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Re: Purge system files in [SYSEXE]

 
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Duncan Morris
Honored Contributor

Re: Purge system files in [SYSEXE]

Barry,

as Richard pointed out, AUTOGEN is the likely source of these extra files.

If you run

@sys$update:autogen getdata testfiles

and then look at the end of sys$system:agen$params.report you will find that AUTOGEN suggests sizes for these 3 files.

Unless your MODAPRAMS.DAT contains explicit PAGEFILE=, SWAPFILE=, or DUMPFILE= commands, then a full autogen to setparams stage might make changes to the file sizes.

If AUTOGEN wants to increase the file sizes, then it simply extends the file. However, if the result of AUTOGEN's calculations (or the inclusion of specific file sizes in modparams) is to reduce the size of the file, then it will create a new version of smaller size. This is why your version 1 files were all larger than the current versions.

Duncan
Hein van den Heuvel
Honored Contributor

Re: Purge system files in [SYSEXE]


>>> On investigation, someone else had issued a:
>>> $ PURGE [000000...]*.*

Wild West! Shoot first, ask later :-)

>>> in order to gain some disk space on this machine which had filled the system disk
>>> (which was why I was searching and discovered these files in the first place).

Just curious. What tools did you use?
I like DFU for this a lot.

To look for a few big file for quick pressure relieve:
$ DFU SEARC/SIZE=MINI=500000 sys$sysdevice:

To look for a place with potentially many files that can be purged
$ DFU SEARC/VERS=MINI=5000 sys$sysdevice:
Now a high version number does not guarantee many live versions, but at least the inverse is true.

To catch lots of file being created with unique names (perhaps a PID or TIME in there), is trickier. For those yo many want to scan for somewhat large directory files.
Typically system disk do not have large directories, from a VMS perspective. (Add Oracle and the picture changes :-).

$ DFU SEA/SIZE=MIN=50/FILE="*.DIR" sys$sysdevice:

Good luck!
Hein




>> Well, the Alpha is still running so I guess the answer *in this case* was that it was safe to purge these files.

VMS wouldn't delete files which are open (in use).

>> 10 points to anyone who can explain why the version 2 files would have been created (back in the year 2000 when I did not work here!)

I suspect a simple AUTOGEN ... FEEDBACK ... REBOOT.
The versions were created close enough in time for it to have been an automated process, the time difference just being the time to create the files.

free advice...

Those page and swap files seem tiny, but we haven't seen how much memory there is, and apparently it worked for you so far!
Maybe add a large pagefile on a disk with a good amount of free space?
Barry Alford
Frequent Advisor

Re: Purge system files in [SYSEXE]

OK, I'd better close now as I'm running out of points!

This Alpha is an old (obviously) development warhorse that nobody looks after until things go wrong (e.g. disk full!).

We certainly don't do AUTOGENS anymore...

=============================================

Hein - I use DIR/SELECT=SIZE=MIN=
There is also a /SELECT=VERSION= too
Barry Alford
Frequent Advisor

Re: Purge system files in [SYSEXE]

A disk full on the development Alphas is normally caused by a chap inserting debugging print lines in his code and running interactively, then running it as continuous process on the batch queue which creates huge .LOG files!

When the disk is absolutely full it seems that the Audit service will not allow anything to happen (e.g. login) which it cannot audit, so the only way in is through the console.
Barry Alford
Frequent Advisor

Re: Purge system files in [SYSEXE]

Thanks for all who contributed