[Orca-users] Re: How can I regenerate my graphs when orca wasn't running for a while?

[Blair Zajac]

eds94055 wrote:
> In fact, I'm not using the orcallator, because I run orca to compose
> system info graphs of HP-servers.
> I generate daily a new data-file per HP-server. The data-files
> contains the output of the vmstat command that runs each 5 minutes.
> Orca wasn't running for a while because I forgot to start it. But it
> could happen that orca wasn't running because of other reasons
> (system troubles, upgrading OS, decission to run orca on another
> server...)
> 
> Thus, when orca wasn't running for a while, I get gaps in my graphs
> but I'm sure my datafiles where continuous correct generated. Now, I
> want to know how to generate also continuous graphs.

How are your source data files named, created, moved to the Orca
server, etc?  Could you describe this in greater detail and it
may be possible to determine why Orca's not picking up the data.

> 
> I removed already the RRD-directory and also the orca.state file, but
> after restarting orca, I get an error message "too many open files,
> can't generate htm-file ..." (The kernel parameter "max open files"
> is set to 12500.)

The open files could be a problem.  Orca doesn't expect over 512
open files.  You may need to set your shell limit values:

  2.3) Warning: cannot create Orca::HTMLFile object: cannot open
       `/home/orca_html/o_host1-monthly.html.htm' for writing: Too
       many open files.

       This obviously happens with Orca runs out of open file
       descriptors.  Orca opens many file descriptors to do its work
       and it doesn't like to close them unless it needs to.

       The first thing to check is the maximum number of file
       descriptors each process can have.  On some systems, the login
       shell scripts lower the maximum number of open file descriptors
       a process may have.

       To check this in a Csh shell variant (csh, tcsh), then type

         limit descriptors

       or for Bourne shell variant (sh, bash), then type

         ulimit -n

       On all operating systems Orca should be able to use 256 file
       descriptors.  On some, such as Linux, Orca can open 1024 files
       at once.  If the number you are getting is less than 256, then
       raise this limit.  Some operating systems let you raise the
       limit. such as Solaris, while others do not, such as Linux.  To
       try to raise the limit, do

         limit descriptors 1024

       or

         ulimit -n 1024

       If these commands do not work, ask your system administrator
       how to do this.

       There is a bug in Orca's older than 0.27b2 where Orca would not
       close a pipe file descriptor that is uncompressing a compressed
       percol-* file to Orca.  If your percol-* files are compressed,
       then try either upgrading to 0.27b2 or later or apply the patch

         http://www.orcaware.com/orca/pub/patches/orca-0.26-defunct-processes-patch.txt

       to Orca 0.26.  This should have Orca reduce its file descriptor
       count.


Best,
Blair

-- 
Blair Zajac <blair at orcaware.com>
Web and OS performance plots - http://www.orcaware.com/orca/