POP3 and IMAP Won't Start - Dovecot error 89

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POP3 and IMAP Won't Start - Dovecot error 89

I have been struggling with what should be a simple problem all day: turning the mail server on!

This is a clean out of the box start. I bought a new Mac Mini with Mountain Lion Server.

POP3 and IMAP services will not start and Dovecot repeatedly reports the following (no more detail anywhere that I can find):

Nov 7 16:59:24 artemiscom com.apple.launchd[1] (org.dovecot.dovecotd[1151]): Exited with code: 89

Nov 7 16:59:24 artemiscom com.apple.launchd[1] (org.dovecot.dovecotd): Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds

SMTP is running and I can telnet into port 25.

serveradmin fullstatus mail gives the following:

mail:setStateVersion = 1

mail:readWriteSettingsVersion = 1

mail:connectionCount = 0

mail:servicePortsRestrictionInfo = _empty_array

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:0:status = "ON"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:0:kind = "INCOMING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:0:protocol = "IMAP"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:0:state = "STOPPED"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:0:error = ""

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:1:status = "ON"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:1:kind = "INCOMING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:1:protocol = "POP3"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:1:state = "STOPPED"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:1:error = ""

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:2:status = "ON"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:2:kind = "INCOMING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:2:protocol = "SMTP"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:2:state = "RUNNING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:2:error = ""

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:3:status = "ON"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:3:kind = "OUTGOING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:3:protocol = "SMTP"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:3:state = "RUNNING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:3:error = ""

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:4:status = "OFF"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:4:kind = "INCOMING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:4:protocol = "Junk_mail_filter"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:4:state = "STOPPED"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:4:error = ""

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:5:status = "OFF"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:5:kind = "INCOMING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:5:protocol = "Virus_scanner"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:5:state = "STOPPED"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:5:error = ""

mail:startedTime = "2012-11-07 16:41:49 +0000"

mail:logPaths:IMAP Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/mailaccess.log"

mail:logPaths:Server Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/mailaccess.log"

mail:logPaths:POP Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/mailaccess.log"

mail:logPaths:SMTP Log = "/var/log/mail.log"

mail:logPaths:Migration Log = "/Library/Logs/MailMigration.log"

mail:logPaths:Virus Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/clamav.log"

mail:logPaths:Amavisd Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/amavis.log"

mail:logPaths:Virus DB Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/freshclam.log"

mail:imapStartedTime = ""

mail:servicePortsAreRestricted = "NO"

mail:state = "RUNNING"

mail:postfixStartedTime = "2012-11-07 16:41:49 +0000"

If I restart the mail server POP3 and IMAP staus goes to STARTING and then to STOPPED.

I've managed to get Dovecot working on a Centos server but the generally simple configuration on the Mac has me dumbfounded.

Any help is appreciated whilst I still retain my sanity.

Thanks

Mac mini, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1)

Posted on Nov 7, 2012 9:05 AM

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Answer 1

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robinaytes Author

Level 1

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Nov 8, 2012 3:36 AM in response to robinaytes

OK. I managed to solve this problem.

When the mail server is first initialised SSL certification for dovecot is set to on but the certificates are all commented out in the configuration file.

To determine this is the problem, turn the mail server off then at the command line start the server by entering the following command:

/Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/usr/bin/doveconf -f service=master -c /Library/Server/Mail/Config/dovecot/dovecot.conf -m master -p -e

This is the output I received:

/Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/usr/sbin/dovecotd -F

doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /Library/Server/Mail/Config/dovecot/dovecot.conf: ssl enabled, but ssl_cert not set

Edit the file /Library/Server/Mail/Config/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf:

sudo vi /Library/Server/Mail/Config/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf

You can do one of two things:

