From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S261461AbVELLce (ORCPT ); Thu, 12 May 2005 07:32:34 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S261467AbVELLcc (ORCPT ); Thu, 12 May 2005 07:32:32 -0400 Received: from ctb-mesg6.saix.net ([196.25.240.78]:38369 "EHLO ctb-mesg6.saix.net") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S261461AbVELLcY (ORCPT ); Thu, 12 May 2005 07:32:24 -0400 Subject: 2.4.20: pids disappear & reappear in /proc From: Paolo Campanella To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Type: text/plain Message-Id: <1115897555.22584.1981.camel@paololt.cpt.dom> Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Ximian Evolution 1.4.6 Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 13:32:35 +0200 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Hi all I have a dual-Xeon Intel SMP box running kernel 2.4.20-20.9 (RH9, custom build enabling some ACPI options etc). Recently, after a reboot, I've started seeing processes disappear & reappear in ps output. The problem seems to be in /proc itself, e.g.: [root@za /]# cat /var/run/httpd-ssl.pid 898 [root@za /]# ls /proc/ | grep 898 [root@za /]# ls /proc/898/ cmdline cpu cwd environ exe fd maps mem mounts root stat statm status Process 898 is a 1.3 Apache daemon, so no threading. If I check back later, this process might have reappeared in ps, but some other process might have disappeared. Also, some PIDs are duplicated in /proc, but this duplication comes and goes. I've done lots of checking for signs of rootkits & exploits, and have found nothing so far. Maybe hardware failure? Any suggestions welcome. Thanks Paolo