On Feb 21, 2018, at 7:48 AM, John Wilkes <john@wilkes.com> wrote:

I have a 10-user SurgeMail license for a family mail server. The server has 4 active accounts. I often cannot send email because 11/10 users are logged in, according to the error message.

I have a desktop PC, a phone, and a tablet. Each one has an IMAP client. My three devices occupy six IMAP channels on SurgeMail:

Idle IMAP channels
            IP Address Elapsed    CPU  Idle  Msgs  Cmds Speed    User State
SSL     xxx.xxx.xxx.207    871s     0s   869     0     5    0kb/s john@wilkes.com idle_nothread
SSL     xxx.xxx.xxx.207    872s     0s   871 13401     5    0kb/s john@wilkes.com idle_nothread
SSL     xxx.xxx.xxx.207   1552s     0s  1551     0     5    0kb/s john@wilkes.com idle_nothread
SSL     xxx.xxx.xxx.207   1552s     0s  1551 13401     5    0kb/s john@wilkes.com idle_nothread
SSL     xxx.xxx.xxx.207   3649s     0s    73  2407   358    0kb/s john@wilkes.com idle_nothread
SSL     xxx.xxx.xxx.207   3677s     0s    75 13401   119    0kb/s john@wilkes.com idle_nothread

Each IMAP channel appears to consume one of my 10 licensed “users”. If I use my laptop, it consumes 2 more IMAP channels, leaving only two available. Sometimes it seems like shutting down or rebooting one of these devices does not clear the IMAP session on SurgeMail.

Recently when I was unable to send a message, I saw 10 IMAP sessions, all of them me, all of them from the same IP address. It appears that each device consumes 2 IMAP channels, and therefore uses 2 of my licensed “user” slots despite all 10 IMAP sessions being for the same user at the same IP address.

What can I do to prevent my IMAP sessions hogging all of my licensed logins?

The license says it is for 10 users, but it appears to really be for 10 IMAP channels. If I am already logged in to an IMAP session, why does sending a message consume yet another “user” slot?

I would have thought that 4 accounts on a 10-user license would never have a problem like this. Must I double the annual license fee to get 50 logins for a 4-user family email server?

SurgeMail’s license terms are misleading, in my opinion. It’s not 10 “users”; it’s really 10 logins, even if they are all the same user.

I am running SurgeMail Version 7.3c3-3.

-- 
John Wilkes
john@wilkes.com

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that
I am constantly making interesting discoveries.