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10654 savecore(1M) should be able to work on read-only dump devices
Reviewed by: Robert Mustacchi <rm@joyent.com>
Reviewed by: John Levon <john.levon@joyent.com>
Reviewed by: Andy Stormont <astormont@racktopsystems.com>
Reviewed by: Gergő Doma <domag02@gmail.com>
Reviewed by: Toomas Soome <tsoome@me.com>
   1 '\" te
   2 .\" Copyright (c) 2004, Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
   3 .\" Copyright (c) 1983 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. The Berkeley software License Agreement specifies the terms and conditions for redistribution.
   4 .\" Copyright 2013 Nexenta Systems, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
   5 .TH SAVECORE 1M "Jan 30, 2013"

   6 .SH NAME
   7 savecore \- save a crash dump of the operating system
   8 .SH SYNOPSIS
   9 .LP
  10 .nf
  11 \fB/usr/bin/savecore\fR [\fB-Lvd\fR] [\fB-f\fR \fIdumpfile\fR] [\fIdirectory\fR]
  12 .fi
  13 
  14 .SH DESCRIPTION
  15 .sp
  16 .LP
  17 The \fBsavecore\fR utility saves a crash dump of the kernel (assuming that one
  18 was made) and writes a reboot message in the shutdown log. By default, it is
  19 invoked by the \fBdumpadm\fR service each time the system boots.
  20 .sp
  21 .LP
  22 Depending on the \fBdumpadm\fR(1M) configuration \fBsavecore\fR saves either
  23 the compressed or uncompressed crash dump. The compressed crash dump is saved in
  24 the file \fIdirectory\fR\fB/vmdump.\fR\fIn\fR.
  25 \fBsavecore\fR saves the uncompressed crash dump data in the file
  26 \fIdirectory\fR\fB/vmcore.\fR\fIn\fR and the kernel's namelist in
  27 \fIdirectory\fR\fB/unix.\fR\fIn.\fR The trailing \fIn\fR in the
  28 pathnames is replaced by a number which grows every time \fBsavecore\fR is run
  29 in that directory.
  30 .sp
  31 .LP
  32 Before writing out a crash dump, \fBsavecore\fR reads a number from the file
  33 \fIdirectory\fR\fB/minfree\fR. This is the minimum number of kilobytes that
  34 must remain free on the file system containing \fIdirectory\fR. If after saving
  35 the crash dump the file system containing \fIdirectory\fR would have less free
  36 space the number of kilobytes specified in \fBminfree\fR, the crash dump is not
  37 saved. if the \fBminfree\fR file does not exist, \fBsavecore\fR assumes a
  38 \fBminfree\fR value of 1 megabyte.
  39 .sp
  40 .LP
  41 The \fBsavecore\fR utility also logs a reboot message using facility
  42 \fBLOG_AUTH\fR (see \fBsyslog\fR(3C)). If the system crashed as a result of a
  43 panic, \fBsavecore\fR logs the panic string too.
  44 .SH OPTIONS
  45 .sp
  46 .LP
  47 The following options are supported:
  48 .sp
  49 .ne 2
  50 .na
  51 \fB\fB-d\fR\fR
  52 .ad
  53 .RS 15n
  54 Disregard dump header valid flag. Force \fBsavecore\fR to attempt to save a
  55 crash dump even if the header information stored on the dump device indicates
  56 the dump has already been saved.
  57 .RE
  58 
  59 .sp
  60 .ne 2
  61 .na
  62 \fB\fB-f\fR \fIdumpfile\fR\fR
  63 .ad
  64 .RS 15n
  65 Attempt to save a crash dump from the specified file instead of from the


  73 .na
  74 \fB\fB-L\fR\fR
  75 .ad
  76 .RS 15n
  77 Save a crash dump of the live running Solaris system, without actually
  78 rebooting or altering the system in any way. This option forces \fBsavecore\fR
  79 to save a live snapshot of the system to the dump device, and then immediately
  80 to retrieve the data and to write it out to a new set of crash dump files in
  81 the specified directory. Live system crash dumps can only be performed if you
  82 have configured your system to have a dedicated dump device using
  83 \fBdumpadm\fR(1M).
  84 .sp
  85 \fBsavecore\fR \fB-L\fR does not suspend the system, so the contents of memory
  86 continue to change while the dump is saved. This means that live crash dumps
  87 are not fully self-consistent.
  88 .RE
  89 
  90 .sp
  91 .ne 2
  92 .na












