I have received two helpful replies from
"Auteria Wally Winzer Jr." <wally.winzer@ChampUSA.COM>, and
Fischer Jens <jefi@kat.ina.de>
Both of them suggested that the problem is caused by a change in the kernel
structures for hme. Yes, I did install the hme patch but I didn't suspect
it. The solution is to replace the word "drop" with "ifspeed" in the
ks_hme_network struct in the include/kstat.se file.
Thanks for your help.
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Original question:
Dear all,
I have installed some of the recommended patches for Solaris 2.5.1
(SPARC) yesterday. Since then, SymbEL 3.0 fails to function. To be
more exact, the command "/etc/rc2.d/S90va_monitor start" fails and
the error message "Fatal: member: drop vanished!: Near line 2600" is
returned. After turning on debug mode, I found that it is the command
"se.sparc.5.5.1 /opt/RICHPse/examples/virtual_adrian.se" that returns
the error message. Besides, some (but not all) of the se scripts under
/opt/RICHPse/examples return similar fatal error.
I have installed the following 3 patches and it seems to me that they
are related to the problem:
103627-02: SunOS 5.5.1: linker patch
103640-18: SunOS 5.5.1: kernel patch
105352-01: SunOS 5.5.1: kernel/exec/elfexec patch
Thanks in advance and I will summarize.
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Reply from wally.winzer@ChampUSA.COM:
Here's the answer to your question from Rich Pettit (Co Writer: RICHPse,
etc.):
If you replace the word "drop" with "ifspeed" in the ks_hme_network struct
in the kstat.se file it will probably work. This is a known problem that
will be resolved with the next release.
Rich
+- -+- -+-
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| Richard Pettit | Chief Performance Architect | 550 California St.
|
| richp@resolute.com | Resolute Software, Inc. | San Francisco CA
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+- -+- -+-
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The only thing to watch for on some systems is if any of the monitors you use
creates a <defunct> process. I've experiencing this problem now. I run 2.5.1
on a E3000 (fully patched - current as of 4-7-98). The problem is not with
the kernel patch but with the kstat() call to the hme driver. Making the
change
described above will fix your error, but I cannot guarantee the possibility of
Zombies.
Check each se.sparc.5.5.1 to make sure no Zombies start up with any
se.sparc.5.5.1.
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Reply from jefi@kat.ina.de
This problem is caused by a change in the kernel structures for hme.
If it is no problem for you to have different versions of SE for different
patch
levels you can just replace the word drop to ifspeed in include/kstat.se.
This
is the workaround provided by Adrian Cockcroft to reflect the changes in the
newest kernel patch.
I also had some discussions with Rich Pettit, which lead me to the
conclusion to
replace drop with missing2 as I do not need the ifspeed field and with this
solution it is working with all patch revs.
For a long term solution there will have to be some more detailed checks
inserted into the SE code in order to differentiate between distinct patch
revisions, I hope Rich Pettit will find the time to integrate this.
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p.s. Fischer is kind enough to forward the mails from Rich Pettit to
me. But since they are a little bit long, I don't want to flood this
mailing list by attaching them. Interested parties can mail me and I
will send him a copy.
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Best Regards,
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