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 a systemd unit and reads the configuration file /etc/sysconfig/dumpconf.

Note: kdump does not depend on dumpconf and cannot be enabled or disabled with dumpconf. If kdump was 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.

To enable the dumpconf service, issue:

# systemctl enable dumpconf

dumpconf systemd service syntax

Parameters

start: enables the configuration that is defined in /etc/sysconfig/dumpconf.
stop: stops the dumpconf service.
status: shows 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: dumps Linux® and stops the system.
reipl: reboots Linux.
dump_reipl: dumps Linux and reboots the system.
vmcmd: executes the specified CP commands and stops the system.
stop: stops Linux (default).

DELAY_MINUTES

specifies 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. After the specified time elapses, the dumpconf service activates the specified panic action. This action is taken should the system subsequently crash. If the system crashes before the time elapses, the previously defined action is taken. If no previous action was defined, the default action (STOP) is performed.

VMCMD_<X>

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

DUMP_TYPE

specifies the type of dump device. Possible values are ccw, fcp, and nvme.

DEVICE

specifies the device bus-ID for CCW or SCSI dump device.

WWPN

specifies the WWPN for SCSI disk.

LUN

specifies the LUN for SCSI disk.

FID

Function ID for NVMe dump device.

NSID

Name space ID for NVMe dump device.

BOOTPROG

specifies the boot program selector.

BR_LBA

specifies the 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=0x5005076303004712
LUN=0x4713000000000000
BOOTPROG=0
BR_LBA=0

Example configuration for an NVMe dump device (NVMe disk):

ON_PANIC=dump
DUMP_TYPE=nvme
FID=0x00000001
NSID=0x00000001
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"
```
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 ...