topic /var/mail/root file is empty in Operating System - HP-UX

/var/mail/root file is empty

ap_4 — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 12:35:32 GMT

Hi,

OS: 11.23
rx3600

I noticed our root mail file is empty.
I can email files from root to our exchange unix mail box no problem, but the system is not emailing root when errors occur.

I am not running sendmail. We are using a relay. I have .forward in place.
If I run a test for mail
example:

mail root
test
.

my /var/mail/root file is empty.
At one time this was working.
Any ideas why this stopped working?.

pwd
/var/mail
# ls -sltr
total 0
0 -rw-rw---- 1 oracle mail 0 Jul 27 04:00 oracle
0 -rw-rw---- 1 root mail 0 Jul 27 10:57 root

Re: /var/mail/root file is empty

James R. Ferguson — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 12:45:14 GMT

Hi:

This is expected. You are forwarding your mail and hence there is nothing retained locally in 'root' *UNLESS* your 'forward' file includes itself:

# cat /.forward
root
operators
alert@my.org

Regards!

...JRF...

Regards!

...JRF...

Re: /var/mail/root file is empty

Steven Schweda — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 12:45:29 GMT

> my /var/mail/root file is empty.
> At one time this was working.
> Any ideas why this stopped working?.

> I am not running sendmail.

Who do you think will put anything into
/var/mail/root if you're not running an
e-mail receiving program (like sendmail) on
the system?

> We are using a relay.

Who's sending e-mail to the relay?

> I have .forward in place.

What's in it? And who looks at it?

> mail root
> test
> .

Does this get delivered anywhere?