dumpconf - Configure panic or PSW restart action

The dumpconf service configures the action to be taken if a kernel panic or PSW restart occurs.

The service is installed as systemd unit and reads the configuration file /etc/sysconfig/dumpconf.

Note: kdump does not depend on dumpconf and can neither be enabled nor disabled with dumpconf. If kdump has been set up for your production system, dump tools as configured with dumpconf are used only if the integrity check for kdump fails. With kdump set up, you can use dumpconf to enable or disable backup dump tools. See also Failure recovery and backup tools.

dumpconf systemd service syntax

Parameters

start: Enable configuration defined in /etc/sysconfig/dumpconf.
stop: Stop the dumpconf service.
status: Show current configuration status of the dumpconf service.

Keywords for the configuration file

ON_PANIC

Shutdown action to be taken if a kernel panic or PSW restart occurs. Possible values are:

dump: Dump Linux® and stop system.
reipl: Reboot Linux.
dump_reipl: Dump Linux and reboot system.
vmcmd: Execute specified CP commands and stop system.
stop: Stop Linux (default).

DELAY_MINUTES

The number of minutes that the activation of the dumpconf service is to be delayed. The default is zero.

Using reipl or dump_reipl actions with ON_PANIC can lead to the system looping with alternating IPLs and crashes. Use DELAY_MINUTES to prevent such a loop. DELAY_MINUTES delays activating the specified panic action for a newly started system. When the specified time has elapsed, the dumpconf service activates the specified panic action. This action is taken should the system subsequently crash. If the system crashes before the time has elapsed, the previously defined action is taken. If no previous action has been defined, the default action (STOP) is performed.

VMCMD_<X>

Specifies a CP command, <X> is a number from one to five. You can specify up to five CP commands that are executed in case of a kernel panic or PSW restart. Note that z/VM® commands, device addresses, and names of z/VM guest virtual machines must be uppercase.

DUMP_TYPE

Type of dump device. Possible values are ccw and fcp.

DEVICE

Device bus-ID of the dump device.

WWPN

WWPN for SCSI dump device.

LUN

LUN for SCSI dump device.

BOOTPROG

Boot program selector

BR_LBA

Boot record logical block address.

Example configuration files for the dumpconf service

Example configuration for a CCW dump device (DASD) using reipl after dump and DELAY_MINUTES:
```
ON_PANIC=dump_reipl
DUMP_TYPE=ccw
DEVICE=0.0.4714
DELAY_MINUTES=5
```

Example configuration for FCP dump device (SCSI disk):

ON_PANIC=dump
DUMP_TYPE=fcp
DEVICE=0.0.4711
WWPN=0x4712076300ce93a7
LUN=0x4712000000000000
BOOTPROG=0
BR_LBA=0

Example configuration for re-IPL if a kernel panic or PSW restart occurs:
```
ON_PANIC=reipl
```
Example of sending a message to the z/VM guest virtual machine "OPERATOR", executing a CP VMDUMP command, and rebooting from device 4711 if a kernel panic or PSW restart occurs:
```
ON_PANIC=vmcmd
VMCMD_1="MSG "OPERATOR" Starting VMDUMP"
VMCMD_2="VMDUMP"
VMCMD_3="IPL 4711"
```
Note that z/VM commands, device addresses, and names of z/VM guest virtual machines must be uppercase.

Examples for using the dumpconf service

Use the dumpconf service to enable and disable the configuration.

To enable the configuration:
```
# systemctl start dumpconf 
```

To display the status:

# systemctl status dumpconf 
| dumpconf.service - Configure dump on panic 
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/dumpconf.service...
   Active: active (exited) since Mon 2017-11-06 20:47:15 CET; 1s ago
   Process: 12200 ExecStart=/lib/s390-tools/dumpconf start (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS
 Main PID: 12200 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)

Nov 06 20:47:15 s3545002 systemd[1]: Starting Configure dump on panic ...
Nov 06 20:47:15 s3545002 dumpconf[12200]: dump_reipl on panic configured: Using ccw...
Nov 06 20:47:15 s3545002 systemd[1]: Started Configure dump on panic ...

To disable dump on panic:
```
# systemctl stop dumpconf 
```

To display the status again and check that the status is now stopped:

# systemctl status dumpconf
| dumpconf.service - Configure dump on panic
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/dumpconf.service...
   Active: inactive (dead)
...
Nov 06 20:49:33 s3545002 systemd[1]: Stopping Configure dump on panic ...
Nov 06 20:49:33 s3545002 dumpconf[12217]: Dump on panic is disabled now
Nov 06 20:49:33 s3545002 systemd[1]: Stopped Configure dump on panic ...