HP-UX 11i Version 1 Installation and Update Guide, June 2003

Known Problems and Troubleshooting
Install Known Problems
Appendix B 163
Install Known Problems
System Console "kthread table full" or "fork failed"
Messages
NOTE This section was modified in the March 2003 release to reflect how the
maxusers tunable value varies depending on the type of system you
have.
After a successful cold install, the system starts displaying console
messages such as kthread table full or fork failed console. These
messages are also logged in /var/adm/syslog.log.
This is caused by the maxusers kernel tunable not set at high enough
value.
How Do You Know
if This Affects You
An example of what you might see is the following message logged onto
the system console:
kthread: table is full
You would also see the following message being logged in
/var/adm/syslog.log:
Jan 30 09:21:39 sd2600 vmunix: kthread: table is full
The above example demonstrates table is full messages; however, you
might see the similar “fork failed” messages.
What To Do To correct this, increase the maxusers tunable:
Step 1. Log on as root
Step 2. Edit /stand/system and add the following value (depending on your
system):
• Large 64-way systems (Superdome): maxusers 400
• 16-way systems: maxusers 200