lcrash - linux crash dump analyzer


SYNOPSIS

       lcrash  [  -n  bounds  ]  [ -M path ] [ -I path ] map dump
       kerntypes

       lcrash [ -s dumpdev dumpdir <0 | 1> ]


DESCRIPTION

       lcrash is a hands-on utility that generates detailed  ker­
       nel  information  in  an easy-to-read format.  lcrash also
       provides the ability  to  generate  reports  about  system
       crash  dumps.  Depending on the type of system crash dump,
       lcrash can create a unique report that  contains  informa­
       tion  about what happened when the system crashed.  lcrash
       can be run on live systems or with any map and dump speci­
       fied on the command line.

       map  contains symbol table information needed for symbolic
       access to the system memory  image  being  examined.   The
       default  map  is /boot/System.map, which is used when ana­
       lyzing a live system.  If the memory image being  analyzed
       is  from  a  system core dump (dump.N), then map must be a
       copy of the map file that was valid at  the  time  of  the
       crash.

       dump  is  a  file containing the system memory image.  The
       default dump is /dev/mem, which provides access to  system
       memory  when  analyzing a live system.  dump can also be a
       pathname to a file (dump.N) produced by  lcrash  run  with
       the -s option.

       kerntypes  is  a  file  containing kernel type information
       that lcrash needs in order to properly access kernel  data
       in  the  system  memory  image.   The default kerntypes is
       /boot/Kerntypes, which  provides  access  to  kernel  type
       information  when  analyzing a live system.  kerntypes can
       also be a pathname to a  file  (Kerntypes.N)  produced  by
       lcrash run with the -s option.


OPTIONS

       -s     Allows  a  crash  report to be created.  The memory
              image is read  from  dumpdev,  which  is  the  dump
              device  where  the  system  dump  memory  image  is
              placed.   The  default  dumpdev   is   /dev/vmdump,
              although  it will traditionally be specified out of
              /etc/sysconfig/dump,  which  is  where   /sbin/lkcd
              reads its configuration variables from.  The report
              will be created and saved into dumpdir.  The 0 or 1
              variable  declaration determines whether the memory
              image is also saved to disk along  with  the  crash
              report.   For  example,  some system administrators

              would  specify  0.  Other users may want to perform
              more detailed analysis of the system  failure,  and
              would specify 1.  The default value is 1.

       -n     Runs using /var/log/dump as the default dump direc­
              tory, and tries to start  lcrash  using  the  files
              /var/log/dump/<bounds>/map.<bounds>             and
              /var/log/dump/<bounds>/dump.<bounds>.  The <bounds>
              variable  is  the  number of the crash.  There is a
              file in /var/log/dump called 'bounds'  that  has  a
              number  in  it.   When  a  crash  dump  is saved or
              reported, the 'bounds' index number is  incremented
              so  that the next index number is used for the next
              failure.

       -M path
              Specifies the PATH to  search  for  loading  macros
              either  on  startup  or  when the 'load' command is
              issued at the lcrash prompt. On startup  all  files
              in  these directories are loaded automatically. The
              default           macro           path           is
              ~/.lcrash:/usr/share/sial/lcrash.  The  environment
              variable LC_MPATH can  be  used  for  that  perpose
              also.

       -I path
              Specifies  the  PATH  to search for #include direc­
              tives in macro files. The default  value  for  this
              path                                             is
              ~/.lcrash/include:/usr/share/sial/lcrash/include.
              The  environment  variable LC_IPATH can be used for
              that perpose also.


MACROS

       C syntax macros can be used to  create  new  commands  and
       expand lcrash's functionality. They can be useful for com­
       mands that are specific to a site or engineering group and
       make  it  easy for everyone to chip in and expand the base
       lcrash   distribution.     Please    refer    to    lkcdu­
       tils/README.sial     and    lkcdutils/libsial/README    at
       http://cvs.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi/?cvs­
       root=lkcd for more details on how to write new commands or
       on the sial interpreter  itself  (e.g.   list  of  builtin
       functions, exceptions to the C syntax etc...).

       For  a  quick  start,  refer  to  the  sample  macro
              ps.sial  in /usr/share/sial/lcrash.


NOTES

       1)     lcrash  is  in  a continually evolving state; it is
              important  to  get  the  latest  lkcd  and   lcrash
              RPM/patch  files  to  keep  on  top  of  the latest
              changes.

              first  release.   Please  report  any  and all bugs
              after  reviewing   project   details   located   at
              http://oss.sgi.com/projects/lkcd/.


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