.TH KDUMP.CONF 5 "07/23/2008" "kexec-tools"

.SH NAME

kdump.conf \- configuration file for kdump kernel.

.SH DESCRIPTION 

kdump.conf is a configuration file for the kdump kernel crash

collection service.

kdump.conf provides post-kexec instructions to the kdump kernel. It is

stored in the initrd file managed by the kdump service. If you change

this file and do not want to reboot in order for the changes to take

effect, restart the kdump service to rebuild the initrd.

For most configurations, you can simply review the examples provided

in the stock /etc/kdump.conf.

.B NOTE: 

For filesystem dumps the dump target must be mounted before building

kdump initramfs.

kdump.conf only affects the behavior of the initramfs.  Please read the

kdump operational flow section of kexec-kdump-howto.txt in the docs to better

understand how this configuration file affects the behavior of kdump.

.SH OPTIONS

.B raw <partition>

.RS

Will dd /proc/vmcore into <partition>.  Use persistent device names for

partition devices, such as /dev/vg/<devname>.

.RE

.B nfs <nfs mount>

.RS

Will mount nfs to <mnt>, and copy /proc/vmcore to <mnt>/<path>/%HOST-%DATE/,

supports DNS. Note that a fqdn should be used as the server name in the 

mount point.

.RE

.B ssh <user@server>

.RS

Will save /proc/vmcore through ssh pipe to <user@server>:<path>/%HOST-%DATE/,

supports DNS. NOTE: make sure user has necessary write permissions on

server and that a fqdn is used as the server name.

.RE

.B sshkey <path>

.RS

Specify the path of the ssh key to use when dumping via ssh.

The default value is /root/.ssh/kdump_id_rsa.

.RE

.B <fs type> <partition>

.RS

Will mount -t <fs type> <partition> <mnt>, and copy /proc/vmcore to

<mnt>/<path>/%HOST_IP-%DATE/.  NOTE: <partition> can be a device node, label

or uuid.  It's recommended to use persistent device names such as

/dev/vg/<devname>.  Otherwise it's suggested to use label or uuid.

.RE

.B path <path>

.RS

"path" represents the file system path in which vmcore will be saved.

If a dump target is specified in kdump.conf, then "path" is relative to the

specified dump target.

.PP

Interpretation of "path" changes a bit if the user didn't specify any dump

target explicitly in kdump.conf. In this case, "path" represents the

absolute path from root.  The dump target and adjusted path are arrived

at automatically depending on what's mounted in the current system.

.PP

Ignored for raw device dumps.  If unset, will use the default "/var/crash".

.RE

.B core_collector <command> <options>

.RS

This allows you to specify the command to copy the vmcore.

The default is makedumpfile, which on some architectures can drastically reduce

core file size. See /sbin/makedumpfile --help for a list of options.

Note that the -i and -g options are not needed here, as the initrd

will automatically be populated with a config file appropriate

for the running kernel.

.PP

Note 1: About default core collector:

The default core_collector for raw/ssh dump is:

"makedumpfile -F -l --message-level 7 -d 31".

The default core_collector for other targets is:

"makedumpfile -l --message-level 7 -d 31".

Even if core_collector option is commented out in kdump.conf, makedumpfile

is the default core collector and kdump uses it internally.

If one does not want makedumpfile as default core_collector, then they

need to specify one using core_collector option to change the behavior.

.PP

Note 2: If "makedumpfile -F" is used then you will get a flattened format

vmcore.flat, you will need to use "makedumpfile -R" to rearrange the

dump data from standard input to a normal dumpfile (readable with analysis

tools).

ie. "makedumpfile -R vmcore < vmcore.flat"

.PP

Note 3: If specified core_collector simply copy the vmcore file to the

dump target (eg: cp, scp), the vmcore could be significantly large.

Please make sure the dump target has enough space, at leaset larger

than the system's RAM.

