[nycbug-talk] Increasing memory for an application

[Marc Spitzer]

On 4/23/06, Francisco Reyes <lists at stringsutils.com> wrote:
> Marc Spitzer writes:
>
[snip]
>
> Does the above help?

yes it did.  Look at the limit/ulimit shell builtin, here is mine:

$ [marc at laptop ~]$ ulimit -a
core file size          (blocks, -c) unlimited
data seg size           (kbytes, -d) 524288
file size               (blocks, -f) unlimited
max locked memory       (kbytes, -l) unlimited
max memory size         (kbytes, -m) unlimited
open files                      (-n) 7264
pipe size            (512 bytes, -p) 1
stack size              (kbytes, -s) 65536
cpu time               (seconds, -t) unlimited
max user processes              (-u) 3632
virtual memory          (kbytes, -v) unlimited
[marc at laptop ~]$

it looks like the data segment size needs to get bigger.  You should
also talk to the backula people about chunking the output instead of
getting it all at once.

>
>
> > Please also keep in mind the quality of the problem report is seen by
> > me, and possibly others, as how much you respect the people on the
> > list who can and are trying to fix your problem for free.
>
> I actually did not report a problem. I asked a question if someone knew
> offhand how to increase the memory limit for an app.

you asked a vauge question, with no supporting info, and it looks like
you spent less then a minute typing it.  If that is how much you value
our responce why should we make one?  This list has, by its nature, a
good deal of delay between messages.  And by not puting a bit of
effort and info into what you send you are implying that we need to
figure out your problem and that implys that all of our time is not as
valuble as yours or to put it another way you are being very rude. 
While at the bar after a meeting it would be fine to ask that kind of
question, because the other person could clarify it quickly and you
are not shouting it to the whole group at the bar to list two reasons.

>
> I do agree that more background info would have been helpfull. Will most
> definitely keep that in mind. However, I personally don't like to write long
> emails when asking questions. I try to find a balance between giving all the
> info possible and not making the email too long. I try my best to respect
> people's time. Some people will know about particular problems. Others
> wont'.. but both type of people may spend the time reading an email, so I
> don't want to take too much time away from someone who may not know the
> answer anyways.

you seem to have missed a point or n here:
1: this list is not about giving you answers
2: there is no one here who must read your email
3: you will generally recive help in direct proportion to the effort
that is percieved to go into  the request
4: This list is here to discuss things by giving us more to talk about
you are more likely to get answers


>
>
> > am see in your requests you do not appear to be putting in much effort
> > befor bothering the rest of us and I feel that that is quite rude.
>
> I did not ask anyone to troubleshoot my problem.
> I did my best over 3 days, possibly 10+ hours searching archives.. trying
> different keywords, trying different search engines. After all that time and
> a few people's advice all it came down to is what seems some time of
> per process limit. On top of that when I didn't know yet it was a FreeBSD
> issue spent some other 2+ hours going over the PostgreSQL docs trying to
> increase the server memory; increasing shared buffers, making sure it was
> not some type of server resource or cursor resource that needed to be
> increased. ONLY after I exausted all options I could find I asked in the
> PostgreSQL answer. One of the PostgreSQL developers responded it was a
> client issue.

thats good but you did not give us even a hint of all that work so how
were we suposed to figure it out.  This goes back to spending 10 min
to put together a good message, part of that is explaining to us we
are not the first stop on this issue.  also the info may help us
trouble shoot the problem or the act of writing it down may give you
new insight to the problem.

>
> Given that both psql and the bacula process ran out of memory it seemed to
> make sense that it was not a server issue. Therefore I have been
> concentrating on the OS.
>
> Other simmilar reports on other operating systems indicated also a per
> process type of limit, but didn't pay as much attention to those emails
> because the settings would likely not be the same on a BSD (the emails were
> for Linux).

bash works the same on both

>
> > Now if you have been working on the problem it would be best to give a
> > detailed list of what happened and what you did to try to fix it and
> > what the results of those actions were
>
> That sounds like asking someone how to get to broadway.. and they asking you
> why yo want to go there.

no hard work is the proper puchline to that joke.

>
> I agree that more info than I originaly gave would not have been a bad
> thing, however after I (hopefully) have given more info.. we are very likely
> exactly at the same place than when I wrote the initial question.. looking
> for a way to increase the per process limit of an app.

what this 'we' stuff, again burn it into you thought process we are
not here to help you.  We may if we decied to, but that is up to us. 
If you keep implying that you should get free consulting you will get
exactly what you pay for.

