Shorten delay in sending mail to SMTP

[Lowell Gilbert]

Foo JH <jhfoo-ml at extracktor.com> writes:

> I'm using inetd + qmail to implement a mail server. The combo works,
> but usually sending a mail takes some 5-10 seconds.
>
> I suspect it's largely because inetd or qmail is trying to do some dns
> lookup or something, before letting it through. Is there any way to
> shorten this process - if possible eliminate it altogether?

What exactly is happening when this delay occurs?
Are you asking to send an e-mail to a foreign mailserver without
looking up that server's e-mail address?

> Some time back, there was an advice to avoid inetd. It's probably a
> good idea, but I hope to deal with this first before moving forward on
> the setup.

If your e-mail volumes are extremely low, it may even be a *good*
idea.  At the cost of a small extra latency, of course; but not
multiple seconds worth.