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From: frank@contex.UUCP (Frank Perdicaro)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
Subject: filling /dev/null
Keywords: EFBIG
Message-ID: <1617@contex.UUCP>
Date: 22 Jan 91 15:46:29 GMT
Organization: Xyvision Design Systems, Wakefield MA
Lines: 16

While testing a few things on a 4D35, I decided to see how the added memory
bandwith would effect kernel data movement activities.  Just for a lark, 
I tried
   dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/null bs=256k count=256k
All went well for a while.  Then, I got a EFBIG exception from dd.  
Somehow this is both not surprising, and not appropriate.  Considering
the special way /dev/null is handled by the kernel, should it not
be exempt from this type of accounting?  Anybody care to comment?

It really seems odd that one can 'fill' /dev/null!

-- 
	Frank E Perdicaro, Systems Admin, etc.		Xyvision Design Systems
   LEGALIZE Guns, drugs and cash...today.		101 Edgewater Drive
inhouse:  frank@bugs 					Wakefield MA
outhouse: contex!frank@uunet.uu.net			018801285