Intermittent Connectivity Problem [was Re:linux problem]

[Robert Brockway]

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005, Jerome Macaranas wrote:

> hi all,
>
> 	I have a system that serves HTTP and PGSQL ( serves locally only contents for
> dynamic HTTP conntents )... it runs on Redhat 9 with 2G memory..... for some
> reason the box just suddenly became unavailable... the server is pingable..
> but services running on it is unaccessible .. HTTP, SSH... Ive already
> checked the logs... but didn't saw anything unusual..

If the box becomes unavailable how are you getting in to checkout the 
logs?  If it is after a reboot then the horse has bolted - you need to 
capture important data right after the system has the problem.

Can you checkout the console when this is happening?  If it is not easy to 
get to the keyboard & monitor consider setting up a serial console - this 
is great for capturing console output for later.  Also checkout dmesg.

Turn all the logs you can to debug.  This will add load to the server.  If 
the box is in production watch the system load.

How long does the system last before it suffers this problem?  Minutes, 
days, weeks?

Google for cross references to your hardware, kernel, filesystems, etc and 
watch for others reporting similar problems.

Also, it's better to be more specific with the title.  Some people may not 
checkout the thread based on the title, or you may get the wrong people 
doing so (ie, those without enough experience).  If you used a subject 
line of something like "Intermittent Connectivity Problem" (which I have) 
you may tend to draw in the right audience more easily.

Cheers,

Rob

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