Large file /etc/opt/resmon/persistence being generated

[Terry B_1]

Hi guys, I am somewhat of a Unix newbie, but nonetheless have been given the task of managing an HP9000 box. Anyway, last weekend a large file called /etc/opt/resmon/persistence was created which essentially fille up the root file system. I don't know what this file is, but I suspect that it was generated by the PowerWare UPS software that I had installed recently. Does anyone know what this file is and how can I avoid generating this file in the future. Please advise. Thank you.

[MarkSyder]

Hi Terry.

If you type elm at the command line you will probably receive a list of mail messages. I suspect there will be at least one pointing out a problem with a scsi device. If you read the message it will give you a command to run for more information regarding the nature of the fault.

In my experience it's usually a tape drive that generates these messages.

Mark Syder (like the drink but spelt different)

[Sanjay Kumar Suri]

Check this related post:

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=316067

sks

[Massimo Bianchi]

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[Kent Ostby]

This file is generated by EMS which is the Event Monitoring System.

Best regards,

Kent M. Ostby

[Terry B_1]

Thanks for your input guys. Unfortunately I will only be able to go to the customer site later in the week (since I don't have remote access to their system). Is there a way to stop these messages from generating in the meantime? Or it is necessary to shutdown whatever daemon/program is creating the file? Thanks again.

Terry

[Andrew Merritt_2]

Yes, it's quite likely related to the UPS installation. There is a monitor that watches the UPS, and if the configuration is incorrect, that can lead to a large file in that directory.

Exactly what to do to fix it depends on what is happening.

What version of HP-UX do you have?

What version of OnlineDiags (run 'echo q | /etc/opt/resmon/lbin/monconfig | grep Version' to see)? If you have an old version, upgrading may well fix the problem.

What is the name of the file that is getting large?

What configuration have you done for the UPS?

The steps at http://forums.itrc.hp.com/cm/QuestionAnswer/1,,0x5be8d211e18ad5118ff10090279cd0f9,00.html
may be the answer, if you do have a recent version of OnlineDiags, and the UP is correctly configured.

Andrew

[Terry B_1]

I was told by an HP support person that prior to installing the Lansafe software that I had to make sure ups_mond wasn't running since this would conflict with the software. I killed the ups_mond process and proceeded to rem it out of the /etc/inittab file. I proceeded to install the software and it seemed to install successfully (I couldn't tell since I performed the install remotely).
The file that is growing by leaps and bounds is /etc/opt/resmon/persistence. I haven't the version of the Diags that are running on the Unix box.

[Andrew Merritt_2 · Accepted solution]

Ok, that would explain things, ups_mond needs to be properly de-configured, with SAM, otherwise some files get left that lead to the dm_ups monitor trying to run, and causing the problem with the large file. It's a problem that has been seen before.

/etc/opt/resmon/persistence is a directory, but I don't think we need to know exactly which file it is, I can probably guess that it's m.710574890.

I'd also guess you have a fairly old version of the OnlineDiags, since they were fixed in the March 2003 release to deal with just this problem. (From the release notes (http://www.docs.hp.com/hpux/onlinedocs/diag/stm/str_0303_11.htm ):
UPS Monitor (dm_ups).

* JAGae46611
The dm_ups monitor was causing the persistence files to grow in size, when ups_mond was killed, and the entry for ups_mond in the /etc/inittab file was removed to prevent re-spawning of the daemon. Code changes have been made to resolve this problem.

So, my main recommendation is still to check the version of OnlineDiags, and update it if it is old (see http://www.docs.hp.com/hpux/onlinedocs/diag/stm/stm_upd.htm#table for a list of the old and current versions).

You can try the following as a work-around in the meantime. Edit the file /etc/ups_conf to remove the line for the UPS device, and then remove the file in the persistence directory. I think things should then recover. If they don't, you might need to restart the OnlineDiags (use the steps in the link I posted above in my earlier message, if this is necessary. They are overkill, but should do the job).

The correct way to have deconfigured the UPS software is:

1. Run SAM
2. go to peripheral devices
3. go to UPS
4. Highlight device file name
5. select action
6. Select remove

Hope this helps,
Andrew

[Terry B_1]

Thanks for the great info Andrew, I will be going into the office tomorrow to take a look at it.

[Terry Barkoulas]

Hi Andrew, I have looked in SAM and there is only one device, and that is the one for the UPS that I had installed. Essentially what I have done is unplug one UPS and moved the HP to this new UPS which is using the same port. Removing it will cause the UPS not to function the way it is suppose to. Does this mean that in order to configure this UPS correctly is to;
1. Remove whatever device is indicated in SAM
2. Re-install the Powerware software

Also I will see if I can download the latest diags. By the way you are correct with regards to the file that is growing. Thanks again.

Terry

[Andrew Merritt_2]

Terry,
Unfortunately, I don't know the UPS configuration so well, so I'm not sure what needs to be configured so it works, but so that ups_mond is not running. You'd need to check what the instructions for the new software is, to know if the UPS needs to be configured in SAM or not; if SAM is just configuring ups_mond, then removing the UPS from SAM may be the right thing to do. You might then need to reconfigure the correct port, but that's not something I can help with.


For now, I'd suggest:
1) Modify the /etc/ups_conf file and see if that stops the messages in the short term

2) upgrade the OnlineDiags to a recent version (don't forget to also install the latest patch for that version)

That ought to take care of the problem, but also check how the Powerware software gets to know about the UPS, whether SAM configuration is needed or not, for future changes or to tidy things up.

Andrew

(You seem to have re-registered in ITRC; you'll need to use your original login to assign points to the answers that worked, so that others who have a similar problem in future can find a solution.)

[Terry B_1]

Thanks again Andrew, removing the UPS from SAM and deleting the file did the trick. Sorry for the delayed response.

Regards

Terry

[Terry B_1]

Thanks to all closing thread.