> >if you can not write a decient list then why are you bothering us?
>
> Perhaps I don't understand the purpose of a mailing list like this.
> Isn't the purpose of this list for people with a common interest to pool
> their knowledge and try to help each other?

This is a discussion list.  Its purpose is to discuss things, bsd
related or of general interest to the group.  Your problems may or may
not be of general interest to the group.  The fact that you are
posting questions in such a way that it looks like you are doing no
work on them befor bothering us with them is of general interest to
the group, this is because it tags you as someone to ignore in the
future and the present.  You are working hard to turn on the bozo-bit
and it is hard to turn off

>
> If someone writes an email and it is obvious to you what the problem is that
> someone is having shouldn't we help that person?

it depends, this is not a newbees list nor is it a place for people
who apear to want to stay newbees.

>
> If we don't know and have no idea, then we can just move on to the next
> email. It is not like this list is so busy that we have to censor emails..
> specially if they are related to one of the BSD.

You can ask all the stupid and ill concieved questions you want, but
after a while who will  bother to answer them.

>
> > Now I am not writting this based on just one thread but after at least
> > three threads that I have been involved in with you in the last week
> > or so, two of them tonight.
>
> Is there a quota on the number of questions we can post?
> I know about the memory question, which your previous post basically
> implies that I didn't bother to read the man page. I did. And also the man
> page for vmstat.. and several freebsd books I have.. read the sections on
> memory.

you are asking questions in a format that shows a lack of respect for
the rest of us.  Since you want answers to them, to help you do your
job, you might want to change that behavior.  Since you are asking
questions it would be best for you to accomadate us, if you want
answers.

>
> I do agree I should try other machines.. perhaps something on that machine
> needs to be changed.. it is 5.4.. perhaps a 6.X will not have the problem.
>

>
> What seems to be obvious to you regarding top memory display is not obvious
> to me.. specially when I see different machines with different values..etc,
> etc.. I will reply about that on that other email, instead of getting
> things convoluted.
>
> Moreover, that subject was NOT an urgent issue that I am trying to get other
> people to "solve for me". It is basically a search for more info on a topic,
> which I believe would be of interest to others once I find better answers
> which I will obviously share.

oppinions differ.

>
>
> > I am here to discus things with my peers and to help people become my
> > peers, so we can talk about interesting stuff.
>
> If you find my posts boring, or a lazy attemp to get others to do my job,
> then please just ignore them. I can't recall asking a question before I have
> spent at least 4+ hours researching the topic and often times have been
> researching the topic for days.

You seem to have missed the point.  It is not the questions I object
to it is the lack of work you put into writting them that I object to.

>
> You are also forgetting the psycology of a problem.. some times after a
> person has been looking at a problem for a week or two, they may not be in
> the most objective or logical state that you wish people where. People
> sometimes are tired of a problem, or even desperate.. so their questions may
> not make the most sense to the rest of the world.. It is on those times that
> others can be more helpfull and direct the person to give the right info
> instead of making assumptions about how much/little they have researched.

And this prevents you from spending 15 minutes composing a good
question so people would be inclined to help you how?

As far as the inner workings of your mind go I do not care.

>
>
>
> >I am not here to provide free consulting, on a professional level I do not care about
> > your problems.
>
> I am so looking forward to other's feedback on this thread. :-)
>
>
> > The reason for this is you do not pay me to care about
> > your problems.  You are acting like a client and are not paying my
> > rate, please fix the first part or the second.
>
> I really must not understand Open Source lists and user group lists then.. I
> really though it was about people helping each other. I must have really
> missed "the memo" where it was dictated people  HAD to help others. If I
> don't know or don't want to help someone.. I don't reply to their email.
> Personally I feel anything else is a waste of list member's time.
>

You seem to forget I have tried to help you previously.  And the
message that you are replying to is an attempt to help you.  And the
way open source lists work, except the newbees lists, are generally as
follows:

You live and die by your reputation on the list.  If you generate a
reputation as a lazy idiot people will not help you.  Wether you are a
lazy idiot is a diferent question, but you are judged by what goes on
in the list.

marc

--
"We trained very hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to
form into teams we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that
we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and a wonderful method it
can be for creating the illusion of progress, while producing confusion,
inefficiency and demoralization."
-Gaius Petronius, 1st Century AD