pfs daemons hang after logoff, even when started with nohup

[Andrew Griffin]

We've had this problem for a while. When I mount Oracle CDs and have to start the pfs daemons, I do the following:

# nohup pfsd &
# nohup pfs_mountd &
# pfs_mount /cdrom

Now if I remember to kill those processes before I log out, everything's fine. But like most of you, I have these sessions open for hours at a time doing a bunch of different things, along with working on other servers, etc. And I don't remember to kill them every time. When I log out, the daemons hang even though they were started with nohup. As you know this causes many problems - backups can't run, can't do a bdf, can't do finds, etc. I know from working with HP on this in the past that the only solution is to reboot, but am I the only one that thinks this a little rediculous? I mean this is a $150k server providing database services for thousands of users worldwide, that %99.99 of the time is stable as a rock, and it gets hung by a CD-ROM filesystem daemon? The processes don't even respond to a kill -9 command - what is that about? Am I the only one that thinks this PFS software is just plain shoddy? I know, there's not much I can do, I guess I'm just venting a little bit... :(

[James R. Ferguson]

Hi Brian:

There *is* something you can do -- stop using PFS mounts! Patches are available for 11.0 and 11.11 to enable native mounting of RockRidge format CDs (of which Oracle makes use!).

The patches (3) require a reboot to install but when done you mount like this:

# /usr/sbin/mount -F cdfs -e -o ro,rr device_file

Regards!

...JRF...

[doug mielke]

Brian,
I too am guilty of forgetting the pfs after I hand over installation to DBA's. However, All that I've had happen is a useless cdrom for a while.

The procedure I use is a bit different, as listed on the oracle install disks.

It involves editing some pfs config file, where I have to tell it my mount point, rom devices, etc.

Are you using that as well?

[Andrew Griffin]

really? I did not know that! Do I have to get different CDs from Oracle? Or can I use the one's I have?

[Andrew Griffin]

Yeah, I'm using Oracle's method - with a /etc/pfs_fstab file that has all the mount options

[James R. Ferguson]

Hi Brian:

No, the CDs you are currenly using with PFS mounts are the same CDs that can be natively mounted.

Regards!

...JRF...

[James R. Ferguson · Accepted solution]

Hi (again( Brian:

You didn't say if you were running 1.0 or 11.11. The patches for each (available from the ITRC Patch database) are as follows:

For 11.0 :

PHKL_28060
PHCO_26449
PHKL_26450

For 11.11:

PHKL_25760
PHCO_25841
PHKL_26269

As always, consider a superseding patch if offered when you query the Patch Database.

Regards!

...JRF...

[Andrew Griffin]

Thanks James! We're running 11.00 - I'll be installing those patches in the very near future. This has seriously made my day! :)

[H.Merijn Brand (procura]

If those patches make you happy, read the last line from my FAQ at https://www.beepz.com/personal/merijn/ or http://www.cmve.net/~merijn/ and worry no more - ever -:

--8<---
My CD-ROM doesn't show what I expect

It can be an Oracle CD-ROM, or a CD created on Windows, or whereever they used Rock Ridge extensions. Long names are truncated or show upper case only. Oracle tells you to use pfs_mount.

Do not use pfs_mount!. Install the Rock-Ridge extension patches instead and never worry about these problems. For HP-UX 11.00 you will need forget all about PFS and install PHKL_26448 (now superceded by PHKL_28060), PHCO_26449, and PHKL_26450 to have HP-UX recognize those file systems automatically on mount! For HP-UX 11i you need PHCO_25841, PHKL_26269, and PHKL_25760.

No need thereafter to use -o cdfs to mount anymore, provided you enter the CD drive in /etc/fstab like this:

/dev/cd0 /cdrom cdfs ro,rr,noauto 0 0
-->8---

Enjoy, have FUN! H.Merijn