Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!CAEN.ENGIN.UMICH.EDU!markg
From: markg@CAEN.ENGIN.UMICH.EDU (Mark Giuffrida)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Subject: Re: Upgrading to SR10.2
Message-ID: <490382469.0017b5e@caen.engin.umich.edu>
Date: 5 Mar 90 15:22:17 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 50


	/usr/new/lib/mh/spost -library //foo/users/awhitton/Mail -verbose \
	-watch //foo/users/awhitton/Mail/drafts/8
	Segmentation fault                                                              
	>tb                                                                           
	Process        1278 (parent 1276, group 1278)                                   
	Time           90/03/02.07:47(EST)                                              
	Program        /bsd4.3/usr/lib/sendmail                                         
	Status         00040004: reference to illegal address (OS/MST manager)          
	In routine     "bcopy" line 167                                                 
	Called from    "rca_$use_known_rgy" line 1056                                   
	Called from    "rca_$find_a_candidate_registry" line 1229                       
	Called from    "rca_$check_binding" line 1312                                   
	Called from    "getpwent" line 129                                              
	Called from    "rgy_unix_$getpwnam" line 214                                    
	Called from    "rgyc_unix_$getpwnam" line 4409                                  
	Called from    "getpwnam" line 213                                              
	Called from    "username" line 393                                              
	Called from    "setsender" line 443                                             
	Called from    "main" line 707                                                  
	Called from    "unix_$main" line 114                                            
	Called from    "<apollo_c_startup>" line 31999                                  
	Called from    "PM_$CALL" line 176                                              
	Called from    "pgm_$load_run" line 891                                         
	Called from    "pgm_$invoke_uid_pn" line 1112                                   

This is great.  I thought that we were the only ones getting this because
of our large registry size.  Let me explain what I have reported to apollo
so far.

I open a call about a month ago on this one (#A2004386).  I gave them exactly
the same scenario and the exact same traceback.  The problem was that I could not
get them to reproduce it.  I might add at first they said there wasn't much
they could do since it happened with "unsupported software" (i.e., the MH).  I did
manage to get them to file an apr on the problem (apr DDE11).

This is a strange bug, because getpwnam() functions correctly 99.99% of the time
(except when the registry is loaded and it falsely returns "unknown user", but
that is another problem - and another filed apr).  When getpwnam() fails under these
conditions, it consistantly fails.  I tried unsuccessfully to reproduce the problem.
I have always felt that this was a combination registry and fork() problem.

I hope Apollos boosts the priority of this problem as other sites are now experiencing
it.  This problem was not there in sr10.1.  It also cripples any site dependent on
using MH like we are.  BTW, I was able to get a workaround by compiling a shared library
version of MH.  For some reason getpwnam() is stable in that scenario.

Mark Giuffrida
University of Michigan
markg@caen.engin.umich.edu