555450 - Reconnecting to IMAP server hangs

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(MailNews Core :: Networking: IMAP, defect)

Description

[Mikhail T.]

Hello!

After upgrading from Thunderbird-2.0.x to 3.0.x (currently 3.0.3) I can only access my e-mail right after starting the application.

If an IMAP connection is dropped for whatever reason, thunderbird would not reconnect to the same server. On my side, thunderbird will eventually tell me, that "Connection to server my.server.com timed out". On the server side, Dovecot logs:

bonkers dovecot: imap-login: Disconnected (no auth attempts): rip=MY.IP.ADD.RES, lip=SER.VER.IP.ADD

Note the "no auth attempts" part -- there is a TCP-connection, but the client, apparently, never presents the username to the server again. The server is configured to use STARTTLS (port 143), check new messages every 7 minutes.

The same problem exists with imap.gmail.com (port 993).

I have no problems connecting to the same server from office, where I also run thunderbird-3.0.3, but on a 32-bit Linux (rather than 64-bit FreeBSD at home).

Other users connect to the same server with various versions of KMail, and my blackberry duly gets the messages via imap from it too.

Comment 1

[Mikhail T.]

Forgot to mention, what might be related problems:

1. Checking the installed extensions for new versions hangs forever.
2. Trying to install a new extension hangs forever (at the "checking compatibility step").
3. Thunderbird hangs on exit -- the windows disappear, but the thunderbird-bin process remains -- unless I exit within the first few minutes, before the reconnection problem described manifests itself.

Comment 2

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

There several known issues which can produce phenomenon you saw with IMAP.
(a) PC's IP address is changed by DHCP because ou retention period.
(b) Server which Tb accessed went maintenance mode, and started to use different IP address/different physical server(DNS roudnd robin etc. is used. Gmail IMAP is one of them). Problem like "DNS chache is not immediately cleared" is also relevant.
(c) Upon wake up from long sleep, (a) or (b) occurs, or connection error happens because many activities at same time.

In any case, if IDLE command is used, problem you saw can occur because Tb has some problems around IDLE.
(1) Connection error while IDLE is not processed well.
(2) Error to IDLE command is not processed properly.
If this kind of problem occurs when (a), (b), (c) or when network error exists, Tb doesn't start connection from clean status.
In some other bugs for similar phenomena to yours, reporters said;
  (i)  "Work Offline, then Gobak Online" was workaround.
  (ii) After disabling "use of IDLE command", frequency of problem was reduced.
Can you try (i) when you encounter problem again?
Can you try (ii) after several tries of (i)?

Comment 3

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Mikhail, we need more info, and need response to comment 2
=> unco, not enough detail yet to move to developer

Comment 4

[Joshua Cranmer [:jcranmer]]

RESOLVED INCOMPLETE due to lack of response to last question. If you feel this change was made in error, please respond to this bug with your reasons why.