Very Computer

I recently configured an SS20 with 448MB RAM, 8MB SX VSIMM, 2X75MHz at one
of my desks to use as a basic email/web machine. I chose such a lowly
machine to keep it from being fingered for a higher purpose, which often
happens when I have "nice" hardware on my desk.

Oh, it has Solaris 8 02/02 with all the recommended patches.

Anyway, it runs fine most of the time. However, this is my first
encounter with an SX framebuffer. I've got it configured with
cg14config to be 1280x1024x76m, and have left things at the
default for sxconfig.

My problem is that when I run mozilla on the box (I actually run
mozilla on an E450 with my DISPLAY set to the SX) it runs okay
for a little while, then things go south really quickly. I know
things are about to blow up when the internal disk on the SS20
starts grinding like mad. After a couple more minutes, the whole
X server dies, the machine still acts sick, and I reboot.

What gives? I don't have this problem when I use Netscape 4.79
instead. I can have tons of windows open for hours, and all is
well, as long as I stay away from Mozilla (version 1.1, BTW).

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Quote:>I recently configured an SS20 with 448MB RAM, 8MB SX VSIMM, 2X75MHz at one
>of my desks to use as a basic email/web machine. I chose such a lowly
>machine to keep it from being fingered for a higher purpose, which often
>happens when I have "nice" hardware on my desk.

>Oh, it has Solaris 8 02/02 with all the recommended patches.

Have you got patch 111852-01 installed?

Problem Description:

4458250 Xserver crashes on SS20SX Solaris 8 Gnome 1.4

/wfr
Fredrik

--
Fredrik Lundholm  

Quote:> I recently configured an SS20 with 448MB RAM, 8MB SX VSIMM, 2X75MHz at one
> of my desks to use as a basic email/web machine. I chose such a lowly
> machine to keep it from being fingered for a higher purpose, which often
> happens when I have "nice" hardware on my desk.

> Oh, it has Solaris 8 02/02 with all the recommended patches.

> Anyway, it runs fine most of the time. However, this is my first
> encounter with an SX framebuffer. I've got it configured with
> cg14config to be 1280x1024x76m, and have left things at the
> default for sxconfig.

> My problem is that when I run mozilla on the box (I actually run
> mozilla on an E450 with my DISPLAY set to the SX) it runs okay
> for a little while, then things go south really quickly. I know
> things are about to blow up when the internal disk on the SS20
> starts grinding like mad. After a couple more minutes, the whole
> X server dies, the machine still acts sick, and I reboot.

disk grinding may suggest a problem with swap
If the X server dies theres got to be errors logged.
.dt/errorlog.* may tell you something
Is there a /usr/openwin/lib/X11/xdm/xdm-errors file?

Before things go South have a look at the output of
sdtprocess or top...

Quote:> What gives? I don't have this problem when I use Netscape 4.79
> instead. I can have tons of windows open for hours, and all is
> well, as long as I stay away from Mozilla (version 1.1, BTW).

Try installing the Netscape 7 packages and patches available
at Sun on the local machine ...

Yes, I do.

Thanks.

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I think that that's it. I've been watching with top, and what
seems to be happening is that Xsun just gets bigger and bigger, and
finally gets too big. It's happening without mozilla as well;
it's just taking longer to happen that way.

Quote:> If the X server dies theres got to be errors logged.
> .dt/errorlog.* may tell you something
> Is there a /usr/openwin/lib/X11/xdm/xdm-errors file?

No, but then the last few times I've logged out before
it can die on me (and take my work with it).

Quote:> Before things go South have a look at the output of
> sdtprocess or top...

See above. I can't seem to find any patches to Xsun that
address what appears to be a memory leak.

Argh!

Quote:> > What gives? I don't have this problem when I use Netscape 4.79
> > instead. I can have tons of windows open for hours, and all is
> > well, as long as I stay away from Mozilla (version 1.1, BTW).

> Try installing the Netscape 7 packages and patches available
> at Sun on the local machine ...

In light of what's happening to Xsun, this probably wouldn't help.

Thanks! Any suggestions what to do about a greedy Xsun?

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Manager of Information Technology | "This space has been blankly              |
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I tried to pmap -x the Xsun process, and it hung X .  Maybe I
just didn't wait long enough.

Still watching top. Xsun gets bigger and bigger...

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Redirect output to some file. pmap will stop the victim process in order
to get consistent snapshot. Then it will try to print the output, but it
can't print anything because the output device (Xsun) is stopped.

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     |

OK, thanks for the advice. I thought it might be some chicken/egg
thing like that.

Actually, I think I've found the problem. It's funny that someone
in this thread asked if I'd installed 111852, the answer being yes,
it seems to come with MU7. I'm sure they intended that to mean I should
install it if I don't. It looks like, however, that that patch is
the *cause* of the problem. See this post from a year ago, by Juergen
Keil:

Quote:> We had some trouble on a SS20 with a SX frame buffer, too, after
> installing MU6. Xsun started to use *huge* amounts of memory (much
> more than the standard 64MB+) while using StarOffice - just scrolling
> through some large M$ word document seemed to be enough to trigger
> this bug.  The system got slower and slower (more and more memory
> used), and eventually ran out of swap space (cannot create files in
> /tmp, fork failed, etc...)

> Problem was caused by patch 111852-01.  I've extracted the original
> /usr/openwin/server/modules/ddxSUNWcg14.so.1 from the Solaris 8 FCS
> install CD and replaced the ddxSUNWcg14.so.1 file from patch 111852-01
> and the problem was gone.

> I'd say patch 111852-01 introduces a memory leak into the X11 server,
> at least if you use the SX frame buffer.

So now I'm looking for the older ddxSUNWcg14.so.1 file (I can't patchrm
because it's an 02/02 install).

Someone at Sun should fix this!

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Griff Miller II                   |                                           |
Manager of Information Technology | The collectivists are coming!             |
Positron Corporation              | The collectivists are coming!             |

Quote:>I tried to pmap -x the Xsun process, and it hung X.

that is called a deadly embrace.  pmap wants to produce output (actually
the terminal emulator it is running in) but the X server was stopped in
order to get the map.  no forward progress is made.

you need to redirect the output so that running pmap does not require any
services that the X server provides.

|Is there a /usr/openwin/lib/X11/xdm/xdm-errors file?

/var/dt/Xerrors if you use dtlogin (the default) instead of xdm.

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|I tried to pmap -x the Xsun process, and it hung X .  Maybe I
|just didn't wait long enough.

The pmap man page warns about this - pmap locks Xsun and won't release
the lock until it finishes outputing, but can't output until Xsun is
unlocked so it can let xterm/dtterm/etc. run.  Dump to a tmp file and
then read that.

--
________________________________________________________________________


  Working for, but definitely not speaking for, Sun Microsystems, Inc.

 >

Quote:> So now I'm looking for the older ddxSUNWcg14.so.1 file (I can't patchrm
> because it's an 02/02 install).

Found it (Juergen Keil himself was kind enough to send it), and now this
system is *much* happier.

Thanks to all who responded.

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Griff Miller II                   |                                           |
Manager of Information Technology | For every problem, there is a solution    |
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