Electronic mail transfer agent with a persistent queue, and related method of operation

• US 20020174260A1
• Filed: 05/18/2001
• Published: 11/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Naisa Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Naisa Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Huang, Wei
• Application Number:
  US09/860,686
• Publication Number:
  US 20020174260A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/313
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A method of processing electronic mail messages includes configuring a queue on a permanent storage device. A set of electronic mail messages is accumulated to form a continuous electronic mail message block. The continuous electronic mail message block is stored in the queue in an uninterrupted write sequence.

Claims

1. A method of processing electronic mail messages, comprising:

configuring a queue on a permanent storage device;

accumulating a set of electronic mail messages to form a continuous electronic mail message block; and

storing said continuous electronic mail message block in said queue in an uninterrupted write sequence.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring includes configuring said queue as a set of individual contiguous queues on said permanent storage device.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising deleting a selected electronic mail message from said queue after said selected electronic mail message is successfully forwarded.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising designating a selected queue of said set of individual contiguous queues for an overwrite operation when each electronic mail message in said selected queue has been successfully forwarded.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring includes configuring said queue in accordance with a set of instructions specified in a queue control file.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring includes configuring said queue to include a queue header and a queue tail.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein configuring includes configuring said queue to include a queue header specifying a time stamp field, a check point position field, a data segment begin position field, and a check sum field.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein configuring includes configuring said queue to include a set of checkpoints and data segments between said queue header and said queue tail.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein configuring includes configuring said queue to include data segments specifying a segment header field, a data field, and a segment tail field.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising recovering from a fault by identifying a selected checkpoint location associated with the last valid data entry prior to said fault.

11. A computer readable memory to direct a computer to function in a specified manner, comprising:

a first set of instructions to configure a queue structure on a permanent storage device;

a second set of instructions to group a set of sequentially received electronic mail messages into a continuous electronic mail message block; and

a third set of instructions to produce a raw disk write of said continuous electronic mail message block to said queue structure.

12. The computer readable memory of claim 11 wherein said first set of instructions configures said queue as a set of individual contiguous queues on said permanent storage device.

13. The computer readable memory of claim 12 further comprising instructions to delete a selected electronic mail message from said queue after said selected electronic mail message is successfully forwarded.

14. The computer readable memory of claim 13 further comprising instructions to designate a selected queue of said set of individual contiguous queues for an overwrite operation when each electronic mail message in said selected queue has been successfully forwarded.

15. The computer readable memory of claim 11 wherein said first set of instructions includes instructions to configure said queue with a queue header and a queue tail.

16. The computer readable memory of claim 15 wherein said queue header includes a time stamp field, a check point position field, a data segment begin position field, and a check sum field.

17. The computer readable memory of claim 15 wherein said first set of instructions includes instructions to configure said queue with a set of checkpoints and data segments between said queue header and said queue tail.

18. The computer readable memory of claim 17 further comprising instructions to recover from a fault by identifying a selected checkpoint location associated with the last valid data entry prior to said fault.