  6. System events: Records of system events, such as restarts, shutdowns, or configuration changes.

    2023-02-20 14:35:00 [INFO] Apache Mail Server restarted

    To analyze the log file, you can use various tools and techniques, such as:

  7. Log analysis software: Tools like Logwatch, LogAnalyzer, or Splunk can help you parse and analyze the log file.

  8. Regular expressions: You can use regular expressions to search for specific patterns or keywords in the log file.

  9. Text editors: You can use a text editor like Notepad++ or Sublime Text to search and filter the log file.

  10. Scripting languages: You can use scripting languages like Python or Perl to parse and analyze the log file programmatically.

Remember to always review the log file in the context of your specific Apache Mail Server configuration and environment.