Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!gatech!ncsuvx!mcnc!speedy!sps From: sps@magoo.mcnc.org (Stephen P. Schaefer) Newsgroups: comp.unix.ultrix Subject: Re: ps gives error Message-ID: Date: 12 Jul 89 22:12:00 GMT References: <209@larry.sal.wisc.edu> Sender: daemon@mcnc.org Organization: Microelectronics Center of North Carolina Lines: 20 In-reply-to: cathy@larry.sal.wisc.edu's message of 11 Jul 89 20:43:56 GMT Just today we saw this problem (ps & df complaining about memory) on a few Vaxstation 2000's with about 16 megabytes of virtual memory running Ultrix 3.0, no DecWindows. You are probably running out of virtual memory. For our variety of processes, the biggest culprit was an X server with SZ > 6 meg of virtual space, according to ps -aux (when we could run ps). I don't understand the server's memory use. We have never observed the server grow smaller, regardless of numbers or size of clients. Workstations with similar (of course, not identical) job mixes, numbers of clients, window managers and up time will have X servers using only 2 meg. I killed the X server and it restarted using a mere 1 1/2 meg; I am now checking it every time something infrequent happens (window glitches and assorted whimsy); it's grown less than 100k in the last four hours. -- Stephen P. Schaefer, Postmaster MCNC sps@mcnc.org P.O. Box 12889 ...!mcnc!sps RTP, NC 27709