Re: Defunct processes : SE 7.1 on AIX 4.1

Holly Gordon wrote: > > Related to this question, should I worry about all these defunct > processes? By the end of each day I have scores of them out there. We > do a UNIX shutdown each day, so they get cleaned up, but it is > disconcerting to see so many defunct processes out there. > > ************************************ > Holly Kendall Gordon, System Administrator > Texas State Library (512) 475-3369 > Geac PLUS 2.5.5p3 IBM RISC/6000 PowerPC > AIX 4.1.4 INFORMIX > > [...] Zombies consume only a process table entry each, and do nothing, so you shouln't worry too much. However, it is possible to exceed maximum allowed number of processes (i.e. to fill the process table), either per user, or system-wide. If this happens, you will start getting errors similar to 'Cannot fork the process' when you try to run a program. You can always increase the process table size, but I would definitively prefer getting rid of those zombies in more orderly way (i.e. discovering why they appear and remove the cause). Regards, Dragi "Bonzi" Raos P.S BTW, why do you shut the system down each night? +--------------------------------------------------------+ | 4-MATE Information Engineering Inc. | +--------------------------+-----------------------------+ | 4-MATE | Tel: +385 (1) 242-116 | | Kosa bb | +385 (1) 242-126 | | 10000 Zagreb | Fax: +385 (1) 242-121 | | Hrvatska (Croatia) | e-mail: bonzi@4mate.hr | | | URL: http://www.4mate.hr | +--------------------------+-----------------------------+