IJ52209: CONFUSING ERROR MESSAGE WHEN PAGEPOOL MEMORY CANNOT BE ALLOCATED

APAR status

• Closed as program error.

Error description

• With either the static or dynamic pagepool, when the allocation
  of pagepool memory is not possible (e.g. the node running ot of
  memory), an error message "[X] Cannot pin a page pool at the
  address X bytes because it is already in use" is printed, which
  is just confusing.
  

Local fix

• There is no workaround. When running out of memory while
  allocating pagepool memory, the above error message is still
  printed, and the administrator has to know that this is likely
  the node running out of memory.
  

Problem summary

• With either the static or dynamic pagepool, when the allocation
  of pagepool memory is not possible (e.g. the node running ot of
  memory), an error message "[X] Cannot pin a page pool at the
  address X bytes because it is already in use" is printed, which
  is just confusing.
  

Problem conclusion

• This problem is fixed in 5.1.9.6
  To see all Spectrum Scale APARs and their respective
  Fix solutions refer to page: 
  https://public.dhe.ibm.com/storage/spectrumscale/spectrum_scale
  _apars.html
  
  Benefits of the solution:
  This change introduces separate error messages for running out
  of memory or hitting an unknown error condition.
  
  Work Around:
  There is no workaround. When running out of memory while
  allocating pagepool memory, the above error message is still
  printed, and the administrator has to know that this is likely
  the node running out of memory.
  
  Problem trigger:
  This is triggered by the node running out of memory while trying
  to allocation pagepool memory. Either a static pagepool is
  configured too big, or the dynamic pagepool is attempting to
  grow while there is no more memory available.
  
  Symptom:
  Error output/message
  
  Platforms affected:
  ALL Linux OS environments
  
  Functional Area affected:
  All Scale Users
  
  Customer Impact:
  Suggested
  

Temporary fix

Comments

APAR Information

• APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

• APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Fix information

• Fixed component name

  SPEC SCALE STD

• Fixed component ID

  5737F33AP

Applicable component levels