Thunderbird 3.0 global search and indexer problem
Bernd Nies
We're a company and use Thunderbird 2 as mail client with a Cyrus IMAP
server and shared folders. Our IMAP server shared folders hold about
1.6 mio messages and is about 70GB in total size. We have about 200
users which have their home directory mounted with NFS from a central
storage. The Thunderbird application is installed on a NFS share.
Thunderbird 3 comes by default with the new feature "global search and
indexer" which is turned on. This might be a cool new feature for home
users on a single pc - but in a company this is unfortunately a
killer.
The Thunderbird 3 indexer feature scans all messages on all IMAP
accounts and local folders and creates an indexer database wich
occupies about 1.4x more disk space as the original mails. The process
runs about for a day and creates a significant load on the IMAP
server. The occupied disk space in the user home volume increases by
200*1.4*70 GB = 19.6 TB. This is a huge and expensive disk waste. :-(
Is there a good way how to get out of that misery?
(1) How can one disable indexer in the installed application for all
users so that they cannot re-enable it?
(2) Is it possible to use a global search index available for all
users, e.g. something like a centralized indexing service?
Bye
Bernd
Martin Jungowski
> Is there a good way how to get out of that misery?
>
> (1) How can one disable indexer in the installed application for all
> users so that they cannot re-enable it?
I'd like to chip in because I'm currently facing the exact same problem.
It's probably some userChrome.css setting that you'll have to deploy
into each user's Thunderbird profile directory.
Martin
--
Rieke Computersysteme GmbH
Hellerholz 5
D-82061 Neuried
Email: mar...@rhm.de
HRB Muenchen 73617
Arivald
Tou may try to create empty "global-messages-db.sqlite" file in Your
users TB profile folders. Make this file read-only and non-deletable.
From now, users TB will try to use indexing, and fail. TB do not show
any error message, it just issue error to console. so most users will
see no difference.
In meantime try looking for some extension to tune or turn off indexing.
If You have any IT developer in company, he may make simple extension
for You to permanently disable indexing.
--
Arivald
David Pyles
> Advanced > General
Dave Pyles
Arivald
> Arivald wrote:
>> W dniu 2010-01-12 16:58, Bernd Nies pisze:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> (1) How can one disable indexer in the installed application for all
>>> users so that they cannot re-enable it?
>>>
>>> (2) Is it possible to use a global search index available for all
>>> users, e.g. something like a centralized indexing service?
>>>
>>
>> Tou may try to create empty "global-messages-db.sqlite" file in
>> Your users TB profile folders. Make this file read-only and
>> non-deletable.
> You can turn off Global Search and Indexing in the GUI: Tools > Options
> > Advanced > General
>
Clearly You do not understand what OP need.
He need some centalized way do disable indexing, because his users, most
likelly, did know how to turn it off.
He is sysadmin, and he has problem with enormous storage space usage.
--
Arivald
Terry R.
Hi Bernd,
Mozilla seems to not take into consideration the way many networks are
configured over home users. Then again, maybe they don't figure
businesses will use their products?
I had the same issue with Firefox and the sqlite database constantly
updating bogging down backup servers because of the constant writing.
I would think you can locate the setting in the config editor, and then
write a user.js file that would be installed into each user profile?
Whether or not the file would overwrite the setting if a user manually
changes it, I don't know.
Terry R.
--
Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.
David Pyles
mailnews.database.global.indexer.enabled False turns it off.
Dave Pyles
David Pyles
Davw Pyles
JarrE
> Hi,
>
> We're a company and use Thunderbird 2 as mail client with a Cyrus IMAP
> server and shared folders. Our IMAP server shared folders hold about
> 1.6 mio messages and is about 70GB in total size. We have about 200
> users which have their home directory mounted with NFS from a central
> storage. The Thunderbird application is installed on a NFS share.
>
> Thunderbird 3 comes by default with the new feature "global search and
> indexer" which is turned on. This might be a cool new feature for home
> users on a single pc - but in a company this is unfortunately a
> killer.
>
> The Thunderbird 3 indexer feature scans all messages on all IMAP
> accounts and local folders and creates an indexer database wich
> occupies about 1.4x more disk space as the original mails. The process
> runs about for a day and creates a significant load on the IMAP
> server. The occupied disk space in the user home volume increases by
> 200*1.4*70 GB = 19.6 TB. This is a huge and expensive disk waste. :-(
>
> Is there a good way how to get out of that misery?
>
> (1) How can one disable indexer in the installed application for all
> users so that they cannot re-enable it?
Use
in js (pref)
pref("general.config.vendor", "name");
pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0);
pref("general.config.filename", "name.cfg");
in cfg:
lockPref("general.config.vendor", "name");
lockPref("autoadmin.refresh_interval", 1440); // auto-update every 24 hours
lockPref("autoadmin.global_config_url", "URL/name.jsc");
lockPref("autoadmin.append_emailaddr", false);
You can then use the URL-page to set all users settings (and locking them)
You have to control the computers (or at least the installation, were I
add my js + cfg file)
Mvh/
JarrE
Ron Hunter
> Am 12.01.2010 16:58, schrieb Bernd Nies:
>> Is there a good way how to get out of that misery?
