SmarterMail Error on Ubuntu After Fresh Install: Encoding Issues and Domain Conversion Questions

Problem reported by George Rauscher - 8/11/2024 at 8:02 AM

Submitted

Hello everyone,

I recently installed SmarterMail on Ubuntu 24.04 because I decided to migrate from Windows to Linux after over 15 years. During the installation, I encountered some issues, particularly with the /domains directory. After converting, I had to manually copy all contents to the /var/lib/domains directory.

Now, I have the following questions:

1. Is anything converted in the Domain folder during installation or migration?

What specific data or structures are converted when migrating to Linux or during the first startup of SmarterMail? Can I simply copy the Domains from Windows to Linux without any issues?

2. Error After Checking SmarterMail Status:

After the fresh installation, I ran a status check and received an error that concerns me:

root@mail:~# sudo service smartermail status

● smartermail.service - SmarterMail (100.0.8979.28647)

Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/smartermail.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)

Active: active (running) since Sun 2024-08-11 14:39:24 UTC; 10s ago

Main PID: 15024 (MailService)

Tasks: 52 (limit: 18685)

Memory: 556.2M

CPU: 13.738s

CGroup: /system.slice/smartermail.service

└─15024 /opt/smartermail/MailService

Aug 11 14:39:25 mail MailService[15024]: [WebServer] Listening on port 80 and 443

Aug 11 14:39:26 mail MailService[15024]: Microsoft.AspNetCore.Server.Kestrel[0] Overriding address(es) '://*:17017'. Binding to endpoints defined via IConfigura>

Aug 11 14:39:26 mail MailService[15024]: Microsoft.Hosting.Lifetime[14] Now listening on: 0.0.0.0:80

Aug 11 14:39:26 mail MailService[15024]: Microsoft.Hosting.Lifetime[14] Now listening on: 0.0.0.0:443

Aug 11 14:39:26 mail MailService[15024]: Microsoft.Hosting.Lifetime[0] Application started. Hosting environment: Production; Content root path: /opt/smartermail

Aug 11 14:39:28 mail MailService[15024]: [Information] SmarterMail Starting

Aug 11 14:39:28 mail MailService[15024]: [ERROR] systemEncoding: System.Exception: Default encoding changed since initial install. Please search the SmarterMail Kno>

Aug 11 14:39:28 mail MailService[15024]: at MailService.Core.MailServer.MailServerFullStart()

Aug 11 14:39:28 mail MailService[15024]: [ERROR] systemEncoding: System.Exception: Default encoding changed since initial install. Please search the SmarterMail Kno>

Aug 11 14:39:28 mail MailService[15024]: at MailService.Core.MailServer.MailServerFullStart()

The error message systemEncoding: System.Exception: Default encoding changed since initial install occurred right after the fresh installation, which is quite concerning.

Another issue is that when I try to stop the service, it takes about 2 minutes for the service to stop. Since I plan to transfer real customers to Linux, there should be no delays or errors in a fresh installation.

It’s crucial for me to understand which data and paths are modified in which files during the migration process. I also need to know if I can directly copy the Domains into the folder again after the initial conversion, or if any further conversions take place within the domain folders themselves. If additional conversions occur, I’d like to know exactly what is being converted.

This information is essential for ensuring a smooth transition to Linux, especially since I plan to move real customer data. Any guidance or detailed explanation would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I had to remove the HTTP links from the status output because they are not allowed here in the forum.

George

George A. RauscherMember of the German Society for Criminology (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kriminalistik e. V.)Member of "LEVA" Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association, Inc.intelligent piXel GmbHExperts in forensic criminologyEnzianstr. 4a82319 Starnberg0800 - 999 8 99 88 (free*)Website: www.intelligent-pixel.comManaging Director: George A. RauscherAuthorized Representative: Dr. Louise MorgottTax Number: 143 / 150 / 31010HRB 207 679 / Munich Local Court

10 Replies

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George Rauscher Replied

8/11/2024 at 8:14 AM

I would really appreciate it if I didn’t have to copy all the data clutter from the last 15 years into the new system. A list of the settings and data that are actually needed would be great. After all, if we’re going to put in the effort, it should be done cleanly, right?

Nathan Replied

8/12/2024 at 6:42 AM

I second George's questions as we are looking at a migration to Linux from Windows but the documentation feels overly optimistic with 'just copy the files'. It would be good to have more detail around what is happening, guidance if there is a problem during migration/conversion, confirmation of licence activation impacts, etc.

