asterisk users - Dec 2010 - Asterisk 1.6 produces *many* zombie processes on Debian.

We have an issue with our Asterisk install where Asterisk produces many
Zombie processes (on the order of several hundred per minute) until either
the Asterisk server is restarted (and the zombies die a natural death), or
the kernel runs out of PID space (happens within hours) and brings the
system to a halt.

This problem only happens when the server is under some non-trivial load.
We were testing this server with 8 SCCP phones, making up to five
simultaneous calls through the DAHDI interface (a Digium Wildcard
TE410P/TE405P (1st Gen)). Once our customers (nearly all SIP clients)
start logging on and we get around 7 or 8 simultaneous DAHDI calls,
Asterisk starts producing zombie processes at a high rate.

We are using the following software:

Debian Lenny 5.0
Asterisk 1.6.2.15
`dahdi show version`: DAHDI Version: 2.4.0 Echo Canceller: MG2
Libpri 1.4.11.4

A2Billing is also installed on this server, if that matters at all.

Any help with this issue, including help in troubleshooting the cause, is
highly appreciated.

Am 20.12.2010 21:39, schrieb Ernie Dunbar:
> We have an issue with our Asterisk install where Asterisk produces many
> Zombie processes (on the order of several hundred per minute) until either
> the Asterisk server is restarted (and the zombies die a natural death), or
> the kernel runs out of PID space (happens within hours) and brings the
> system to a halt.
>
> This problem only happens when the server is under some non-trivial load.
> We were testing this server with 8 SCCP phones, making up to five
> simultaneous calls through the DAHDI interface (a Digium Wildcard
> TE410P/TE405P (1st Gen)). Once our customers (nearly all SIP clients)
> start logging on and we get around 7 or 8 simultaneous DAHDI calls,
> Asterisk starts producing zombie processes at a high rate.
>
> We are using the following software:
>
> Debian Lenny 5.0
> Asterisk 1.6.2.15
> `dahdi show version`: DAHDI Version: 2.4.0 Echo Canceller: MG2
> Libpri 1.4.11.4
>
> A2Billing is also installed on this server, if that matters at all.
>
> Any help with this issue, including help in troubleshooting the cause, is
> highly appreciated.
What does /var/log/asterisk/messages say? And /var/log/syslog?

On Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 5:39 PM, Ernie Dunbar <maillist at lightspeed.ca>
wrote:
> We have an issue with our Asterisk install where Asterisk produces many
> Zombie processes (on the order of several hundred per minute) until either
> the Asterisk server is restarted (and the zombies die a natural death), or
> the kernel runs out of PID space (happens within hours) and brings the
> system to a halt.
>
> This problem only happens when the server is under some non-trivial load.
> We were testing this server with 8 SCCP phones, making up to five
> simultaneous calls through the DAHDI interface (a Digium Wildcard
> TE410P/TE405P (1st Gen)). Once our customers (nearly all SIP clients)
> start logging on and we get around 7 or 8 simultaneous DAHDI calls,
> Asterisk starts producing zombie processes at a high rate.
>
> We are using the following software:
>
> Debian Lenny 5.0
> Asterisk 1.6.2.15
> `dahdi show version`: DAHDI Version: 2.4.0 Echo Canceller: MG2
> Libpri 1.4.11.4
>
> A2Billing is also installed on this server, if that matters at all.
>
> Any help with this issue, including help in troubleshooting the cause, is
> highly appreciated.
Simple

In sip.conf please set "alwaysauthreject = yes"

~~~ Andrew "lathama" Latham lathama at gmail.com ~~~

On Monday 20 December 2010 14:39:36 Ernie Dunbar wrote:
> We have an issue with our Asterisk install where Asterisk produces many
> Zombie processes (on the order of several hundred per minute) until
> either the Asterisk server is restarted (and the zombies die a natural
> death), or the kernel runs out of PID space (happens within hours) and
> brings the system to a halt.
> 
> This problem only happens when the server is under some non-trivial
> load. We were testing this server with 8 SCCP phones, making up to five
> simultaneous calls through the DAHDI interface (a Digium Wildcard
> TE410P/TE405P (1st Gen)). Once our customers (nearly all SIP clients)
> start logging on and we get around 7 or 8 simultaneous DAHDI calls,
> Asterisk starts producing zombie processes at a high rate.
I know what the issue is.  Please open a report on
https://issues.asterisk.org and I'll get a patch uploaded pronto.

-- 
Tilghman

> On Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 5:39 PM, Ernie Dunbar <maillist at
lightspeed.ca>
> wrote:
>> We have an issue with our Asterisk install where Asterisk produces many
>> Zombie processes (on the order of several hundred per minute) until
>> either
>> the Asterisk server is restarted (and the zombies die a natural death),
>> or
>> the kernel runs out of PID space (happens within hours) and brings the
>> system to a halt.
>>
>> This problem only happens when the server is under some non-trivial
>> load.
>> We were testing this server with 8 SCCP phones, making up to five
>> simultaneous calls through the DAHDI interface (a Digium Wildcard
>> TE410P/TE405P (1st Gen)). Once our customers (nearly all SIP clients)
>> start logging on and we get around 7 or 8 simultaneous DAHDI calls,
>> Asterisk starts producing zombie processes at a high rate.
>>
>> We are using the following software:
>>
>> Debian Lenny 5.0
>> Asterisk 1.6.2.15
>> `dahdi show version`: DAHDI Version: 2.4.0 Echo Canceller: MG2
>> Libpri 1.4.11.4
>>
>> A2Billing is also installed on this server, if that matters at all.
>>
>> Any help with this issue, including help in troubleshooting the cause,
>> is
>> highly appreciated.
>
> Simple
>
> In sip.conf please set "alwaysauthreject = yes"
>
Thanks for the tip, but we already did that a while ago. :)