Re: OperationalError: FATAL: could not open file : Too many open files in system

On Apr 23, 2009, at 1:39 PM, Ben Welsh wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I'm managing a pgsql->django->mod_python->apache machine that serves
> no media, but handles postgres, memcached and apache all by itself.
>
> Recently I've begun drawing "too many open files in the system"
> errors, as seen in the subject line.
>
> Browsing the postgres documentation, I suspect that I need to lower
> my `max_files_per_process` from the default 100. But the support
> team at my host is pointing the finger at memcached.
>
> Before I do anything, I thought I'd consult the experts here on the
> list and see whether you can had any opinions. Here are some of the
> basic config settings that, from cruising around the web and talking
> to listservs, I've come to suspect are crucial to this sort of
> problem. Really, any advice is appreciated, because I've been
> getting competiting advice from different sources and I'm not sure
> exactly where to go with this.
>
> And, of course, thanks listers and developers for such a great
> product and community.
>

<snip>

> $ lsof | awk '{print $1}' | sort | uniq -c
>       1 COMMAND
>      10 awk
>      49 bash
>      17 crond
>    5154 httpd
>       9 init
>      25 lsof
>      39 memcached
>     807 postmaste
>      62 saslauthd
>      69 sendmail
>      28 sh
>       7 sort
>     183 sshd
>      13 syslogd
>       8 uniq
>      19 xinetd

I'd start by investigating the 5K+ file descriptors held by Apache.

Erik Jones, Database Administrator
Engine Yard
Support, Scalability, Reliability
866.518.9273 x 260
Location: US/Pacific
IRC: mage2k