>>
>> (1) How can one disable indexer in the installed application for all
>> users so that they cannot re-enable it?
>
> I'd like to chip in because I'm currently facing the exact same problem.
> It's probably some userChrome.css setting that you'll have to deploy
> into each user's Thunderbird profile directory.
>
> Martin
>
would violate every security principle in existence!
Given, it would save space, but the security aspects are unbelievable!
--
Ron Hunter - rphu...@charter.net
gatolandia.chile
entry mailnews.database.global.indexer.enabled to false inside of
pref.js located in the default/pref directory or make a extensions to
change this setting.
Bernd Nies
> I would think that a global index shared by everyone on the network
> would violate every security principle in existence!
> Given, it would save space, but the security aspects are unbelievable!
Of course with proper authentication and authorization so that the
logged in user only can access the search indexes of IMAP folders that
he has read access. ;-) Some IMAP servers already have a search
capability. See http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc4731.html. I don't know
whether Thunderbird uses this feature when it sees the ESEARCH
capability at login.
Bye
Bernd
Bernd Nies
> I would think you can locate the setting in the config editor, and then
> write a user.js file that would be installed into each user profile?
> Whether or not the file would overwrite the setting if a user manually
> changes it, I don't know.
Thanks for your reply. I put a user.js with the following line in my
Thunderbird profile folder:
pref("mailnews.database.global.indexer.enabled", false);
Then the global search and indexer feature is turned off. If the user
re-enables it, it stays on until Thunderbird gets restarted again.
But there is a little problem: The Thunderbird GUI does not see this
configuration change provided by user.js. The search bar still shows
"Search all messages" and pop-ups a search tab after I entered a
search term. When I manually set the indexer off using the menu Edit >
Preferences > General, then the search bar shows "Subject or From
filter" and the old style search is used.
I already see our helpdesk filling with tickets "Help, my mail search
does not work anymore after I upgraded to Thunderbird 3.0" ;-)
Bye
Bernd
Bernd Nies
> Use
>
> in js (pref)
> pref("general.config.vendor", "name");
> pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0);
> pref("general.config.filename", "name.cfg");
>
> in cfg:
> lockPref("general.config.vendor", "name");
> lockPref("autoadmin.refresh_interval", 1440); // auto-update every 24 hours
> lockPref("autoadmin.global_config_url", "URL/name.jsc");
> lockPref("autoadmin.append_emailaddr", false);
>
> You can then use the URL-page to set all users settings (and locking them)
>
> You have to control the computers (or at least the installation, were I
> add my js + cfg file)
Thanks. Good idea. Does this pref.js go to the Thunderbird binary
installation directory e.g. /share/app/mozilla/thunderbird/3.0/
defaults/pref or the local user profile directory?
Bye
Bernd
JarrE
I add a js-file (I call it abc.js, to make sure it is sequentially last
and overrides others) in Thunderbird's default\pref (and not the users
profile directory)
the cfg-file must go to the folder in which thunderbird.exe resides
(INSTALLDIR) (and by me called abc.cfg)
The URL-page (jsc) syntax is (you can find more advanced examples on the net)
/* Generated by Netscape Configuration Editor*/
//
//with (PrefConfig)
//{
try {
lockPref("autoadmin.refresh_interval", 1440);
lockPref("signon.rememberSignons", false);
lockPref("javascript.allow.mailnews", false);
lockPref("javascript.enabled", false);
defaultPref("mailnews.display.html_sanitizer.allowed_tags", "html head
title body p br div(lang,title) h1 h2 h3 h4 h5 h6 ul(type,compact)
ol(type,compact,start) li(type,value) dl dt dd blockquote(type,cite) pre
noscript noframes strong em sub sup span(lang,title) acronym(title)
abbr(title) del(title,cite,datetime) ins(title,cite,datetime) q(cite)
a(href,name,title) base(href) area(alt) applet(alt) object(alt) var samp
dfn address kbd code cite s strike tt b i table(align) caption
tr(align,valign) td(rowspan,colspan,align,valign)
th(rowspan,colspan,align,valign)");
lockPref("app.update.enabled", false);
}
catch(e){
displayError("lockedPref", e);
}
//}
Understandable?
Regards/
JarrE
Timo Pietilä
> I add a js-file (I call it abc.js, to make sure it is sequentially last
> and overrides others) in Thunderbird's default\pref (and not the users
> profile directory)
> the cfg-file must go to the folder in which thunderbird.exe resides
> (INSTALLDIR) (and by me called abc.cfg)
>
> The URL-page (jsc) syntax is (you can find more advanced examples on the
> net)
> /* Generated by Netscape Configuration Editor*/
<snip example>
Sounds veery interesting. This might potentially solve most, if not all
of my problems. Any good urls to find those advanced examples?
Timo Pietil�
JarrE
I used:
http://www.it-sudparis.eu/s2ia/user/procacci/netscape/en/mozilla-autoconfig-en.html
as my guide in configuring us (University of Oslo)
Mvh/
JarrE
Arivald
> Hi,
>
> users, e.g. something like a centralized indexing service?
This may be not possible. TB uses SQLite database, which is file-based,
and does not support concurrent access.
--
Arivald
Timo Pietilä
Thanks, I will read this.
Timo Pietil