UUCP timeout on role change/ sendmail problems ISC 2.0.2

[the hacker]

Hi,
I have 2 problems with mailing / uucp that I can't solve properly.
Maybe somebody out there could lend a hand? System is a '386 based noname
box, 4 megs of ram, 2 "standard" serial ports, SCSI controller. ISC 2.0.2.

1) When a uucp connection is up and running (my machine is master),
   uucico often hangs when a role change is requested, i.e. I have sent
   all my mail and want to receive mail. uucico gets past the state
   where H/HN messages are exchanged, then hangs in "rmsg ''" and eventually
   times out.
   This one has me stumped. I'm not running a getty on the port
   uucp uses, so that's not the problem.

   What particularly annoys me is the fact that uucp works for about
   50 % of the time, then fails with the above symptoms.

   The machine I am calling for mailtransfer is a '286 box running
   Microport Unix. He has no problems with other sites, so it's
   probably my fault.

2) (Boy, is my face red) This has been thrashed to death in this
   newsgroup some months ago, but I did not have this problem then
   and didn't pay attention. I guess it's time to start archiving
   this group.

   All mail I receive (when uucp transfer works, see problem 1 :-))
   seems to come from my local uucp, with the address put in a
   "Apparently-To:" line.
   Will this go away when I install a "real sendmail" (TM) or
   smail? I think it's ISC's sendmails fault, but i'd like a
   reality check. Is there a quick and dirty fix short of installing
   smail/real sendmail?

2.5) From time to time, I find "C.sysname0000" files in the uucp
   spool directory for sysname, with length 0 and no related D file.
   Someone creates this file from time to time (sendmail?).
   It's not a leftover from a uucp connection. Who creates it
   and why? This is probably a bug (0000 is not a valid sequence number
   to use at this time).

Thanks for your help,
-Martin

--
Martin Freiss, SNI AG           freiss.pad at nixdorf.com
Note: the domain nixdorf.com will change to sni-usa.com in the next weeks.