Is this machine too slow? Kernel cannot handle page request error.
Linux - GeneralThis Linux forum is for general Linux questions and discussion.
If it is Linux Related and doesn't seem to fit in any other forum then this is the place.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Distribution: Fedora, Debian, OpenSuSE and Android
Posts: 1,820
Rep:
Is this machine too slow? Kernel cannot handle page request error.
I have this machine set up as a Postfix/Spamassassin mail relay server for our LAN (125 users). When it works, it kicks serious *ss. The problem is it crashes (completely) every couple of days under load. The error message in /var/log/messages reads
[Kernel] Unable to handle page request.
and then a whole bunch of gibberish.
The machine specs are as follows
p-II 266, 256mb ram, 10Gb hdd, two nics (one 3com, one lynksys isa), and a slim installation of Redhat 9 running only Postfix, Spamassassin, and Iptables as services.
Is this indicative of a memory issue? Or is the machine just too old to serve in this capacity?
How large is your swap partition? It almost sounds like the kernel was trying to read a page from memory, but an error occured in the read/write process. I'm not sure what kind of requirements the apps that your running need, but I would think that 256 MB would be a wee bit on the small side for any app that is serving 125 users. Any chance you can post what the bunch of gibberish is under the error message?
Try running Memtest86 on it and maybe you'll find a memory issue. Another diagnostic tool I would suggest is Gkrellm. Even if you are not running X on the server box I think you can run Gkrellm on it and then connect to it using another machine running X.... at least this would give you a real time look at memory usage and swap usage.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.