Subject: Re: instability under load? (soft dep with 19991124 kernel)
To: None <current-users@netbsd.org>
From: Sean Doran <smd@ebone.net>
List: current-users
Date: 11/29/1999 22:25:57
Sean Doran <smd@ebone.net> writes:

[i386 -current + SOFTDEP + ufs]

> Also, an "rm -rf /usr/obj.i386 /usr/local/safeplace" (where the latter
> is the $DESTDIR target I tend to use) while [...]

Where [...] appears to be just about anything at all that
touches the same filesystem, 

> cause[s] a reboot.

I don't get a core dump, I don't get dropped into DDB; the
machine just happily resets.

This has happened in the midst of a "sup -a" and several
other intensive file-creation/file-deletion activities,
seemingly particularly when at the same time a large file
is finally unlinked.

I have a theory that this is because I have "options NVNODE=3500"
in my config file, and that the "max_softdeps = desiredvnodes * 4"
code in gnusrc/gnu/sys/ufs/ffs/ffs_softdep.c (line 880 in
file version 1.4) results in not speeding up flushing
enough.

(This is sorta based on the checkin comment for 1.1->1.2).

        Sean.