SCO Doctor User Guide

Chapter 3, Alerts

The Zombie Alert

Name:

zombie

Function:

To identify processes that have not been cleaned up by the operating system.

Description:

A zombie process is a process that has terminated, but has not been cleaned up by the system. Too many zombie processes indicates a serious problem, one that can prevent new programs from running. This alert is triggered whenever the percentage of zombie processes exceeds the designated threshold. It sends the alert notice directly without invoking any action program.

Data Fields:

Period - 352 seconds

Threshold - 10%

Action Program - none

Schedule - * * * * * Any time

Status - Enabled by default

Priority - Warning

Database Elements:

This alert will also generate the following extra information:

Zombie Count - The number of processes in the zombie state, calculated from the SMD.