PC Gen: Getting Statistics on Intra-postoffice Mail (122852)

SUMMARY

External options (LogReceive, LogSent, and LogMessageVolume) allow a Mail administrator to track the volume of mail flowing in or out of a postoffice (PO). However, Mail does not have the ability to log the number of mail messages or attachments generated and received within the same postoffice. Regular monitoring of the CONTROL.GLB file can provide estimates.

The CONTROL.GLB file is an 8-byte file that contains two long integers, which are used for generating new, unique file names. The second integer is used primarily for generating mail messages (.MAI) and attachments (.ATT) filename prefixes. The change in the integer over a period of time is roughly equal to the volume of .MAI and .ATT files created during the same period. This number would include both mail and attachments generated within the PO, and the ones the PO received through a message transfer agent (MTA).

If a receive log is kept, the number of received messages during the time frame can be subtracted from the change in the integer over the same period for a rough estimate of local mail and attachment volume during the period.

NOTE: ONLY WORK WITH A COPY OF THE CONTROL.GLB FILE. NEVER RUN DEBUG AGAINST THE ACTUAL FILE.

MORE INFORMATION

If the Mail administrator made periodic, numbered copies of the CONTROL.GLB, the administrator should be able to get a rough estimate of intra-postoffice mail and attachment volume by setting up a procedure similar to the following example.

Example of Weekly Numbered Copies of CONTROL.GLB

M:\GLB\STATS >dir

    Volume in drive M is REG
    Volume Serial Number is 1B61-1104
    Directory of M:\GLB\STATS

   .            <DIR>         08-15-94   9:27a
   ..           <DIR>         08-15-94   9:27a
   CONTROL  001             8 08-21-94   1:06a
   CONTROL  002             8 08-28-94   1:09a
   CONTROL  003             8 09-04-94   1:02a
           3 file(s)             24 bytes
                        208,634,368 bytes free

Translate the last 4 bytes of each copy of CONTROL.GLB to a decimal number, and calculate the change by following the steps below:

View the last 4 bytes of the CONTROL.# file.
Reverse the order of the 4 bytes and concatenate to form an 8 digit hex number.
Convert the hex number to decimal.
Subtract the integer's decimal value in the previous CONTROL.# file from the integer's decimal value in the current CONTROL.# file.

An example of these steps follows:

Viewing the Integer for .MAI/.ATTs for Each Numbered CONTROL.# File

   M:\GLB\STATS >debug control.001
   -d 104 107
   15B7:0100              4D 3C 2B 1A                               M<+.
   -q

   M:\GLB\STATS >debug control.002
   -d 104 107
   15B7:0100              C8 2C 2C 1A                               .,,.
   -q

   M:\GLB\STATS >debug control.003
   -d 104 107
   15B7:0100              29 21 2D 1A                               )!-.
   -q

File Name       Last 4 Bytes    HEX Integer  Decimal         Change
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTROL.001 --> 4D 3C 2B 1A --> 1A2B3C4D --> 439,041,101
CONTROL.002 --> C8 2C 2C 1A --> 1A2C2CC8 --> 439,102,664 ==> 61,563
CONTROL.003 --> 29 21 2D 1A --> 1A2D2129 --> 439,165,225 ==> 62,561

NOTE: The calculator that comes with Microsoft Windows can convert between hex and decimal numbers if you switch the view to scientific.

The value in the change column above represents the number of new message and attachment files that were created during the period being tracked. If you keep a log of all received mail, you can then subtract the number of messages in the RECV.LOG during the same period for a estimate of local mail and attachment volume.