Unix administration - showing kernel parameters on running sys?

Author

showing kernel parameters on running sys?

Dave Hinz

2006-06-07, 7:23 pm

I've got a Solaris 9 system, with a very messy /etc/system file.
Several lines of entries for the same variable, with different numbers,
that sort of thing.

I want to clean it up, but I don't know which of the values it's using.
How do I ask the system what it is using at this time? Example

set msgsys:msginfo_msgmnb=2097152
set msgsys:msginfo_msgmnb=65535

Will it take the first one? The last one? The bigger one? I dunno, I
just want to ask the running sysstem what the value is for
msgsys:msginfo_msgmnb - been googling and reading one of Cockroft's
books for about a half hour now and I'm just seeing things like
"see the /etc/system files for your settings", which doesn't help in
this case.

What am I overlooking please?

Thanks,
Dave Hinz

2006-06-07, 7:23 pm

Dave Hinz <DaveHinz@spamcop.net> wrote:
> I've got a Solaris 9 system, with a very messy /etc/system file.
> Several lines of entries for the same variable, with different numbers,
> that sort of thing.

> I want to clean it up, but I don't know which of the values it's using.
> How do I ask the system what it is using at this time? Example

> set msgsys:msginfo_msgmnb=2097152
> set msgsys:msginfo_msgmnb=65535

> Will it take the first one? The last one? The bigger one? I dunno, I
> just want to ask the running sysstem what the value is for
> msgsys:msginfo_msgmnb - been googling and reading one of Cockroft's
> books for about a half hour now and I'm just seeing things like
> "see the /etc/system files for your settings", which doesn't help in
> this case.

> What am I overlooking please?

> Thanks,
> Dave Hinz

Found this more complete info online:

Solaris Kernel Tuning
sysdef -i reports on several system resource limits.
Other parameters can be checked on a running system using adb -k :
adb -k /dev/ksyms /dev/mem
parameter-name/D
^D (to exit)

T.K

2006-06-07, 7:23 pm

Dave Hinz

2006-06-07, 7:23 pm

On Wed, 07 Jun 2006 21:13:44 GMT, <unknown@display.homeunix.org> <unknown@display.homeunix.org> wrote:
> Dave Hinz <DaveHinz@spamcop.net> wrote:
>
[vbcol=seagreen]
> What do sysdef show ?

Just figured it out with your help and a bit more googling. Here's the
deal - sysdef does output those parameters, but in UPPER CASE. So grep
-i is your friend here. Found one instance where a parameter had 3
entries in the file, with the last one being different. That last value
is what sysdef shows the system is using. Checked again found another
parameter with two different numbers, that one also used the later
value. So I think I'm comfortable with how that file gets parsed.
Cleaned up the rest of the duplicates using a sorted list to find them,
and as soon as I reboot I'll know where I screwed up ;)

Thanks for the help. I try to followup with answers because there's
nothing more annoying than a null response, or a "nevermind, I figured
it out" without any kind of a hint as to what it was.

Dave "OK, well, there are things more annoying, but you know what I
mean" Hinz