Subject: Re: kernel & libkvm [was IIci success]
To: None <topcat@ns.net>
From: Bill Studenmund <wrstuden@loki.stanford.edu>
List: port-mac68k
Date: 01/04/1996 09:34:52
> 
> Thanks for the helpful responses. I was running netbsd.generic as my
> kernel file

[snip]

> > > "savecore can't fine device 0/0" What does this mean? Is it something
> > > Problem) netstat -r returns "netstat: kvm_read kvm_read: Bad address"
> > 
> > They're related. The file /netbsd is not your current kernel. A number
> > of programs, and libkvm, access /netbsd to learn what's going on
> > in the kernel. If /netbsd isn't the active kernel, they look in the
> 
> I renamed kernels appropriately and now the problem went away. Thanks.

I've wondered about this problem for a while. I understand why
programs like ps and route are happy to look in a kernel for
info (for debugging of crashes), but I'm always frustrated by
their default of looking at /netbsd.

My thought is that they look at /netbsd when they want the real kernel
(when we're looking at the live kernel). But isn't the real kernel
in RAM at that time? Isn't all the info that was in the disk-version of
the running kernel still in RAM?

So my thought is to add another file to kernfs, which would look at
the live kernel & make it look like it did on disk.

I'd volinteer to do this, but I'm a ways down on the fs & vm learning
curves & I'm working on tty stuff for the Mac68k port. But if it's
not too hard & someone can tell me what to do, I might try.

Thoughts?

Take care,

Bill