markw@airgun.wg.waii.com (Mark Whetzel) (04/15/91)
I have found a very disturbing 'feature' of AIX on IBM's RISC SYSTEM 6000 that IBM insists is not a defect. This can affect all users of 6000's that have a HFT graphics console and AIXWINDOWS. On any 6000 when a standard user is running AIXWINDOWS on the console they start X by issuing the xinit command. While they are running if you perform a ps -u <userid> you will see a list of your processes that are owned by your account, this is fine and normal. NOTE that there is a process, in addition to your shell and X server called 'kproc'. I had a user that had a quick exit shell script that issued a 'kill -9 to all of their processes. GUESS WHAT? Killing the 'kproc' that is user owned will crash the entire system in a lockup, no LED fault codes, no system errors, just a complete lockup of the system. I created a PMR 7E001 (problem managment request) with IBM on the problem about a non-privlidged user being able to crash the entire system. Their response was it was designed that way, and to change it will require a DCR (design change request). I suggest that all users of this 'mis-feature' also request one of these, so we can fix this problem in the bud, before we all have problems with this. I understand that they cannot correct the problem as a 'defect', but can you believe that they would design it this way, with such a complete loophole? Why can't it just gracefully die at least, and not hang the system? I found their lack of concern over a system ingegrity problem very appalling. That the 'problem' would not be fixed unless I requested it. Thanks for letting me bend your ears. -- Mark Whetzel My comments are my own, not my company's. Western Geophysical - A division of Western Atlas International, A Litton/Dresser Company DOMAIN addr: markw@airgun.wg.waii.com UUNET address: uunet!airgun!markw
skg9h@kelvin.seas.Virginia.EDU (Sharad Kumar Gandhi) (04/16/91)
In article <933@airgun.wg.waii.com> markw@airgun.wg.waii.com (Mark Whetzel) writes: >On any 6000 when a standard user is running AIXWINDOWS on the console >they start X by issuing the xinit command. While they are running >if you perform a ps -u <userid> you will see a list of your processes >that are owned by your account, this is fine and normal. >NOTE that there is a process, in addition to your shell and X server >called 'kproc'. I had a user that had a quick exit shell script that >issued a 'kill -9 to all of their processes. i did same thing to come out from already hung up console. >GUESS WHAT? Killing the 'kproc' that is user owned will crash the >entire system in a lockup, no LED fault codes, no system errors, just >a complete lockup of the system. and it occured with my system too. . >I created a PMR 7E001 (problem managment request) with IBM on the problem >about a non-privlidged user being able to crash the entire system. > >Their response was it was designed that way, and to change it will require >a DCR (design change request). I suggest that all users of this 'mis-feature' >also request one of these, so we can fix this problem in the bud, before >we all have problems with this. > i am with you people for this good purpose. > >Mark Whetzel My comments are my own, not my company's. sharad (who love's himself)
graeme@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz (Graeme Moffat) (04/17/91)
We experience daily system crashes under X on our 730 running 3003 The APAR list for 2004 addresses at least two crash situations that we have noted, including a user killing his processes when the hft hangs. -- Graeme Moffat g.moffat@aukuni.ac.nz \ Time wastes us all, Computer Aided Design Centre, Fax: +64-9-366-0702 / our bodies & our wits School of Engineering, Ph: +64-9-737-999 x8384 / But we waste time, University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, NZ \ so time & we are quits