Subject: Re: Failure to crash-dump: help?
To: NetBSD Current Users <current-users@NetBSD.org>
From: Chris Ross <cross+netbsd@distal.com>
List: current-users
Date: 09/20/2007 19:14:08
On Sep 20, 2007, at 18:53, Chris Ross wrote:
>  Hello all.  I have a sparc64 machine, currently running 4.0_RC1.   
> My root, and everything else for that matter, are on a single  
> RAIDframe device.  However, I want to be able to get/retrieve crash  
> dumps, so I've configured my kernel to crash-dump to sd0b, one of  
> the components of the raid0 device, and calculated to be "the swap  
> part" of raid0.
>
>   The problem I'm seeing is that dumps just aren't working, and I  
> don't know why.  I'm seeing:
>
> dump to dev 7,1 not possible
> rebooting
>
>   So, what does "dump to dev 7,1 not possible" actually mean?   
> While the machine is up, I can confirm that 7,1 is /dev/sd0b, and I  
> can read and write that device just fine.  Anyone know of any  
> better way to get information out of the kernel crash-dump code on  
> *why* it thinks that's not possible?

   Okay.  Ignore this.  I figured out the answer.  Looking at the  
code tells me that this is because the device I had it pointed at is  
smaller than it would need to be to hold a crash dump.  I think  
perhaps the message the kernel prints could be a bit more  
informative, but.  :-)

   Thanks.  This problem is solved.

                              - Chris