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mailbfr

The latest release of mailbfr is available for download on this page.

See current changelog for a complete list of fixes and additions.
Please read our FAQs as well.

mailbfr assists Mac OS X Server mail service administrators in creating a backup of their active mail settings and stores.

mailbfr will create a backup of all Postfix and Cyrus settings, together with the Postfix Queue, the Cyrus Mailstores and Sieve scripts. The type of backup (full, incremental, rotation) can be selected.

It has an array of additional functions. Among them the possibility to selectively restore settings, single mail stores, single mail users or all mail services.

mailbfr can also assist you in fixing a corrupt cyrus database.

This script is written for Mac OS X 10.3.x, 10.4.x and 10.5.x.

 

 

Is mailbfr compatible with OS X 10.5.x Leopard Server?

Yes, starting with version 0.8.5, mailbfr is compatible with OS X 10.5.x Leopard Server.

mailbfr Changelog

1.0.7 Release – 22.4.2010

-As of this release, mailbfr will fork into a Cyrus and a Dovecot branch
-Changes in update mechanism to accomodate future releases of separate branches

1.0.6 Release – 26.8.2009
-Minor bug fix and clean up
-This is the last release supporting Mac OS X Server 10.3 Panther

1.0.5 Release – 11.08.2009:
-Bug fix to correct start/stop behaviour in 10.3

1.0.4 Release – 27.07.2009:
-Minor bug fix that would prevent restore of mailman configuration files

1.0.3 Release – 3.06.2009:
-Minor bug fix

1.0.2 Release – 21.04.2009:
-Minor bug fix

1.0.1 Release – 20.04.2009:
-Added backup of mailman
-Changes in how mail services are stopped to avoid Server Admin bug
-Only IMAP services are stopped during backup/restore
-Structural changes to accommodate dovecot

0.9.5 Release – 26.08.2008:
-Added some warning strings
-Added option to purge a mailbox’ contents
-Added check to check for spaces in paths
-Removed restoration of settings in transfer mode
-Changed update URL

0.8.5 Release – 26.10.2007:
-Changed version display for 3rd party software
-Leopard compatibility
-New transfer option

0.7.3 Release – 17.4.2007:
-Added a check to see if the backup path/volume exists.

0.7.2 Release – 16.12.2006:
-Cosmetic changes

0.7.1 Release – 15.12.2006:
-Added time stamp to output at beginning and end of backup

0.7.0 Release – 11.12.2006:
-Added backup of custom spamassassin rules
-Added more configuration related error trapping
-Minor cosmetic fixes
-Increased verbosity of error messages
-Changed Postfix queue restore procedure

0.6.9 Release – 7.12.2006:
-Sieve issue on poorly configured systems fixed.

0.6.8 Release – 6.12.2006:
-Disabled copying of Sieve directory because of intermittent not reproducible errors on a handful of systems.

0.6.7 Release – 5.12.2006:
-Modified routine for stopping and starting services. Will not restart services if they were already stopped at runtime.
-Added fix for backing up with broken sieve folders

0.6.6 Release – 28.11.2006 :
-Modified routine for online updates to notify users if an update check is not possible.

0.6.4 Release – 22.11.2006 :
-Added version display for mail system components
-Added display of version number to progress output
-Added some additional error trapping

0.6.3 Release – 21.11.2006 :
-Minor bugfix

0.6.2 Release 17.11.2006:
-Minor bug fix

0.6.1 Release 17.11.2006:
-Added option for restoring single mailbox/user
-Added option for reconstructing single mailbox/user
-Added option for displaying usernames
-Added option for displaying detailed mailbox/user information
-Backup/Restore now includes sieve directory

0.5.1 Release 10.11.2006:
-Added choice for incremental or full backup
-Added simple weekly rotation mechanism
-Removed diagnostics
-mailbfr is now distributed as an installer package

0.4.7 Release:
-Fixed minor Bug for certain 10.3.x configurations

0.4.6 Release:
-Fixed error in man file

0.4.5 Release:
-Added a check for certain 10.3.x configurations

0.4.2 Release:
-Changed reconstruct routine to include partitions

0.4.1 Release:
-Added a diagnostics routine
-Added text to tell user to use 24-hour clock when adding cronjob

0.3.9 Release:
-Added a configuration check for illegal directory settings

0.3.6 Release:
-Changed all copy processes to rsync
-Changed chown to /usr/sbin/chown for cron
-Minor cosmetic fixes

0.3.4 Release:
-Excluded “socket” and “pid” directories from backup
-Added chown/chmod to backup directory
-Check for mail service status before starting on error

0.3.1 Release:
-Streamlined automatic update feature

0.3.0 Release:
-Added automatic update feature
-Cron friendly

0.2.1 Release:
-Fixed problem when backing up partitions

0.2.0 Release:
-First Public Release

You can download the latest release of mailbfr from our downloads page

Where can I find all available options for mailbfr?

Basic instructions are given in the enclosed documentation. All options are listed in the online documentation. To see it, issue "man mailbfr".

How long does a backup take?

This depends mostly on the amount of mailboxes and mails you have. Bear in mind, that mail is usually composed of many many small files. Many small files take longer to copy than one large file. A full (or first) backup takes much longer than successive (incremental) backups. The amount of time necessary for a full backup can vary from minutes to hours.