.RE

.B kdump_post <binary | script>

.RS

This directive allows you to run a specified executable

just after the vmcore dump process terminates.  The exit

status of the current dump process is fed to the kdump_post

executable as its first argument($1).  Executable can modify

it to indicate the new exit status of succeeding dump process,

.PP

All files under /etc/kdump/post.d are collectively sorted

and executed in lexical order, before binary or script

specified kdump_post parameter is executed.

.PP

Note that scripts written for use with this directive must use

the /bin/bash interpreter.

.RE

.B kdump_pre <binary | script>

.RS

Works just like the "kdump_post" directive, but instead

of running after the dump process, runs immediately

before.  Exit status of this binary is interpreted

as follows:

.PP

0 - continue with dump process as usual

.PP

non 0 - run the final action (reboot/poweroff/halt)

.PP

All files under /etc/kdump/pre.d are collectively sorted and

executed in lexical order, after binary or script specified

kdump_pre parameter is executed.

Even if the binary or script in /etc/kdump/pre.d directory

returns non 0 exit status, the processing is continued.

.PP

Note that scripts written for this directive must use

the /bin/bash interpreter.

.RE

.B extra_bins <binaries | shell scripts>

.RS

This directive allows you to specify additional

binaries or shell scripts you'd like to include in

your kdump initrd. Generally only useful in

conjunction with a kdump_post binary or script that

relies on other binaries or scripts.

.RE

.B extra_modules <module(s)>

.RS

This directive allows you to specify extra kernel

modules that you want to be loaded in the kdump

initrd, typically used to set up access to

non-boot-path dump targets that might otherwise

not be accessible in the kdump environment. Multiple

modules can be listed, separated by spaces, and any

dependent modules will automatically be included.

.RE

.B failure_action <reboot | halt | poweroff | shell | dump_to_rootfs>

.RS

Action to perform in case dumping to the intended target fails. The default is "reboot".

reboot: Reboot the system (this is what most people will want, as it returns the system

to a normal state).  halt: Halt the system and lose the vmcore.  poweroff: The system

will be powered down.  shell: Drop to a shell session inside the initramfs, from which

you can manually perform additional recovery actions.  Exiting this shell reboots the

system by default or performs "final_action".

Note: kdump uses bash as the default shell.  dump_to_rootfs: If non-root dump

target is specified, the failure action can be set as dump_to_rootfs.  That means when

dumping to target fails, dump vmcore to rootfs from initramfs context and reboot

by default or perform "final_action".

.RE

.B default <reboot | halt | poweroff | shell | dump_to_rootfs>

.RS

Same as the "failure_action" directive above, but this directive is obsolete

and will be removed in the future.

.RE

.B final_action <reboot | halt | poweroff>

.RS

Action to perform in case dumping to the intended target succeeds.

Also performed when "shell" or "dump_to_rootfs" failure action finishes.

Each action is same as the "failure_action" directive above.

The default is "reboot".

.RE

.B force_rebuild <0 | 1>

.RS

By default, kdump initrd will only be rebuilt when necessary.

Specify 1 to force rebuilding kdump initrd every time when kdump service starts.

.RE

.B force_no_rebuild <0 | 1>

.RS

By default, kdump initrd will be rebuilt when necessary.

Specify 1 to bypass rebuilding of kdump initrd.

.PP

force_no_rebuild and force_rebuild options are mutually exclusive and

they should not be set to 1 simultaneously.

.RE

.B override_resettable <0 | 1>

.RS

Usually an unresettable block device can't be a dump target. Specifying 1 means

that even though the block target is unresettable, the user wants to try dumping anyway.

By default, it's set to 0, which will not try something destined to fail.

.RE

.B dracut_args <arg(s)>

.RS

Kdump uses dracut to generate initramfs for second kernel. This option

allows a user to pass arguments to dracut directly.

.RE

.B fence_kdump_args <arg(s)>

.RS

Command line arguments for fence_kdump_send (it can contain all valid

arguments except hosts to send notification to).

.RE

.B fence_kdump_nodes <node(s)>

.RS

List of cluster node(s) except localhost, separated by spaces, to send fence_kdump notification

to (this option is mandatory to enable fence_kdump).

