[gzip] appears in process table after gzip command completes
 

Hi.

I'm on Sles9sp3 2.6.5-7.244-smp x86_64.

I have a ksh script which submits a number of gzip commands using & to submit to the background, and then the script monitors the processes for completion.

I have noted that once the gzip command has finished, a related process hangs about for a few minutes. The file timestamp is then set to 3-5 minutes after the gzip actually completed.

Example:

This process runs and completes:
oracle 15544 1 95 02:40 ? 00:01:35 gzip -c /oracle/live/oradata/app11i/SYSTEM07_app11i.dbf

But this entry in the process table hangs about:
oracle 15544 1 95 02:40 ? 00:01:36 [gzip]

I'm interested to understand what is causing this delay. I would like the files timestamp to match when the gzip finished.

Please let me have your ideas.