Kyle Kerst Replied

8/12/2024 at 8:29 AM

Employee Post

I believe the encoding error is expected on first boot but I can check in with our dev team on this and let you know what I find out. In the meantime though I wanted to provide some clarity on the Windows to Linux migration process. When migrating a Windows host the first thing I do is install SmarterMail on the destination server (linux) and shut it down.

At that point you should be safe to copy all of the domains folders into the /var/lib/smartermail/Domains folder, and all system-level JSON configuration files into the /etc/smartermail folder and start the SmarterMail service to begin conversion. The conversion page can be reached here where you can monitor progress:

http://mail.your-domain.com/interface/convert-status

Once there you'll find SmarterMail has already converted the system level settings and should be moving on to domain/user conversion next. When conversion completes you should have a 1:1 copy of your original Windows server established in Linux.

Kyle Kerst IT Coordinator SmarterTools Inc. www.smartertools.com

Kyle Kerst Replied

8/12/2024 at 8:37 AM

Employee Post

Development indicated the encoding error you see is expected if/when encoding is changed at the system level since we set and track this in various configuration files. I advised them that I didn't think you'd modified encoding and they said that it would also be expected on the initial set as I suspected. So that one shouldn't be anything to be concerned about so long as it doesn't persist on every startup. If you'd like us to take a look at your server and provide guidance/recommendations we'd be happy to do so as well, we'll just need a support ticket and we can get some more details from you there. I hope that helps!

Kyle Kerst IT Coordinator SmarterTools Inc. www.smartertools.com

George Rauscher Replied

8/12/2024 at 9:06 AM

First of all, thank you. There were some issues because I had changed my path to the domains, but only slightly. I then had to copy the domains into the Domain folder. This is likely where the problems occurred. I will reinstall the server and repeat the process. If there are any further issues, I will reach out here and to support. After converting to Linux, all the domains were “DEAD” and had a red triangle in front of them. However, after copying the domains into the other folder and restarting the service, I had a functioning interface. I’ve been using SmarterMail for over 20 years, and I need to perform the migration to Linux flawlessly and without complications. That’s why I’m being a bit cautious here.

What’s already great is that there is now a Linux version, which makes a lot of things easier in the cloud. You can generate simple VPS snapshots, and the performance is significantly faster than on Windows.

Kyle Kerst Replied

8/12/2024 at 1:39 PM

Employee Post

You're very welcome George, happy to help out and happy to see people testing things out :-) If you have any questions along the way please don't hesitate to ping us!

Kyle Kerst IT Coordinator SmarterTools Inc. www.smartertools.com

George Rauscher Replied

8/14/2024 at 3:51 PM

Hello everyone,

I completed the migration last night. As far as I can tell, everything is working. However, when I run the status command “sudo service smartermail status,” I receive critical errors that are causing me concern. For example, it shows that the STAT server is disabled, along with some red error messages. There’s no turning back now—the server is live. The web interface, as well as sending and receiving emails, are functioning. It’s now 1 AM here, and I hope we can resolve these errors.

George

George Rauscher Replied

8/14/2024 at 4:19 PM

and how can I change this Data in my footer?

George A. RauscherMember of the German Society for Criminology (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kriminalistik e. V.)Member of "LEVA" Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association, Inc.intelligent piXel GmbHExperts in forensic criminologyEnzianstr. 4a82319 Starnberg0800 - 999 8 99 88 (free*)Website: www.intelligent-pixel.comManaging Director: George A. RauscherAuthorized Representative: Dr. Louise MorgottTax Number: 143 / 150 / 31010HRB 207 679 / Munich Local Court

Tony Scholz Replied

8/14/2024 at 4:53 PM

Employee Post

Hello, To adjust your signature go to your "My Settings" then "Social Settings". Here you can adjust the "Portal Signature".

Tony Scholz System/Network Administrator SmarterTools Inc. www.smartertools.com

Matt Petty Replied

8/14/2024 at 4:55 PM

Employee Post

I've seen that output before when deploying servers, so I think they aren't too unexpected. I'll add a task to cleanup the output we're doing. You should be fine, you can try checking the general-errors log for more info on random errors occurring in SM.

Good to hear you got running on Linux at least!

PS: You can fix your signature in the top right of community, Click on your name in the top right > My Settings. Then on that page click on Social Settings.

Matt Petty Senior Software Developer SmarterTools Inc. www.smartertools.com

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