kernel option to increase max open files

[John Fox]

Hi, folks.

I've got a 2.2.2 machine which I can't currently upgrade, due to funding
issues.  This machine handles a lot of mail, and I am lately finding 
dmesg output to be full of "file: table is full" messages, and entries
like these in the sendmail log:

   SYSERR(UID0): readqf: cannot open dfAAA29006: Too many open files in \
   system

   SYSERR(UID0): Cannot open hash database /etc/aliases: Too many open \
   files in system

So I figure I need to increase the max number of open files available.

I've looked around, and it appears I have two different options:

1) Kernel option "options         OPEN_MAX=###" which sets the max number
of open files per user (which would be 'root' in this case, as that's who
sendmail runs as).

2) a login.conf class setting assigned to root.  The 'openfiles' setting seems
somewhat equivalent to the OPEN_MAX option.  However, I am not certain
that limits set in login.conf apply to a process being run by a user that
didn't log in (sendmail being started by init at boot, rather than from
root's login session).


I welcome any thoughts/advice on this matter, as I don't want to try either
of these changes without having done due diligence.  

Thank you,


-John
--
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| John Fox <readbsd at mind.net>   |  System Administrator   | InfoStructure   |
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|        Gideon: I thought you said don't hold a grudge.                    |
|         Galen: I don't. I have no surviving enemies...at all.             |
|             -- "Crusdade", _Racing the Night_                             |
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