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Troubleshooting

The ndctl utility is designed to be user friendly and informative. This section describes some of the common messages seen when using ndctl.

"DAX unsupported by block device. Turning off DAX."

Issue:

During system boot or mounting of an EXT4 or XFS filesystem, the following message may be seen in dmesg:

[125.755367] XFS (pmem0): DAX enabled. Warning: EXPERIMENTAL, use at your own risk
[125.763736] XFS (pmem0): DAX unsupported by block device. Turning off DAX.

The filesystem should still mount, but it will not have the 'dax' (Direct Access) flag set as shown by the mount command:

$ mount | grep pmem0
/dev/pmem0 on /mnt/pmem0 type xfs (rw,relatime,attr2,inode64,noquota)

Solution:

Check the namespace mode using ndctl list -Nu. In the following example the mode is 'raw':

# ndctl list -Nu
{
  "namespaces":[
    {
      "dev":"namespace0.0",
      "mode":"raw",
      "size":"704.00 MiB (738.20 MB)",
      "blockdev":"pmem0",
      "numa_node":0
    }
  ]
}

From the ndctl-create-namespace man page, 'raw' mode does not support DAX (Direct Access).

       -m, --mode=

           ·   "raw": expose the namespace capacity directly with limitations. Neither a raw pmem namepace nor raw blk
               namespace support sector atomicity by default (see "sector" mode below). A raw pmem namespace may have limited
               to no dax support depending the kernel. In other words operations like direct-I/O targeting a dax buffer may
               fail for a pmem namespace in raw mode or indirect through a page-cache buffer. See "fsdax" and "devdax" mode
               for dax operation.

The namespace needs to be changed to either 'fsdax' or 'devdax' using the following:

WARNING: Changing the namespace mode will destroy any existing data. Backup all data before changing the mode.

$ sudo ndctl create-namespace -f -e namespace0.0 --mode=fsdax
{
  "dev":"namespace0.0",
  "mode":"memory",
  "size":"690.00 MiB (723.52 MB)",
  "uuid":"d1cc8945-7bf7-4b57-83b5-0a79565e9c15",
  "blockdev":"pmem0",
  "numa_node":0
}

The filesystem needs to be re-created, mounted with the 'dax' option, then any data restored:

$ sudo mkfs.xfs /dev/pmem0
$ sudo mount -o dax /dev/pmem0 /mnt/pmem0
$ mount | grep pmem0
/dev/pmem0 on /mnt/pmem0 type xfs (rw,relatime,attr2,dax,inode64,noquota)

"nmem0 is active, skipping..."

Issue:

When disabling an NVDIMM (nmem) device, a notice is displayed indicating it is active, eg:

# ndctl disable-dimm nmem0
nmem0 is active, skipping...
disabled 0 nmem

Cause:

The message indicates there's at least one active/enabled Region and/or Namespace using the NVDIMM.

Solution:

All active/enabled Regions and Namespaces must be destroyed an/or disabled prior to disabling the dimm.

1) List the current configuration:

# ndctl list -NRD

2) Verify no fsdax or devdax namespaces are mounted or in-use by running applications.

3) Destroy or disable the namespace(s).

4) Disable the regions used by the NVDIMM (nmem) that needs to be disabled.

5) Disable the NVDIMM (nmem).

"ndctl: error while loading shared libraries: libjson-c.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory"

Issue:

Executing the ndctl utility, with or without commands or options, yields the following missing library error:

# ndctl --version
ndctl: error while loading shared libraries: libjson-c.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

Cause:

The issue could be caused by one of the following issues:

  • The json-c package is not installed

  • A version mis-match between the json-c and ndctl. More recent versions of json-c deliver libjson-c.so.4 rather than libjson-c.so.2.

  • The json-c library is installed in a non-default location and the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable needs to be updated.

Verify which libraries are missing from ndctl using the ldd utility and identifying libraries that are 'not found':

# ldd `which ndctl`
        linux-vdso.so.1 (0x00007ffc677c4000)
        libndctl.so.6 => /lib64/libndctl.so.6 (0x00007f31fca49000)
        libdaxctl.so.1 => /lib64/libdaxctl.so.1 (0x00007f31fc843000)
        libuuid.so.1 => /lib64/libuuid.so.1 (0x00007f31fc63c000)
        libjson-c.so.2 => not found
        libc.so.6 => /lib64/libc.so.6 (0x00007f31fc27d000)
        libudev.so.1 => /lib64/libudev.so.1 (0x00007f31fc057000)
        [...]

