dan@hrc.UUCP (Dan Troxel) (02/13/91)
[note: posted for a friend. -- dan] I am currently using an IBC XLA 80486 based system running SCO/IBC Xenix 2.3.2, and am having problems with cron - it refuses to start each day's jobs automatically. I am currently having to do an "at" command each morning to get cron to recognize the fact that it has queued jobs, after which cron will continue to work the rest of the day. If this is not done, no cron jobs will be performed. Why? I've checked to make sure that the cron process itself is still resident within the system, and it is, with a PID of 27. This indicates to me that cron isn't dying and regenerating. I've also run a log on cron activities, and there is nothing peculiar; all normal. How can I get cron to work each day without giving it a kickstart? Mike Duppong ITC Information Systems 181 Blue Lakes Blvd. N. Twin Falls, ID 83301 208-734-1300 -- Dan Troxel @ Handwriting Research Corporation WK 1-602-957-8870 Camelback Corporate Center 2821 E. Camelback Road Suite 600 Phoenix, AZ 85016 ncar!noao!asuvax!hrc!dan zardoz!hrc!dan hrc!dan@asuvax.eas.asu.edu
kabra437@pallas.athenanet.com (Ken Abrams) (02/20/91)
In article <201798@hrc.UUCP> dan@hrc.UUCP (Dan Troxel) writes: >[note: posted for a friend. -- dan] > >I am currently using an IBC XLA 80486 based system running SCO/IBC Xenix 2.3.2, >and am having problems with cron - it refuses to start each day's jobs This is a well known problem with SCO Xenix 2.X cron. It tends to "go to sleep" if no jobs are scheduled for long periods of time. SCOs recommended fix is to add a cron job that executes /bin/true once a minute. I don't have the exact cron line handy; I assume your friend can figure that out. -- ======================================================== Ken Abrams uunet!pallas!kabra437 Illinois Bell kabra437@athenanet.com Springfield (voice) 217-753-7965
alan@ahmcs.com (Alan Mintz) (02/22/91)
In article <973@pallas.athenanet.com>, kabra437@pallas.athenanet.com (Ken Abrams) writes: > In article <201798@hrc.UUCP> dan@hrc.UUCP (Dan Troxel) writes: > >I am currently using an IBC XLA 80486 based system running SCO/IBC Xenix 2.3.2, > >and am having problems with cron - it refuses to start each day's jobs > > This is a well known problem with SCO Xenix 2.X cron. It tends to "go to > sleep" if no jobs are scheduled for long periods of time. SCOs recommended > fix is to add a cron job that executes /bin/true once a minute. This may be overkill. As I recall, once per hour is sufficient. -- < Alan H. Mintz | Voice +1 714 980 1034 > < Micro-Quick Systems, Inc. | FAX +1 714 944 3995 > < 10384 Hillside Road | ...!uunet!ahmcs!alan > < Alta Loma, CA 91701 USA | alan@mq.com >
jpr@jpradley.jpr.com (Jean-Pierre Radley) (02/24/91)
In article <973@pallas.athenanet.com> kabra437@pallas.athenanet.com (Ken Abrams) writes: >In article <201798@hrc.UUCP> dan@hrc.UUCP (Dan Troxel) writes: >>[note: posted for a friend. -- dan] >> >>I am currently using an IBC XLA 80486 based system running SCO/IBC Xenix 2.3.2, >>and am having problems with cron - it refuses to start each day's jobs > >This is a well known problem with SCO Xenix 2.X cron. It tends to "go to >sleep" if no jobs are scheduled for long periods of time. SCOs recommended >fix is to add a cron job that executes /bin/true once a minute. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Drastic overkill! Once a day will probably suffice, and once every six hours will certainly suffice. Jean-Pierre Radley NYC Public Unix jpr@jpradley.jpr.com CIS: 72160,1341
kabra437@pallas.athenanet.com (Ken Abrams) (02/27/91)
In article <159@ahmcs.com> alan@ahmcs.com (Alan Mintz) writes: >> This is a well known problem with SCO Xenix 2.X cron. It tends to "go to >> sleep" if no jobs are scheduled for long periods of time. SCOs recommended >> fix is to add a cron job that executes /bin/true once a minute. > >This may be overkill. As I recall, once per hour is sufficient. >-- Your recall is better than mine was! I just looked and you are correct, once an hour is the recommendation. I also forgot to mention that this will make a fat cron log (if it is enabled). And my original post would make it REAL fat. Thanks for the correction. -- ======================================================== Ken Abrams uunet!pallas!kabra437 Illinois Bell kabra437@athenanet.com Springfield (voice) 217-753-7965
kabra437@pallas.athenanet.com (Ken Abrams) (02/27/91)
In article <1991Feb23.184255.26348@jpradley.jpr.com> jpr@jpradley.jpr.com (Jean-Pierre Radley) writes: >>fix is to add a cron job that executes /bin/true once a minute. > >Drastic overkill! Alas, you are right, I was wrong. >Once a day will probably suffice, and once every six hours will certainly >suffice. > Actually with Xenix 386, 2.2.3, every 6 hours is not enough. I have had cron go to sleep with idle spans as short as 3 hours. The recommendation from SCO is once an HOUR. -- ======================================================== Ken Abrams uunet!pallas!kabra437 Illinois Bell kabra437@athenanet.com Springfield (voice) 217-753-7965
aryeh@eddie.mit.edu (Aryeh M. Weiss) (02/27/91)
In article <998@pallas.athenanet.com> kabra437@pallas.athenanet.com (Ken Abrams) writes: >once an hour is the recommendation. I also forgot to mention that this >will make a fat cron log (if it is enabled). And my original post would >make it REAL fat. Thanks for the correction. If you don't want a cron log file, just delete it. Cron does not create the log file, just writes to it if it is there.
jmp@sfs.uucp (John Pearce) (02/28/91)
>Actually with Xenix 386, 2.2.3, every 6 hours is not enough. I have had >cron go to sleep with idle spans as short as 3 hours. >The recommendation from SCO is once an HOUR. I experienced this problem at about the time this thread started, and execution of /bin/true from cron once an hour _seems_ to have solved my crontabs problems. However, both 'at' and 'batch' seem now to have gone to sleep. Commands deposited in either of them sit there until removed. Is this a problem anyone has experienced, and is it related _directly_ to the cron question? Does anyone have a fix? I am running SCO Xenix 2.3.1. -- ============================================================================ John M. Pearce +++ Suncoast Fire and Safety Equipment, Inc. +++ Sarasota, FL jmp@sfs (813) 955-2202 Fax (813) 954-4213 uunet!sfs!jmp ============================================================================