SMBD's go into "D" (uninteruptable sleep) and never wake up

[Simo Sorce]

Don't know if this is the case but kernel 2.4.3 has been reported to be able to eat ext2 file systems under heavy load, it seem that samba is blocked on a system call (only reason I know a process can't be killed), try upgrading your kernel to 2.4.4 or downgrade to a more stable and proven 2.2.x code base and see if this happens again.

On Sat, Apr 28, 2001 at 12:35:27PM -0400, Matthew Keller wrote:
> 
> I have s myriad of Samba 2.0.8 and 2.2.0+%U/%Dpatched servers. Two of
> the heaviest used ones are doing file serving for Win9x (and some WinNT
> WS and 2k Pro) clients. Very vanilla. Both are running Linux 2.4.3
> kernel, using NFS to connect to shared storage areas, FTP for remote
> access, and also running Netatalk to provide connectivity to Mac's. 
> 
> Both of these servers, on an increasingly frequent basis, are being
> subjected to what seems to be a heavy case of SMBD laziness, as the SMBD
> processes will go into the "D" state (uninteruptable sleep) and never
> come out. The user can log out and log back in (spawning a new SMBD) and
> continue on their merry way, but that process will never die unless I
> *gasp* reboot the server. It doesn't respond to any kill signals.
> Eventually, there gets to be so many that Samba refuses new logins
> outright (gracefully) and Netatalk just freezes the Macs (not like they
> aren't USED to freezing ;). They don't do this at the same time, and
> sometimes it'll be days before one of the starts this.
> 
> Is this a known issue that I missed? Any feedback as to what would cause
> this permanent "D" state. I don't like it very much. If it responded to
> a kill, I'd be fine, but it just doesn't. I'd be happy to provide any
> information requested (within reason). Again, both 2.0.8 and 2.2.0 seem
> affected.
> 
> -- 
> 
> Matthew Keller
> Enterprise System Analyst
> Computing & Technology Services
> Information Services Division
> State University of NY at Potsdam
> Potsdam, NY USA
> 
> http://mattwork.potsdam.edu/
> 
> 

-- 
Simo Sorce
------------------------------
 Unix IS user friendly, it is just selective about who his friends are.