  93 \fB\fB-v\fR\fR
  94 .ad
  95 .RS 15n
  96 Verbose. Enables verbose error messages from \fBsavecore\fR.
  97 .RE
  98 
  99 .SH OPERANDS
 100 .sp
 101 .LP
 102 The following operands are supported:
 103 .sp
 104 .ne 2
 105 .na
 106 \fB\fIdirectory\fR\fR
 107 .ad
 108 .RS 13n
 109 Save the crash dump files to the specified directory. If \fIdirectory\fR is not
 110 specified, \fBsavecore\fR saves the crash dump files to the default
 111 \fBsavecore\fR \fIdirectory\fR, configured by \fBdumpadm\fR(1M).
 112 .RE
 113 
 114 .SH FILES
 115 .sp
 116 .ne 2
 117 .na
 118 \fB\fIdirectory\fR\fB/vmdump.\fR\fIn\fR\fR
 119 .ad
 120 .RS 29n
 121 
 122 .RE
 123 
 124 .sp
 125 .ne 2
 126 .na
 127 \fB\fIdirectory\fR\fB/vmcore.\fR\fIn\fR\fR
 128 .ad
 129 .RS 29n
 130 
 131 .RE
 132 
 133 .sp
 134 .ne 2
 135 .na


 150 
 151 .sp
 152 .ne 2
 153 .na
 154 \fB\fIdirectory\fR\fB/minfree\fR\fR
 155 .ad
 156 .RS 29n
 157 
 158 .RE
 159 
 160 .sp
 161 .ne 2
 162 .na
 163 \fB\fB/var/crash/\&`uname \fR\fB-n\fR\fB\&`\fR\fR
 164 .ad
 165 .RS 29n
 166 default crash dump directory
 167 .RE
 168 
 169 .SH SEE ALSO
 170 .sp
 171 .LP
 172 \fBadb\fR(1), \fBmdb\fR(1), \fBsvcs\fR(1), \fBdd\fR(1M), \fBdumpadm\fR(1M),
 173 \fBsvcadm\fR(1M), \fBsyslog\fR(3C), \fBattributes\fR(5), \fBsmf\fR(5)
 174 .SH NOTES
 175 .sp
 176 .LP
 177 The system crash dump service is managed by the service management facility,
 178 \fBsmf\fR(5), under the service identifier:
 179 .sp
 180 .in +2
 181 .nf
 182 svc:/system/dumpadm:default
 183 .fi
 184 .in -2
 185 .sp
 186 
 187 .sp
 188 .LP
 189 Administrative actions on this service, such as enabling, disabling, or
 190 requesting restart, can be performed using \fBsvcadm\fR(1M). The service's
 191 status can be queried using the \fBsvcs\fR(1) command.
 192 .sp
 193 .LP
 194 If the dump device is also being used as a swap device, you must run
 195 \fBsavecore\fR very soon after booting, before the swap space containing the

   1 '\" te
   2 .\" Copyright (c) 2004, Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
   3 .\" Copyright (c) 1983 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. The Berkeley software License Agreement specifies the terms and conditions for redistribution.
   4 .\" Copyright 2013 Nexenta Systems, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
   5 .\" Copyright 2019 Joyent, Inc.
   6 .TH SAVECORE 1M "February 22, 2019"
   7 .SH NAME
   8 savecore \- save a crash dump of the operating system
   9 .SH SYNOPSIS
  10 .LP
  11 .nf
  12 \fB/usr/bin/savecore\fR [\fB-L\fR | \fB-r\fR] [\fB-vd\fR] [\fB-f\fR \fIdumpfile\fR] [\fIdirectory\fR]
  13 .fi
  14 
  15 .SH DESCRIPTION

  16 .LP
  17 The \fBsavecore\fR utility saves a crash dump of the kernel (assuming that one
  18 was made) and writes a reboot message in the shutdown log. By default, it is
  19 invoked by the \fBdumpadm\fR service each time the system boots.
  20 .sp
  21 .LP
  22 Depending on the \fBdumpadm\fR(1M) configuration \fBsavecore\fR saves either
  23 the compressed or uncompressed crash dump. The compressed crash dump is saved in
  24 the file \fIdirectory\fR\fB/vmdump.\fR\fIn\fR.
  25 \fBsavecore\fR saves the uncompressed crash dump data in the file
  26 \fIdirectory\fR\fB/vmcore.\fR\fIn\fR and the kernel's namelist in
  27 \fIdirectory\fR\fB/unix.\fR\fIn.\fR The trailing \fIn\fR in the
  28 pathnames is replaced by a number which grows every time \fBsavecore\fR is run
  29 in that directory.
  30 .sp
  31 .LP
  32 Before writing out a crash dump, \fBsavecore\fR reads a number from the file
  33 \fIdirectory\fR\fB/minfree\fR. This is the minimum number of kilobytes that
  34 must remain free on the file system containing \fIdirectory\fR. If after saving
  35 the crash dump the file system containing \fIdirectory\fR would have less free
  36 space the number of kilobytes specified in \fBminfree\fR, the crash dump is not
  37 saved. if the \fBminfree\fR file does not exist, \fBsavecore\fR assumes a
  38 \fBminfree\fR value of 1 megabyte.
  39 .sp
  40 .LP
  41 The \fBsavecore\fR utility also logs a reboot message using facility
  42 \fBLOG_AUTH\fR (see \fBsyslog\fR(3C)). If the system crashed as a result of a
  43 panic, \fBsavecore\fR logs the panic string too.
  44 .SH OPTIONS

