pmg-smtp-filter / fast exit to reduce server load : Performance problem ?

[Dark26]

Bonjour,

We have two server in cluster ( virtual machine 8Go de RAM 4 vcpu each ) .

We see in /var/log/mail.err :

2025-09-04T09:01:51.724668+02:00 yy01 pmg-smtp-filter[1319111]: fast exit to reduce server load (free 5636096 bytes)
2025-09-04T09:18:22.906085+02:00 yy01 pmg-smtp-filter[1321228]: fast exit to reduce server load (free 7208960 bytes)
2025-09-04T09:35:20.003152+02:00 yy01 pmg-smtp-filter[1323341]: fast exit to reduce server load (free 5636096 bytes)
2025-09-04T09:36:08.493549+02:00 yy01 pmg-smtp-filter[1323333]: fast exit to reduce server load (free 7163904 bytes)
2025-09-04T09:50:46.821497+02:00 yy01 pmg-smtp-filter[1325020]: fast exit to reduce server load (free 5505024 bytes)
2025-09-04T09:57:16.057284+02:00 y01 pmg-smtp-filter[1325807]: fast exit to reduce server load (free 6029312 bytes)

Do we need to increase the RAM ? CPU ?

What exactly does PMG on fast exit ( the mail isn't scan at all or symply a longer time to do the scan ? )

Thanks

 

[Sviat]

Hello,

According to the log entries, PMG indicate that the pmg-smtp-filter process is performing a "fast exit to reduce server load", which means it's skipping deeper mail filtering to avoid overloading the system.
It looks like PMG is not fully scanning some emails during these moments.
It’s a self-protection mechanism to avoid crashing or severe performance degradation.
You may see reduced spam filtering accuracy or missed rule enforcement.
Try to:
- Increase RAM, consider upgrading to 16 GB or more, especially if you're handling high mail volume
- Check for Memory Leaks or Heavy Usage
Use htop, free -m, or vmstat to monitor memory usage.
- Look for processes consuming excessive RAM (e.g., ClamAV, SpamAssassin).
- Tune PMG Settings
Reduce the number of concurrent scans or adjust spam/virus scanning thresholds.
Consider offloading some filtering to upstream systems if possible.