What Happens When /proc is not Mounted in FreeBSD5.4?
I made a startling discovery when using strace to trouble-shoot a different problem on a freeBSD5.4 system that has been running since last October. Both it and another new 5.4 system had a /proc mount point but no process files. The mount point had the May 5 date from 2005 as do most files from that distribution. I mounted /proc the way it is done in fstab for 4.x systems proc/proc procfs rw 0 0 and there were all the process directories. The only reason I had done this was because strace won't work without /proc. Nothing else had seemed wrong and there hadn't been any compelling reason to look at /proc until now. Would an unmounted /proc make the system run slower since proc files allow for examination of the operation of the running processes? So basically, I have fixed the problem if it really was one in the first place. Martin McCormick WB5AGZ Stillwater, OK Systems Engineer OSU Information Technology Department Network Operations Group ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: What Happens When /proc is not Mounted in FreeBSD5.4?
Martin McCormick [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I made a startling discovery when using strace to trouble-shoot a different problem on a freeBSD5.4 system that has been running since last October. Both it and another new 5.4 system had a /proc mount point but no process files. If I remember correctly procfs is off by default for security reasons. Would an unmounted /proc make the system run slower since proc files allow for examination of the operation of the running processes? procfs is for user land applications, the kernel obviously has other means to examine running processes. I doubt that mounting procfs (without using it) has any measurable effect on the system's performance, but if it does, I would assume that it decreases performance rather than increasing it. Fabian signature.asc Description: PGP signature
Re: What Happens When /proc is not Mounted in FreeBSD5.4?
On Thu, Feb 01, 2007 at 11:17:50AM -0600, Martin McCormick wrote: I made a startling discovery when using strace to trouble-shoot a different problem on a freeBSD5.4 system that has been running since last October. Both it and another new 5.4 system had a /proc mount point but no process files. The mount point had the May 5 date from 2005 as do most files from that distribution. I mounted /proc the way it is done in fstab for 4.x systems proc /proc procfs rw 0 0 and there were all the process directories. The only reason I had done this was because strace won't work without /proc. Nothing else had seemed wrong and there hadn't been any compelling reason to look at /proc until now. Would an unmounted /proc make the system run slower since proc files allow for examination of the operation of the running processes? So basically, I have fixed the problem if it really was one in the first place. As you have found, proc is almost entirely unused in FreeBSD apart from one or two debugging facilities, and in fact not recommended on multi-user systems because the long history of security vulnerabilities. Kris pgp9hId0qEHIQ.pgp Description: PGP signature
Re: What Happens When /proc is not Mounted in FreeBSD5.4?
Kris Kennaway writes: As you have found, proc is almost entirely unused in FreeBSD apart from one or two debugging facilities, and in fact not recommended on multi-user systems because the long history of security vulnerabilities. Thanks to you and Fabian Keil for your succinct answers. I took it back off and commented out the line I added to /etc/fstab so it can be brought back temporarily when needed but isn't just sitting there waiting for lightning to strike. Martin McCormick ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: What Happens When /proc is not Mounted in FreeBSD5.4?
On Thu, Feb 01, 2007 at 02:26:00PM -0600, Martin McCormick wrote: Kris Kennaway writes: As you have found, proc is almost entirely unused in FreeBSD apart from one or two debugging facilities, and in fact not recommended on multi-user systems because the long history of security vulnerabilities. Thanks to you and Fabian Keil for your succinct answers. I took it back off and commented out the line I added to /etc/fstab so it can be brought back temporarily when needed but isn't just sitting there waiting for lightning to strike. You could also leave it in fstab with the noauto option so it can be easily mounted with mount /proc if needed. Kris pgpbqd5Jqe7Rl.pgp Description: PGP signature
