Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!motcsd!hpda!hpcuhb!hpindda!jack
From: jack@hpindda.HP.COM (Jack Repenning)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: loss of swap space on a 9000/340 cluster ?
Message-ID: <4310072@hpindda.HP.COM>
Date: 22 Nov 89 02:25:59 GMT
References: <2506@umbc3.UMBC.EDU>
Organization: HP Information Networks, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 44

> I ran monitor, and the swap space was 98-99% utilized.

Even if your Diskless clients have local swap disks, they can use the
rootserver's swap disk as well (I think).  So, it's not necessarily
the rootserver that's using the space, it might be some client.  Use
monitor's "k" screen to tell you which system is using the space, and
then look on that system for large programs and shared memory
segments.  (Monitor's "t" screen will be helpful in looking for large
programs.)

>         The best that I can figure is that for some reason, when
> some processes die, init can't regain all/or any of that processes
> alocated swap.

I've never heard of such a problem.  But I have experienced problems
that caused programs to grow slowly, without bound.  As someone else
pointed out, the X display server was afflicted with this problem at
one point.

>        We're running X11R3 on hp9000/340 workstations.

What revision of HP-UX are you running?  If you're running HP-UX 6.2
(and an MIT R3 server), then maybe I can suggest an explanation: there
was a rather obscure bug in libmalloc.a in 6.2, which caused our X11
(R2 at that time) server to grow, and would probably afflict a
straight-from-MIT one, of any vintage, as well.  The work around we
found was to link without libmalloc.  Or update to 6.5, where the
problem is fixed.


-------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Repenning - Information Networks Division,
		 Hewlett Packard Company
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Disclaimer: These opinions are not necessarily those of my employer.
In fact, my manager doesn't know I'm . . . Oh shoot!  Here he comes!
Quick!  Pop up that window with code in it!

Bye!