1) Edit the line #ssl = yes to:

ssl = no

2) Uncomment the ssl_cert, ssl_key and ssl_ca lines

Now restart the mail server and check the logs for dovecot error 89 (shouldn't be there) and/or at ther command line enter the command:

sudo serveradmin fullstatus mail

This will display the mail server status which should be something like this (note pop3 and imap now running):

mail:setStateVersion = 1

mail:readWriteSettingsVersion = 1

mail:connectionCount = 0

mail:servicePortsRestrictionInfo = _empty_array

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:0:status = "ON"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:0:kind = "INCOMING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:0:protocol = "IMAP"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:0:state = "RUNNING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:0:error = ""

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:1:status = "ON"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:1:kind = "INCOMING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:1:protocol = "POP3"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:1:state = "RUNNING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:1:error = ""

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:2:status = "ON"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:2:kind = "INCOMING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:2:protocol = "SMTP"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:2:state = "RUNNING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:2:error = ""

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:3:status = "ON"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:3:kind = "OUTGOING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:3:protocol = "SMTP"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:3:state = "RUNNING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:3:error = ""

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:4:status = "OFF"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:4:kind = "INCOMING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:4:protocol = "Junk_mail_filter"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:4:state = "STOPPED"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:4:error = ""

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:5:status = "OFF"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:5:kind = "INCOMING"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:5:protocol = "Virus_scanner"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:5:state = "STOPPED"

mail:protocolsArray:_array_index:5:error = ""

mail:startedTime = "2012-11-08 11:33:25 +0000"

mail:logPaths:IMAP Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/mailaccess.log"

mail:logPaths:Server Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/mailaccess.log"

mail:logPaths:POP Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/mailaccess.log"

mail:logPaths:SMTP Log = "/var/log/mail.log"

mail:logPaths:Migration Log = "/Library/Logs/MailMigration.log"

mail:logPaths:Virus Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/clamav.log"

mail:logPaths:Amavisd Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/amavis.log"

mail:logPaths:Virus DB Log = "/Library/Logs/Mail/freshclam.log"

mail:imapStartedTime = "2012-11-08 11:33:25 +0000"

mail:servicePortsAreRestricted = "NO"

mail:state = "RUNNING"

mail:postfixStartedTime = "2012-11-08 11:33:58 +0000"

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Answer 2

Nov 11, 2012 9:41 AM in response to robinaytes

It seems like these settings should be managed by Server.app. The preceding line says:

# Note: This key is managed by Server Admin. See above before making changes

However, when I go to Server.app > "Server Name" > Settings > SSL Certificate > Edit... and apply an SSL certificate, it doesn't seem to modify the 10-ssl.conf file like I would expect. This seems like a bug in Apple's server administration tools.

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Answer 3

Nov 11, 2012 9:48 AM in response to andrewsmithy

After stopping and restarting Mail from Server.app, it recognized that SSL was off and I was able to set the SSL certificate correctly. Seems to be working fine now.

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Answer 4

tggbret

Level 1

0 points

Jan 12, 2013 7:06 PM in response to robinaytes

Thanks robinaytes, your solution worked for me. Greatly apprecaited

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Answer 5

Jun 14, 2013 7:14 AM in response to robinaytes

Completely saved my *** this morning - thank you so much.

It is strange to me that for something so otherwise perfect, Apple continues to be such misserable failures at the once great server product. Last night, I upgraded my trusty OSX mini server to the latest "update," which saw fit to, it seems, leave SSL turned on (thanks for that), but as here, unset all the key values (super big help), and then provide a totally cryptic message that, thankfully, you had already suffered through.

Little clue to our friends in Cupertino - usually, in "server" land, updates are sort of applied on a rolling basis, and in my experience, never break working installations. Or at least not with such reliability that the mere thought of updating gives one stomach cramps.

It seems like the server suite, such as it is, must be maintained by interns or something. To this day, Workgroup manager will literally break a new user for purposes of kerberos by putting the wrong short name in record (Untitled_1)... And this kind of crap.

I think this is the last straw for me, and it's time to migrate these core services to a reliable server platform.

(thanks again for figuring this out robinaytes!)

Seriously, Apple - 100% Fail

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Answer 6

Viktor_D

Level 1

39 points

Jan 25, 2014 10:23 AM in response to robinaytes

Thanks robinaytes! You saved me! 🙂

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