  45 .LP
  46 The following options are supported:
  47 .sp
  48 .ne 2
  49 .na
  50 \fB\fB-d\fR\fR
  51 .ad
  52 .RS 15n
  53 Disregard dump header valid flag. Force \fBsavecore\fR to attempt to save a
  54 crash dump even if the header information stored on the dump device indicates
  55 the dump has already been saved.
  56 .RE
  57 
  58 .sp
  59 .ne 2
  60 .na
  61 \fB\fB-f\fR \fIdumpfile\fR\fR
  62 .ad
  63 .RS 15n
  64 Attempt to save a crash dump from the specified file instead of from the


  72 .na
  73 \fB\fB-L\fR\fR
  74 .ad
  75 .RS 15n
  76 Save a crash dump of the live running Solaris system, without actually
  77 rebooting or altering the system in any way. This option forces \fBsavecore\fR
  78 to save a live snapshot of the system to the dump device, and then immediately
  79 to retrieve the data and to write it out to a new set of crash dump files in
  80 the specified directory. Live system crash dumps can only be performed if you
  81 have configured your system to have a dedicated dump device using
  82 \fBdumpadm\fR(1M).
  83 .sp
  84 \fBsavecore\fR \fB-L\fR does not suspend the system, so the contents of memory
  85 continue to change while the dump is saved. This means that live crash dumps
  86 are not fully self-consistent.
  87 .RE
  88 
  89 .sp
  90 .ne 2
  91 .na
  92 \fB\fB-r\fR\fR
  93 .ad
  94 .RS 15n
  95 Open the dump device or file as read-only, and don't update the dump header
  96 or do anything else that might modify the crash dump. This option can be used
  97 to recover a crash dump from a read-only device. This flag cannot be used in
  98 conjunction with \fB\fB-L\fR\fR.
  99 .RE
 100 
 101 .sp
 102 .ne 2
 103 .na
 104 \fB\fB-v\fR\fR
 105 .ad
 106 .RS 15n
 107 Verbose. Enables verbose error messages from \fBsavecore\fR.
 108 .RE
 109 
 110 .SH OPERANDS

 111 .LP
 112 The following operands are supported:
 113 .sp
 114 .ne 2
 115 .na
 116 \fB\fIdirectory\fR\fR
 117 .ad
 118 .RS 13n
 119 Save the crash dump files to the specified directory. If \fIdirectory\fR is not
 120 specified, \fBsavecore\fR saves the crash dump files to the default
 121 \fBsavecore\fR \fIdirectory\fR, configured by \fBdumpadm\fR(1M).
 122 .RE
 123 
 124 .SH FILES

 125 .ne 2
 126 .na
 127 \fB\fIdirectory\fR\fB/vmdump.\fR\fIn\fR\fR
 128 .ad
 129 .RS 29n
 130 
 131 .RE
 132 
 133 .sp
 134 .ne 2
 135 .na
 136 \fB\fIdirectory\fR\fB/vmcore.\fR\fIn\fR\fR
 137 .ad
 138 .RS 29n
 139 
 140 .RE
 141 
 142 .sp
 143 .ne 2
 144 .na


 159 
 160 .sp
 161 .ne 2
 162 .na
 163 \fB\fIdirectory\fR\fB/minfree\fR\fR
 164 .ad
 165 .RS 29n
 166 
 167 .RE
 168 
 169 .sp
 170 .ne 2
 171 .na
 172 \fB\fB/var/crash/\&`uname \fR\fB-n\fR\fB\&`\fR\fR
 173 .ad
 174 .RS 29n
 175 default crash dump directory
 176 .RE
 177 
 178 .SH SEE ALSO

 179 .LP
 180 \fBadb\fR(1), \fBmdb\fR(1), \fBsvcs\fR(1), \fBdd\fR(1M), \fBdumpadm\fR(1M),
 181 \fBsvcadm\fR(1M), \fBsyslog\fR(3C), \fBattributes\fR(5), \fBsmf\fR(5)
 182 .SH NOTES

 183 .LP
 184 The system crash dump service is managed by the service management facility,
 185 \fBsmf\fR(5), under the service identifier:
 186 .sp
 187 .in +2
 188 .nf
 189 svc:/system/dumpadm:default
 190 .fi
 191 .in -2
 192 .sp
 193 
 194 .sp
 195 .LP
 196 Administrative actions on this service, such as enabling, disabling, or
 197 requesting restart, can be performed using \fBsvcadm\fR(1M). The service's
 198 status can be queried using the \fBsvcs\fR(1) command.
 199 .sp
 200 .LP
 201 If the dump device is also being used as a swap device, you must run
 202 \fBsavecore\fR very soon after booting, before the swap space containing the