SUMMARY
Versions 3.0 and 3.1 of Microsoft Mail for AppleTalk Networks' server
processes requests via internal "threads." Depending on the version of
Mail and memory allocation to the mail server, the number of threads
available to the mail server can vary. Below is a detailed summary of
the types and numbers of threads that are available to the server.
1 System Thread - Used during initial Startup to initialize
database, etc.
4-16 User Threads - User threads receive, process and respond to
requests from workstations. The number of threads is dependent
upon the amount of memory allocated to the server under Server
Settings and what processes are being handled by the server.
At a minimum there will be 4 user threads dedicated to
responding to user requests. If there is 2 MB or more of memory
allocated to the server and the Mail version is 3.1 or higher,
8 user threads will be initialized.
In version 3.1, the following applies:
If a user has a request regarding an attachment being processed by
the server, a secondary thread will be spawned. The user is then
transferred to the new thread while the enclosure information is
processed. At the completion of the enclosure processing, the
secondary thread is removed.
It is possible for the server to have a maximum of 16 user
requests being processed at any given time. This would indicate
that 8 clients were processing standard read/send message requests
and 8 additional users were sending/receiving attachments.
1 Misc. Thread - Notify, Auto Logoff after 15 minutes, Database
Compression, and Empty Wastebasket.
Database Compression will only occur when System Activity is low.
Therefore, if a large amount of attachments/messages are deleted
from the server, then the Microsoft Mail Data File may not reduce
in size immediately.
When a Server is busy sending and receiving messages from users,
it is possible that users will not be instantly notified that
new messages have arrived.
1-2 Server Threads - Server Thread for communications to other
servers.
With ALL mail versions earlier than 3.1a, there is one server-server
thread. This thread handles all messaging between servers. With 3.1a,
when working across site names (routing), a secondary thread may be
spawned for processing of messages from a different site.