Server Restarts Automatically

[Eddy_fj]

Hi All,

I have a Alpha Server DS15 on a cluster with another DS15 server.  The first machine restarts randamly while the second machine is ok. I would like to know what would be some reasons for a server to restart on its own.

Thanks

[Eddy_fj]

Hi All,

I am trying to read the pagefile.sys file to know what would be the system error, if any. Can someone advise how to read this file. I have done the following.

sd sys$system

ed pagefile.sys

Thanks

[Eddy_fj]

Hi,

I tried

$ ANALYZE/CRASH_DUMP SYS$SYSTEM:SYSDUMP.DMP
%SDA-F-OPENIN, error opening SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE]SYSDUMP.DMP; as input
-RMS-E-FNF, file not found

later i did a search for any files on the harddisk but none found

$ dir dka100:[000000...]*sysdump*.dmp
%DIRECT-W-NOFILES, no files found

SEEMS LIKE THE UTILITY IS OFF OR SOMETHING, how can i restart the syste error log utility, so that when it happens again i can capture the error

Thanks

[Bob Blunt]

Eddy, let's step back a bit.   You're saying that one system "just resets" and ...  Does it reboot fine and run for a while and then reset again?  If you have a dumb terminal connected to the system's console?  IF so then you'd be better off using a terminal emulator, for now, to capture and SAVE what your system does when it "resets."  We can't help you without knowing AT LEAST what happens when it resets and the console output is crucial.  IF it goes through a system crash we'll need the data from the console to start guessing.  Once we know what it does then we can decide if your problem *requires* a dumpfile or not.  If it just resets without a system crash then the dumpfile is redundant...for now.

We need the console output first.  If you're getting a crashdump then we'll recommend actions to go further based on what that output shows.

bob

[Maurizio De Tommaso_]

The analysis of the errorlog can help in this case. For default, this file is in sys$errorlog:errlog.sys (root specific).

What is the version of the OpenVMS that you are running at your site ?

I suppose you are running a release of OpenVMS equal to or greater than OpenVMS v7.3-1 + VMS731_CPU2208-v0100 (minimum version that supports the Alpha DS15 class servers).

In case, I can analize the errorlog for you.

Regards,

/Maurizio 

[Volker Halle]

If there is no SYS$SYSTEM:SYSDUMP.DMP, OpenVMS will try to write the crasdump to PAGEFILE.SYS, so to analyze a crash in the pagefile, use ANALYZE/CRASH SYS$SYSTEM:PAGEFILE.SYS

Volker.

[Maurizio De Tommaso_]

>>> If there is no SYS$SYSTEM:SYSDUMP.DMP, OpenVMS will try to write the crasdump to PAGEFILE.SYS

If SYS$SYSTEM:SYSDUMP.DMP does not exist, and there is no DOSD device configured  (Dump-Off-System-Disk), the operating system writes the dump of physical memory into SYS$SYSTEM:PAGEFILE.SYS, the primary system page file.

If the SAVEDUMP system parameter is set, the dump file is retained in PAGEFILE.SYS when the system is booted after a system failure. If the SAVEDUMP parameter is not set, which is the default, OpenVMS uses the entirepage file for paging and any dump written to the page file is lost.

Regards

/Maurizio

[Bob Blunt]

BUT...IF this DS15 is really just resetting (as implied by the OP) then you might not have anything in errlog OR in any dump or pagefile at all.  Not all system resets are crashes and, I'll admit, not all of them are those odd resets where you just have what looks like the system power cycled and restarts.  The only way to have that information is to have a console connection to something that can record the output from the event (or non-event should this happen to be something different than a crash) and go from there.

bob