.RE

.SH DEPRECATED OPTIONS

.B net <nfs mount>|<user@server>

.RS

net option is replaced by nfs and ssh options. Use nfs or ssh options

directly.

.RE

.B options <module> <option list>

.RS

Use KDUMP_COMMANDLINE_APPEND in /etc/sysconfig/kdump to add module options as

kernel command line parameters. For example, specify 'loop.max_loop=1' to limit

maximum loop devices to 1.

.RE

.B link_delay <seconds>

.RS

link_delay was used to wait for a network device to initialize before using it.

Now dracut network module takes care of this issue automatically.

.RE

.B disk_timeout <seconds>

.RS

Similar to link_delay, dracut ensures disks are ready before kdump uses them.

.RE

.B debug_mem_level <0-3>

.RS

Turn on verbose debug output of kdump scripts regarding free/used memory at

various points of execution.  This feature has been

moved to dracut now.

Use KDUMP_COMMANDLINE_APPEND in /etc/sysconfig/kdump and

append dracut cmdline param rd.memdebug=[0-3] to enable the debug output.

Higher level means more debugging output.

.PP

0 - no output

.PP

1 - partial /proc/meminfo

.PP

2 - /proc/meminfo

.PP

3 - /proc/meminfo + /proc/slabinfo

.RE

.B blacklist <list of kernel modules>

.RS

blacklist option was recently being used to prevent loading modules in

initramfs. General terminology for blacklist has been that module is

present in initramfs but it is not actually loaded in kernel. Hence

retaining blacklist option creates more confusing behavior. It has been

deprecated.

.PP

Instead, use rd.driver.blacklist option on second kernel to blacklist

a certain module. One can edit /etc/sysconfig/kdump.conf and edit

KDUMP_COMMANDLINE_APPEND to pass kernel command line options. Refer

to dracut.cmdline man page for more details on module blacklist option.

.RE

.RE

.SH EXAMPLES

Here are some examples for core_collector option:

.PP

Core collector command format depends on dump target type. Typically for

filesystem (local/remote), core_collector should accept two arguments.

First one is source file and second one is target file. For ex.

.TP

ex1.

core_collector "cp --sparse=always"

Above will effectively be translated to:

cp --sparse=always /proc/vmcore <dest-path>/vmcore

.TP

ex2.

core_collector "makedumpfile -l --message-level 7 -d 31"

Above will effectively be translated to:

makedumpfile -l --message-level 7 -d 31 /proc/vmcore <dest-path>/vmcore

.PP

For dump targets like raw and ssh, in general, core collector should expect

one argument (source file) and should output the processed core on standard

output (There is one exception of "scp", discussed later). This standard

output will be saved to destination using appropriate commands.

raw dumps examples:

.TP

ex3.

core_collector "cat"

Above will effectively be translated to.

cat /proc/vmcore | dd of=<target-device>

.TP

ex4.

core_collector "makedumpfile -F -l --message-level 7 -d 31"

Above will effectively be translated to.

makedumpfile -F -l --message-level 7 -d 31 | dd of=<target-device>

.PP

ssh dumps examples

.TP

ex5.

core_collector "cat"

Above will effectively be translated to.

cat /proc/vmcore | ssh <options> <remote-location> "dd of=path/vmcore"

.TP

ex6.

core_collector "makedumpfile -F -l --message-level 7 -d 31"

Above will effectively be translated to.

makedumpfile -F -l --message-level 7 -d 31 | ssh <options> <remote-location> "dd of=path/vmcore"

There is one exception to standard output rule for ssh dumps. And that is

scp. As scp can handle ssh destinations for file transfers, one can

specify "scp" as core collector for ssh targets (no output on stdout).

.TP

ex7.

core_collector "scp"

Above will effectively be translated to.

scp /proc/vmcore <user@host>:path/vmcore

.PP

examples for other options please see

.I /etc/kdump.conf

.SH SEE ALSO

kexec(8) mkdumprd(8) dracut.cmdline(7)