Modify the number of SpamAssassin processes
Overview
To reduce RAM usage on your (dv) Dedicated-Virtual Server you can reduce the number of processes used by spamassassin.
Requirements
Before you start, this article has the following dependencies:
- You must have SSH access set up for root or a sudo user.
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Instructions
Via Plesk
-
Log into your Server Administration Panel, see Figure 1:
Figure 1: Server Administration Panel - From the right-hand menu, click on Tools & Settings.
- Under the Mail group, click on Spam Filter Settings.
- To allow server-wide filtering based on the settings you define, select the Switch on server-wide SpamAssassin spam filtering checkbox.
- To let your users set their own spam filtering preferences on a per-mailbox basis, select the Apply individual settings to spam filtering checkbox.
-
If you wish to adjust the amount of system resources the spam filter should use, type the desired value from 1 to 5 into the Maximum number of worker spamd processes to run (1-5) box (1 is the lowest load, and 5 is the highest). We recommend that you use the default value.
If you wish to adjust the spam filter's sensitivity, type the desired value in the The number of points a message must score to be considered spam box.
TIP:
SpamAssassin performs a number of different tests on contents and subject line of each message. As a result, each message scores a number of points. The higher the number, the more likely a message is spam. For example, a message containing the text string "BUY VIAGRA AT LOW PRICE!!!" in the subject line and message body scores 8.3 points. By default, the filter sensitivity is set so that all messages that score 7 or more points are classified as spam.
When your users receive lots of spam messages with the current setting, to make filter more sensitive, try setting a lesser value in the The score that a message must receive to qualify as spam box.
When your users are missing e-mails because your spam filter thinks they are junk, try reducing filter sensitivity by setting a higher value in the The score that a message must receive to qualify as spam box.
- Log into Plesk as the admin user.
- Click on Server.
- Click on Spam Filter.
- Now, change the number next to "The maximum number of worker spamd processes to run (1-5)".
Via SSH
- Log into your (dv) Dedicated-Virtual Server as the root user.
-
Backup your psa.conf file:
cp /etc/psa/psa.conf /etc/psa/psa.conf.bak -
Open your psa.conf file:
vi /etc/psa/psa.conf -
Add or modify the following two lines:
# Maximum number of Spamassassin processes SPAMASSASSIN_MAX_CHILDREN 2 -
Finally, restart SpamAssassin with the following line:
service psa-spamassassin restart