[CentOS] Login timed out after 60 seconds

A server at work today appeared unresponsive to all network traffic. 
The machine in question doesn't have a k/v/m terminal; it's configured 
to use a serial console.

So I connected to the serial console and got /etc/issue (with all the 
\char sequences properly expanded).

At the login: prompt I typed root and pressed Enter. Several seconds 
went by before the Password: prompt was displayed. I typed the 
password and soon saw

   Login timed out after 60 seconds

At which point /etc/issue and the login: prompt reappeared.

Later investigation revealed the load average was hovering around 100, 
so it's unlikely the machine would be able to process the username and 
password in under a minute.

I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to lengthen that timeout 
value from 60 to, say, 180. This isn't the first time I've wanted to 
kill a runaway process and been unable to get a console because of 
that timeout.

-- 
Paul Heinlein <> heinlein at madboa.com <> http://www.madboa.com/