DRb throws Errno::EMFILE "Too many open files" with 256 connections

[fkattan]

Hi,

I have a ruby / DRb process that is quiting with Errno::EMFILE every
time it reaches 256 connections. This happens regardless of what I set
in ulimit -n and only on Solaris.

/opt/csw/lib/ruby/1.8/drb/drb.rb:944:in `accept': Too many open files
(Errno::EMFILE)
from /opt/csw/lib/ruby/1.8/drb/drb.rb:944:in `accept'
from /opt/csw/lib/ruby/1.8/drb/drb.rb:1581:in `main_loop'
from /opt/csw/lib/ruby/1.8/drb/drb.rb:1430:in `run'
from /opt/csw/lib/ruby/1.8/drb/drb.rb:1427:in `start'
from /opt/csw/lib/ruby/1.8/drb/drb.rb:1427:in `run'
from /opt/csw/lib/ruby/1.8/drb/drb.rb:1347:in `initialize'
from /opt/csw/lib/ruby/1.8/drb/drb.rb:1627:in `new'
from /opt/csw/lib/ruby/1.8/drb/drb.rb:1627:in `start_service'
from ./tuple_space.sh:10


I also tried this test both in OSX and Solaris:

255.times {a<<File.open("/etc/hosts")}

and I got it working on OSX with a ulimit -n 2048 but it seems that
Ruby on Solaris does not change its behavior based on ulimit -n and it
still throws:

Errno::EMFILE: Too many open files - /etc/hosts
from (irb):17:in `initialize'
from (irb):17:in `open'
from (irb):17
from (irb):17:in `times'
from (irb):17


Anyone has any insight on how to get Solaris to open more than 256
files?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Blaine Cook]

As it turns out, I was having this problem until your post made me
realize that it was solaris (and not my program, as I had assumed).
Some research turn this up:

http://developers.sun.com/solaris/articles/stdio_256.html

which says that 32-bit applications are limited to 256 file
descriptors when running under Solaris, unless you do the following:

export LD_PRELOAD_32=/usr/lib/extendedFILE.so.1

before running your program. Ruby on Solaris is a 32 bit app (we've
never had it compile cleanly as a 64 bit application), so this makes
sense. Except for the part about the limit of 256 file descriptors.
But oh well!

cheers,

b.

 

[fkattan]

As it turns out, I was having this problem until your post made me
realize that it was solaris (and not my program, as I had assumed).
Some research turn this up:

http://developers.sun.com/solaris/articles/stdio_256.html

which says that 32-bit applications are limited to 256 file
descriptors when running under Solaris, unless you do the following:

export LD_PRELOAD_32=/usr/lib/extendedFILE.so.1

before running your program. Ruby on Solaris is a 32 bit app (we've
never had it compile cleanly as a 64 bit application), so this makes
sense. Except for the part about the limit of 256 file descriptors.
But oh well!

cheers,

b.

Thanks Blaine, .. this works !!.