SAN File System server dump capability

This topic describes how to create system dumps using the SAN File System server that is running the Linux operating system.

You can use the Linux operating system process dump capabilities to help with debugging and problem determination of the SAN File System. In addition, you may need to force a core dump of the metadata server process so that you can package the data and send it to IBM® support personnel for review. Follow these steps to force a core dump:
  1. Use the ulimit shell command to set the size of the allowable core dump file size to be unlimited.
    Note: You can use the ulimit shell command with the –a parameter to verify the current allowable limit.

    ulimit –c unlimited

  2. Use the Linux kill command to terminate the metadata server process:

    kill –6 PID

    where PID is the process ID for the metadata server process.

    Note: You will need to terminate all SAN File System processes that are currently running. Typically, using the kill command against the parent process will also terminate all child processes.
  3. The kill command produces a file called core.PID in the directory where you started this process.

The metadata server runs in user space. Therefore, a problem with the metadata server should not crash the Linux kernel. You should not need to analyze kernel dumps on Linux for the metadata server.

Parent topic: Server diagnostic tools

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