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Informix Error -21524: ISAM error: Cannot create a temporary operating system file to use in a sort.

Cause and resolution

ISAM error: Cannot create a temporary operating system file to use in a sort.

The database server could not create a temporary operating system file for this sort.

Consider setting the PSORT_DBTEMP environment variable to a secure directory with a minimum of 200 MB of free space.

-21524 Cannot create a temporary operating system file to use in a sort

A sort was being performed that did not use a dbspace partition to store overflow data. Overflow data is written to a temporary operating system file. However, the database server could not create a temporary operating system file for this sort. Consider setting the PSORT_DBTEMP environment variable to a secure directory with a minimum of 200 MB of free space. If PSORT_DBTEMP is not set then the database server stores overflow data in the /tmp or $INFORMIXDIR/tmp directory.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-21524 fires when the database server can't create a temporary operating-system file for a sort — per the official guidance.

  1. Insufficient space, or an unwritable directory, for the temporary sort file, per the official guidance's implication.
  2. PSORT_DBTEMP not set, per the official guidance — the server then falls back to /tmp or $INFORMIXDIR/tmp for overflow data, which can itself lack space or permission.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Set PSORT_DBTEMP to a secure directory with at least 200 MB of free space, per the official guidance.
  2. If PSORT_DBTEMP is unset, check /tmp/$INFORMIXDIR/tmp (the fallback location) for free space and write permission, per the official guidance.
Examples
Setting PSORT_DBTEMP
$ export PSORT_DBTEMP=/informix/tmp
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check PSORT_DBTEMP's configured directory for free space and write permission, and correct it if it's missing, full, or unwritable. If PSORT_DBTEMP is unset, check /tmp/$INFORMIXDIR/tmp instead, since that's where the server falls back to.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -21525 — "ISAM error: Cannot write to a temporary operating system file during a sort." A related sort-temp-file error, on writing to an already-created file rather than creating it.

The database server couldn't create a temporary sort file — set PSORT_DBTEMP to a directory with enough free space.