There's some debate on the MIMEDefang list on a performance issue and I wanted
to get the SpamAssassin users' take on this.
Is there any potential performance benefit to have MIMEDefang call out to spamd
using spamc?
Suppose I'm running MIMEDefang and SpamAssassin on a relay server. I might
also be running, for example, clamav-milter.
As MIMEDefang and SpamAssassin are both Perl, MIMEDefang can just do a
use Mail::SpamAssassin;
and then be able to create spamassassin objects natively.
MIMEDefang runs in a multiplexor mode, where multiple slave process are created
more or less as needed.
SpamAssassin (obviously) can also run in a daemon-style mode as spamd, where
multiple slave processes are created more or less as needed.
So the question becomes - should each MIMEDefang process create its own
Mail::SpamAssassin object, or should it reach out using spamc to the pool of
spamd processes?
I am firmly of the opinion that it should reach out using spamc, and here's why.
SpamAssassin is the single most resource-intensive thing that MIMEDefang does!
Allow me to create a stupid analogy.
Suppose you're a general in the land-based armed force of your choosing. You
have a fixed budget (RAM/disk space/IO throughput/bandwidth), and you have been
tasked with clearing a certain fixed area of enemy soldiers in a certain time
(or "as soon as possible.")
You can requisition infantry (MIMEDefang) and tanks (SpamAssassin.) The
infantry are faster and cheaper. The tanks are much more powerful but are also
slower and more expensive.
My strategy in such a situation would be to requisition a large number of
infantry (say 50) and a small number of tanks (say 4) I'd give everybody a
phone. The infantry could cover the area, and if they needed help they could
call the nearest tank.
The infantry commanders are going to suggest that maybe I have a tank follow
each unit around, and that would save time and energy. They wouldn't need to
call the tank and wait for it to show up.
My response as the general would be: if we were to limit ourselves to
one-infantry-unit-per-tank we could only go as high as eight infantry and eight
tanks due to budgetary constraints (RAM limit.) That wouldn't be able to cover
the area in time.
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