Will sending these emails cause me a problem ?

[jeddi]

Hi,
I will want to send my subscribers a newsletter.

I intend to have my php script simply work through the
mysql client table and send each client the same email
with a separate mail() command in the while loop.
I will NOT be using cc or bcc.

I run a dedicated server with CentOS Linux 5
and Virtualmin version 3.67 Pro running.
This uses Postfix, I think.


1) If I have 800 clients is this going to cause some kind of
server overload ?

2) Is this the best approach ?

3) Should I pause a second or two between a batch of
say ten, to avoid problems ?

4) What DNS settings should I check to ensure that I don't get
all my emails into everones spam box - or worse end up getting listed as
a spammer ?

Can I see ( and check ) that these settings are OK by looking at
headers my Postfix logs after I have sent out a test newsletter
to my own email account ?

What should I look for ?

Thanks for any help.

PS - these ARE my subscribers, they signed up for the newsletter so
I am not sending spam.

Most people use a paid service, but I want to send them myself.

[devinemke]

from the PHP manual:

Note: It is worth noting that the mail() function is not suitable for larger volumes of email in a loop. This function opens and closes an SMTP socket for each email, which is not very efficient.
For the sending of large amounts of email, see the » PEAR::Mail, and » PEAR::Mail_Queue packages.

i personally use the PHPMailer class as many of the bulk mails i send have attachments

[PappaJohn]

Just to give you another option - SwiftMailer class

[timgolding]

Here's some quotes from php.net

Note: If intending to send HTML or otherwise Complex mails, it is recommended to use the PEAR package » PEAR::Mail_Mime.

Note: It is worth noting that the mail() function is not suitable for larger volumes of email in a loop. This function opens and closes an SMTP socket for each email, which is not very efficient.
For the sending of large amounts of email, see the » PEAR::Mail, and » PEAR::Mail_Queue packages.

[timgolding]

That second quote kind of suggests that using bbc: bb: would be faster as it doesn't open a new socket each time. But don't quote me on that this might be bad advice. Better to take the advice given in the quotes.

[jeddi]

Thanks for your reply.

I read your quote from the php manual at php.net
it says this:

"Note: It is worth noting that the mail() function is not suitable for larger volumes of email in a loop. This function opens and closes an SMTP socket for each email, which is not very efficient.
For the sending of large amounts of email, see the » PEAR::Mail, and » PEAR::Mail_Queue packages. "

Although it says that it is "not very efficient" it doesn't actually say
if it will cause a problem.

Also does "not very efficient" mean that it will take
a long time ?

Presumably nothing is going to wear out by over using it
so I wonder what the meaning of this statement is
and what detrimental effects might occur if I was send
out 3000 email with a simple while loop.

What I like about the mail() fuction is that it is simple
the PEAR version looks more complicated, but I will
take a look at it.

[timgolding]

Thanks for your reply.

I read your quote from the php manual at php.net
it says this:

"Note: It is worth noting that the mail() function is not suitable for larger volumes of email in a loop. This function opens and closes an SMTP socket for each email, which is not very efficient.
For the sending of large amounts of email, see the » PEAR::Mail, and » PEAR::Mail_Queue packages. "

Although it says that it is "not very efficient" it doesn't actually say
if it will cause a problem.

Also does "not very efficient" mean that it will take
a long time ?

Presumably nothing is going to wear out by over using it
so I wonder what the meaning of this statement is
and what detrimental effects might occur if I was send
out 3000 email with a simple while loop.

What I like about the mail() fuction is that it is simple
the PEAR version looks more complicated, but I will
take a look at it.

Ha i don't think it's going to wear out, just take along time. PEAR packages are usually fairly complex. I love PEAR, I use it's validation class for most of my user submitted data. The PEAR::Mail_Queue would be excellent for you because it runs in the background. If it all looks too complicated you could always check phpmailer out as devinemke suggested. if you haven't already.