0 byte files created in /tmp

[GraceO]

Hello! I'm looking for help on a weird thing happening on a server running HPUX 11i v2 and Oracle 10g. I'm getting 0 byte files created in /tmp with weird names, see sample output below:

-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 3 04:07 1mAaq1lvdk
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 6 23:04 2TBtmGIZxS
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 7 07:33 G3bXMCxdVP
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 3 14:34 IA34f2BV8f
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 6 05:21 Imsi9IM8Pu
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 4 21:58 MezjhgUPyQ
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 4 11:30 O23ct1QZvl
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 4 01:02 WQD96ji5q3
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 7 15:55 XakUqtEZ10
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 8 08:51 ce9rPLhFMO
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 5 08:26 n4sCFdusSb
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 8 00:19 nBG4B0P6I4
-rw------- 1 oracle oinstall 0 Aug 6 14:36 qEE2OMwSx7

The list grows daily. I'm on the verge of creating a job to automatically delete these, but it would be better if I knew the cause and how to fix it. Anybody out there experience this before?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Geoff Wild]

They are tmp file created by oracle - don't just delete them! ask your dba to clean up ones no longer used with some sort of script that checks to make sure that oracle doesn't need them anymore.

Rgds...Geoff

[Oviwan]

Hey

check this thread in oracle forums, maybe it's something similar:
http://forums.oracle.com/forums/thread.jspa?messageID=1934829藭

and metalink id:145487.1

hope this helps

Regards

[Steven E. Protter · Accepted solution]

Shalom,


This is easy.

Oracle is leaving trash around. You can change the temporary directory environment variable of Oracle 10g startup script, or check with oracle for a fix, but they are zero byte files. They don't mean anything.

You should already have a cron job running clearing old files out of /tmp because many applications leave junk like this behind, sometimes actually using disk space instead of just space on the fs table.

SEP

[Yogeeraj_1]

hi,

Depending on the path you have defined for your temporary files, these files will be created accordingly. You will need to write custom script for regular maintenance.

You may also log a Service request with metalink if you need more advanced assistance.

I would also suggest that you verify your alert.log in case there are any errors which is causing such behaviour.

good luck

kind regards
yogeeraj

[GraceO]

Much thanks to everyone who replied! I actually put a message in the Oracle forums last week Friday and to this day, no response. I leave a message here and within an hour I have four responses!

Geoff, I consulted with our DBA and we thought it would be safe to delete the files as they are zero bytes.

Oviwan, thanks for the metalink doc. It sounds very similar though the file names are a little different. I'll show it to our Oracle DBA.

Steven, I will probably end up changing the temp directory and create a cron job to clean it out on a regular basis.

Yogeeraj, can you tell me where I can find this alert.log? It sounds like an Oracle log. I have not crossed into the Oracle realm (yet) and I mostly handle the HPUX system administration tasks. We have an Oracle DBA, but he just started using 10g so is unfamiliar with this strange happening.

I'll keep this thread open for a little longer and see if anyone else has any ideas.

[TwoProc]

I clean up those files older than the last oracle database startup. If you're one of those that leave your database up practically forever, well, then ... I don't know...

Re: response. Yes, I've noticed also that the forums there are of practically no use. You're better off here or in a yahoo group.

[GraceO]

Thanks for all the helpful responses!