Solution:

Verify that the json-c package is installed. For example, on Fedora use dnf info --installed json-c. If it is installed, information about the package will be displayed, eg:

# sudo dnf info --installed json-c
Installed Packages
Name         : json-c
Version      : 0.13.1
Release      : 2.fc28
Arch         : x86_64
Size         : 65 k
Source       : json-c-0.13.1-2.fc28.src.rpm
Repo         : @System
From repo    : updates
Summary      : JSON implementation in C
URL          : https://github.com/json-c/json-c
License      : MIT
Description  : JSON-C implements a reference counting object model that allows you
             : to easily construct JSON objects in C, output them as JSON formatted
             : strings and parse JSON formatted strings back into the C representation
             : of JSON objects.  It aims to conform to RFC 7159.

If the package is not installed, a message similar to the following will be returned:

# sudo dnf info --installed json-c
Error: No matching Packages to list

To install the json-c package if it is missing, use

# sudo dnf install json-c

To query the json-c package to identify the library version use the following:

# dnf repoquery -l json-c | grep libjson-c.so
Last metadata expiration check: 2:07:37 ago on Fri 06 Jul 2018 06:18:47 AM MDT.
/usr/lib64/libjson-c.so.4
/usr/lib64/libjson-c.so.4.0.0
/usr/lib64/libjson-c.so.4
/usr/lib64/libjson-c.so.4.0.0
/usr/lib/libjson-c.so.4
/usr/lib/libjson-c.so.4.0.0
/usr/lib/libjson-c.so.4
/usr/lib/libjson-c.so.4.0.0

Verify the LD_LIBRARY_PATH includes the location of libjson-c.so.*. Note: /usr/lib and /usr/lib64 are automatically included.

# echo $LD_LIBRARY_PATH
/usr/local/lib:/usr/local/lib64

If the package and LD_LIBRARY_PATH are correct, the version of ndctl will need to be updated. Using ndctl --version won't work and will simply return "ndctl: error while loading shared libraries: libjson-c.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory".

If the ndctl utility was installed using the ndctl package from the operating system's repository, update the package to the latest version. On Fedora:

# sudo dnf update -y ndctl

If the latest version within the package repository is old with no new versions available, download, compile, and install from source code. Detailed instructions can be found in the Installing NDCTL chapter.

If the ndctl utility was previously compiled and installed using source code, download the latest version from the ndctl GitHub repository, compile, and install. Detailed instructions can be found in the Installing NDCTL chapter.

Error: namespace0.0 is active, specify --force for re-configuration

Issue:

Destroying a namespace mode may fail with the following error:

# ndctl destroy-namespace namespace0.0
  Error: namespace0.0 is active, specify --force for re-configuration

Changing a namespace mode may fail with the following error:

# ndctl create-namespace -e namespace0.0 -m fsdax
  Error: namespace0.0 is active, specify --force for re-configuration

failed to reconfigure namespace: Device or resource busy

Cause:

The error indicates the namespace is currently active and potentially mounted (FSDAX) or in use, so the operation is not permitted.

Solution:

1) Verify the current namespace mode using ndctl list -N to show all namespaces or filter the result by specifying namespace name using ndctl list -N namespace{X.Y}, eg:

# ndctl list -N
{
  "dev":"namespace0.0",
  "mode":"raw",
  "size":134217728000,
  "uuid":"0a66b46c-5146-45bb-a0f1-320f28db4d40",
  "sector_size":512,
  "blockdev":"pmem0",
  "numa_node":0
}

If the namespace mode is 'fsdax', verify any associated filesystems are unmounted.

If the namespace mode is 'devdax', verify any application using the device is stopped.

The 'fuser' command on Linux can be used to identify any running processes with the /dev/dax* or /dev/pmem* devices open.

2) Either disable the namespace prior to deleting it or changing the mode or use the -f, --force options to override the active status checks.

To change the mode of an active namespace without disabling it first, use the -f, --force option:

# ndctl create-namespace -f -e namespace0.0 -m fsdax
{
  "dev":"namespace0.0",
  "mode":"fsdax",
  "map":"dev",
  "size":"123.04 GiB (132.12 GB)",
  "uuid":"1cf25e33-8dfa-4ad2-b409-e236d598bc1e",
  "raw_uuid":"9368c235-26d3-4220-9048-e85f3ccd8469",
  "sector_size":512,
  "blockdev":"pmem0",
  "numa_node":0
}

To delete a namespace without disabling it first, use the -f, --force option:

# ndctl destroy-namespace -f namespace0.0
destroyed 1 namespace

Alternatively, disable the namespace then perform the destroy/mode change operation. Note: Changing a namespace mode automatically activates it.

To change the namespace mode from 'raw' to 'fsdax':

# ndctl list -N
{
  "dev":"namespace0.0",
  "mode":"raw",
  "size":134217728000,
  "uuid":"ce15f005-d3bd-4a94-8565-55be77bed6f6",
  "sector_size":512,
  "blockdev":"pmem0",
  "numa_node":0
}

# ndctl disable-namespace namespace0.0
disabled 1 namespace

# ndctl create-namespace -e namespace0.0 -m fsdax
{
  "dev":"namespace0.0",
  "mode":"fsdax",
  "map":"dev",
  "size":"123.04 GiB (132.12 GB)",
  "uuid":"f45a6725-b80e-4174-a366-b07c91e66a58",
  "raw_uuid":"ee359fec-0a83-436a-91b6-44e3f45b04e0",
  "sector_size":512,
  "blockdev":"pmem0",
  "numa_node":0
}

To destroy a namespace:

# ndctl list -N
{
  "dev":"namespace0.0",
  "mode":"fsdax",
  "map":"dev",
  "size":132118478848,
  "uuid":"f45a6725-b80e-4174-a366-b07c91e66a58",
  "raw_uuid":"ee359fec-0a83-436a-91b6-44e3f45b04e0",
  "sector_size":512,
  "blockdev":"pmem0",
  "numa_node":0
}

# ndctl disable-namespace namespace0.0
disabled 1 namespace

# ndctl destroy-namespace namespace0.0
destroyed 1 namespace

"failed to create namespace: Resource temporarily unavailable"

Issue:

Creating a new namespace using 'ndctl create-namespace', may return the following error:

# ndctl create-namespace -r region0
failed to create namespace: Resource temporarily unavailable

Cause:

There are many potential causes including:

  • There's no available capacity within the region because one or more namespaces exist and have consumed all the space.

  • The region is disabled.

  • There's an issue with the labels for the NVDIMMs belonging to the region.

Solution:

Use the -v option to print more information to help identify the cause. A debug version of ndctl may be required to get useful information. See Installing NDCTL for instructions to build ndctl with debug options from source code.

For a scenario where there's no space left within the region, a message similar to the following will be shown:

# ndctl create-namespace -r region0 -v
...
namespace_create:772: region0: insufficient capacity size: 0 avail: 0
failed to create namespace: Resource temporarily unavailable

When a region is disabled, the following will be shown:

# ndctl create-namespace -r region0 -v
...
validate_namespace_options:473: region0: disabled, skipping...
failed to create namespace: Resource temporarily unavailable

Identifying label issues requires more investigation. Start with Validating Labels.

The Resource temporarily unavailable message improvements is being handled by https://github.com/pmem/ndctl/issues/67

"man -k ndctl" returns "ndctl: nothing appropriate."

Issue:

When searching the short descriptions and manual page for a keyword, the man utility may return an empty set, for example:

# man -k ndctl
ndctl: nothing appropriate.

Cause:

If you built ndctl from source, the man page indexes may not have been automatically generated for you. Additionally, if you installed ndctl to a non-default location, your $MANPATH shell environment variable may not been updated to point to to the new man page locations.

Solution:

1) Verify the current system global search paths for manual pages

$ manpath -g
/usr/man:/usr/share/man:/usr/local/man:/usr/local/share/man:/usr/X11R6/man:/opt/man

2) Identify if these paths are overridden by a local MANPATH setting, for example the following shows no additional search paths

$ echo $MANPATH

$

3) If the install location of ndctl is not included in the above output, add the path to your MANPATH shell environment, otherwise skip this step:

$ export MANPATH=$MANPATH:<path_to_ndctl_man_pages>

4) Manually scan and build the man page indexes

$ sudo mandb -c

This command may take a few minutes depending on the number of search paths and man pages it has to index. The output is verbose as it scans and indexes. Once complete, it will provide a summary:

...
118 man subdirectories contained newer manual pages.
10550 manual pages were added.
0 stray cats were added.

5) If the ndctl man pages were scanned and indexed, man -k ndctl will now work as expected, eg:

$ man -k ndctl
ndctl (1)            - Manage "libnvdimm" subsystem devices (Non-volatile Memory)
ndctl-check-labels (1) - determine if the given dimms have a valid namespace index block
ndctl-check-namespace (1) - check namespace metadata consistency
ndctl-clear-errors (1) - clear all errors (badblocks) on the given namespace
...
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